Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
03COLOMBO1867
2003-10-30 10:16:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Colombo
Cable title:  

President Kumaratunga lashes out -- and

Tags:  PGOV PINR PREL PTER CE NO 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 COLOMBO 001867 

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS, INR/NESA
NSC FOR E. MILLARD
DEPARTMENT PLEASE ALSO PASS TOPEC

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10-30-13
TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL PTER CE NO
SUBJECT: President Kumaratunga lashes out -- and
reinforces her reputation for volatility

Refs: (A) Colombo 1861 (D) Colombo 1684

- (B) Singapore 3893 (E) Colombo 1642
- (C) Colombo 1754 (F) Colombo 1615

(U) Classified by Charge' d'Affaires James F. Entwistle.
Reasons 1.5 (b, d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 COLOMBO 001867

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS, INR/NESA
NSC FOR E. MILLARD
DEPARTMENT PLEASE ALSO PASS TOPEC

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10-30-13
TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL PTER CE NO
SUBJECT: President Kumaratunga lashes out -- and
reinforces her reputation for volatility

Refs: (A) Colombo 1861 (D) Colombo 1684

- (B) Singapore 3893 (E) Colombo 1642
- (C) Colombo 1754 (F) Colombo 1615

(U) Classified by Charge' d'Affaires James F. Entwistle.
Reasons 1.5 (b, d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: An in-depth review of President
Kumaratunga's behavior over the past several weeks shows
her lashing out in numerous ways. The main subject of
her broadsides continues to be her cohabitation rival,
the Prime Minister, but she also hit out at a slew of
targets during a recent visit to Singapore. In
addition, Tamils have recently taken a hit, as have the
Norwegian-led monitors. If there is a method here, the
President seems intent on ramping up the pressure in
order to undermine the GSL, but her means of doing so
are reinforcing her reputation for volatility and
unpredictability. The net result is that the prospects
for improved cohabitation between the President and the
Prime Minister are very poor. END SUMMARY.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
President Hits out at PM
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-


2. (C) Over the past several weeks, President
Kumaratunga has lashed out at numerous targets. The
main subject of her broadsides has been her cohabitation
rival, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. The latest
round of cohabitation jousting between the two began in
mid-September when the President sent a letter to the PM
asserting that the GSL was not taking Tamil Tiger
military positioning around Trincomalee harbor seriously
enough (see Ref F). In the letter's conclusion, the
President caustically informed the Prime Minister that
he should "refrain from concealing and distorting the
truth regarding the security situation in Trincomalee"
and "avoid all further acts of omission and commission
that would compromise the security and sovereignty of
Sri Lanka." The letter was leaked to the press and
received widespread publicity.


3. (C) The cohabitation dustup only intensified on
September 18 when the Prime Minister responded to the

President's letter (see Ref E). While his letter was
not as harsh in tone as hers, the PM strongly defended
his record on security issues and criticized the
President for discussing security issues in public.
This provoked another letter from the President dated
October 6 (se Ref D). In this letter, the President was
again highly caustic, calling the PM's comments on the
security situation "evasive." It closed by advising the
PM "to attempt seriously, if it is at all possible, to
put the country before self and the desire to remain in
power at any cost." As far as Mission knows, the Prime
Minister has not bothered to respond to the President's
October 6 letter.


4. (C) In her most recent public attack on the PM and
his government, Kumaratunga targeted C. Mahendran, Sri
Lanka's Permanent Representative at the UN. The form
the attack took was again a letter that was made public.
In it, the President threatened to fire Mahendran,
asserting that he had deliberately scheduled the PM --
as opposed to the President -- to speak at this year's
UNGA. It is not known whether Mahendran has responded
to this letter.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-
Harsh Sounds in Singapore
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-


5. (C) Kumaratunga also hit out at a slew of targets
during a recent visit to Singapore:

-- Kumaratunga gave a speech on October 14 at the World
Economic Forum in which she criticized developed
nations, stating, in part: "We do not comprehend how
rich nations demand of us to abandon to the whims of the
global markets vulnerable sectors of our society when
they practice extensive protectionist policies in their
own countries." The speech received considerable local
publicity and was contrasted with the cooperative
approach of the Sri Lankan delegation at the recent
World Trade Organization meeting in Cancun. In the face
of domestic criticism of the speech, the president's
advisers later backpedaled a bit, asserting that she was
not speaking out against bilateral or regional free
trade agreements.

-- While in Singapore the President also gave an
interview, which was published in the October 15 edition
of the "International Herald Tribune." In the
interview, Kumaratunga criticized the government's peace
initiative, asserting that the Tamil Tigers were taking
advantage of the process. She also threatened the PM's
government, stating: "Under our constitution, the Prime
Minister is only a glorified minister. All it takes is
a one sentence letter from me to dismiss him and his
entire cabinet." Kumaratunga's interview sparked
considerable controversy back in Sri Lanka, where
business executives and editorials complained that the
President was making Sri Lanka look politically unstable
to the rest of the international community just as it
was poised to recover lost economic ground.

-- Finally, according to her Singapore government hosts,
President Kumaratunga also came off as quite difficult
to handle during the visit (see Ref B). She expressed
disappointment with her schedule and asserted that she
had not been received with full ceremonial honors.
Singapore officials were also taken aback by her
bitterness toward Prime Minister Wickremesinghe.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Tamils take a Blow
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-


6. (C) Tamils have also taken a blow from Kumaratunga.
The controversy involved a rally that the President's
Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP),the key constituent
element in her People's Alliance (PA) grouping, had
scheduled for October 24. Tamils complained that the
SLFP rally was taking place the same day as Diwali, a
major Hindu holiday, and asked that it be rescheduled
for another date. The President refused and the rally
went forward. Although there were no reported problems
associated with the rally, Tamils were extremely angry
with the President for not honoring their request, which
they felt was a sign of disrespect. In fact, one Tamil
PA MP in her party was so angry that he threatened to
bolt to the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) before calming
down and returning to the PA.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Norwegian Chief Monitor Targeted
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-


7. (C) In recent days, the President has also taken on
the Norwegian-led Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM)
(see Ref A). After weeks in which members of her party
had stepped up criticism of the Norwegian government's
facilitation effort, the President struck on October 23,
sending a letter to the GoN demanding the removal of
SLMM chief Tryggve Tellefsen. In her letter,
Kumaratunga asserted that Tellefsen was biased toward
the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE),citing an
October 16 incident in which a SLMM official had
contacted the Tigers about a purported LTTE arms
resupply ship operating off the northeast coast. The
Norwegian government, playing for time, has sent the
President a placeholder response emphasizing that Norway
is looking into the matter.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Ramping Up the Pressure
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=


8. (C) In explaining all of these abrasive steps,
contacts have told Mission that they believe President
Kumaratunga is trying to up the pressure on the Prime
Minister's government dramatically. In an October 29
meeting with polchief, Taranjit Sandhu, the Indian High
Commission polcouns, said he believed that Kumaratunga
was trying to press whatever buttons she could to pry
some MPs away from the PM's fragile coalition in
Parliament so that it would fall. Sandhu remarked that
he thought the President was misled if she thought she
could do this because he thought the PM was "stronger
than ever" and would win parliamentary elections if the
President called them. Essentially agreeing with
Sandhu, Kethesh Loganathan, an analyst at the Center for
Policy Alternatives, a local think-tank, told polchief
on October 16 that he assumed that the President was
"trying to bring on the heat" ahead of the upcoming mid-
November budget debate, which "for any government is
always a tricky time." Loganathan said he really did
not see how the President's recent moves had improved
her positioning vis-a-vis the government, however, as
her actions were "not well aimed, nor well considered."

=-=-=-=
COMMENT
=-=-=-=


9. (C) As noted, the method in Kumaratunga's seeming
madness appears to be an effort to undermine the PM's
government in coming months. If that is true,
Kumaratunga does not seem to be helping her case, and we
agree with Sandhu and Loganathan that she is losing the
popularity battle with the PM at this point. We suspect
the President is also irked by the PM's successful visit
to India last week and his Oval Office meeting next week
(an honor she has long sought).


10. (C) Moreover, her recent activities are reinforcing
her reputation for volatile and unpredictable behavior,
making her position even more difficult. Observers say
that while she was always mercurial that trait has
gotten worse since the LTTE's failed attempt to
assassinate her in December 1999 (she lost an eye in the
bomb attack). The President's behavior has fluctuated
since the attack, but has generally veered toward
vitriolic, hard-edged attacks on those who somehow
displease her. This trend is only getting worse. That
said, she can have good days. For example, her
conversation with Ambassador Lunstead after credentials
presentation last month went well, as the President was
gracious and cordial, though her bitterness toward the
government and the LTTE was clear (see Ref D). (The
President was also a charming host at a farewell dinner
for the Japanese Ambassador earlier this week, even
keeping a smile on her face when the departing envoy
sang several of his favorite Sinhalese ballads.)
Overall, however, signs for cohabitation are very poor
if the President does not adjust her behavior.
Kumaratunga's current mindset would make it very hard
for the PM to work with her, even if he could be
convinced to reach out. END COMMENT.


11. (U) Minimize considered.

ENTWISTLE