Sri Lanka update: No resolution in "cordial"

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 001956

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR D, SA, SA/INS, SA/PD, S/CT; NSC FOR E.
MILLARD

PLEASE ALSO PASS TOPEC

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11-12-13
TAGS: PGOV PINS PTER PINR NO CE
SUBJECT: Sri Lanka update: No resolution in "cordial"
President-PM meeting; Norwegians here to meet all sides

Refs: (A) Colombo 1943

- (B) Colombo 1942, and previous

(U) Classified by Ambassador Jeffrey J. Lunstead.
Reasons 1.5 (b,d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: Prime Minister Wickremesinghe met with
President Kumaratunga on November 12 with no discernible
resolution to the political turmoil. A Norwegian
delegation arrived to meet with all parties regarding
recent political events and its effect on the peace
process. Separately, Tamils and Muslims expressed
concern over the President's November 4-5 actions to the
visiting Norwegian peace facilitators. Buddhist monks
told the President she should have consulted with the PM
prior to taking action. As the various parties continue
discussions, the next week may be crucial to the
resolution of this political stalemate. END SUMMARY.

President meets with PM
--------------

2. (C) On November 12, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe
met with President Kumaratunga, in response to the
latter's invitation to discuss her "grand alliance"
government proposal. While there has been no
substantial readout of the 2 and a half hour meeting,
Bradman Weerakoon, the PM's secretary has been quoted as
saying it "went well," and characterized it as "cordial
and friendly." Reports indicate that, as no agreement
between the President and PM was reached, they have
agreed to further talks. A joint President/PM press
statement issued late on November 12 confirmed that
further talks would be planned for next week.

Norwegians arrive to hear all parties' sides
--------------

3. (C) Vidar Helgesen, Norwegian Deputy Foreign
Minister and special envoy Erik Solheim began their
visit on November 11 by meeting separately with Tamil
National Alliance (TNA) and Sri Lanka Muslim Congress
(SLMC) parliamentarians. (See below for TNA and SLMC
comments on the meetings with the Norwegians.) Tomas
Stangeland, Norwegian Embassy political officer, told
poloff on November 12 that the delegation remains
concerned about the peace process, but will not make any
public comments until it speaks with all parties. The
Norwegian delegation is scheduled to meet with President
Kumaratunga late afternoon on November 12, before going
to LTTE headquarters in the Wanni on November 13 for a
meeting with Tiger leader V. Prabakharan. According to
Stangeland, Helgesen intends to brief the diplomatic
community early on November 14 before returning to
Norway.


4. (C) Helgesen and Solheim, in a November 12 meeting
with Ambassador, said the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission
(SLMM) told them that the military was conducting
themselves properly in recent days. Helgesen also said
that Norway would find it difficult, if not impossible,
to continue the facilitation role if it were not clear
who was in charge in the government. In additional
comments to poloff on November 12, Agnes Bragadottir,
SLMM spokeswoman, said that there "had been little
change in the functioning of the defense forces," in
response to the President's takeover of the Defense
ministry.

Tamils express concern over President's sincerity
-------------- --------------

5. (C) In a November 11 meeting, members of the pro-
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) TNA told
visiting Norwegian special envoy Erik Solheim that
defense arrangements should "remain in the hands of one
party that is dedicated to take forward the current
peace process with sincerity," according to press
reports. Gajen Ponnambalam, TNA MP, told Pol FSN on
November 12 that it was "impossible" to work with the
President on the peace process while she held the
Defense portfolio, as there was no trust in the
President among the Tamil community. Echoing
Ponnambalam's comments, Joseph Pararajasingham, another
TNA member, told poloff that the peace process should
continue under the PM, as Tamils could not have faith in
President Kumaratunga's handling of the peace process,
given some of her past actions towards the LTTE, such as
her non-response to a unilateral ceasefire offered by
the group in 2000. In an effort to discuss their
concerns, a TNA delegation is scheduled to meet with the
Prime Minister late on November 12.

Muslims cite concerns in meeting with Norwegians
-------------- ---

6. (C) For their part, eight Sri Lanka Muslim Congress
(SLMC) MPs expressed to the Norwegians their concern
that the GSL will not take responsibility for any peace
process negotiations without control of the defense and
interior ministries. A.M. Jaufer, Parliamentary
Secretary to senior Muslim leader Rauf Hakeem, told

SIPDIS
poloff on November 12 that the group further made clear
their demand for a separate Muslim delegation at future
GSL-LTTE peace talks. Jaufer, confirming that the SLMC
was formulating a response to the LTTE's October 31
counterproposals to the GSL, anticipated another two
months before the response was finalized.

GSL: Determine responsibility before talks resume
-------------- --------------

7. (C) G.L. Peiris, a key government minister and the
United National Party (UNP) spokesman (not to mention
the lead negotiator with the LTTE),told press late on
November 10 that the government needed to determine who
would be responsible for the peace process before direct
negotiations with the Tigers could resume. Peiris
stated that it was "realistic to assume" that the
President's actions of November 4-5 had placed the peace
process at "some risk," according to press reports.
Peiris reiterated the earlier UNP position that
responsibility for the peace process should reside in
one person, adding that if President Kumaratunga was not
willing to take responsibility for the peace process "in
total," then she should return control of the three key
ministries she had assumed.

Buddhist clergy negative on President's actions
-------------- --

8. (C) At the President's invitation, Buddhist clergy
met with her on November 12 to hear the explanation of
her takeover of the defense, interior, and mass
communications ministries. Reverend Wimalaratana, a
well-respected, moderate Buddhist monk who attended the
meeting, told us that the President underscored that
current security situation combined with the PM's
failure to listen to her advice led her to take action.
In response to the President's actions, the clergy told
the President that she should have consulted with the PM
prior to taking over the ministries. According to
Wimalaratana, the President replied that she felt
compelled to act and had no time for discussions with
the PM. In speaking about the peace process, the
President told the clergy that she was not ready to
accept full responsibility for the peace process, but
wanted to work together through her proposal for a
"grand alliance" for all parties. The monks expressed
doubt about the future of the peace process, but stated
to the President that peace process efforts should
continue.


9. (C) In November 12 conversations with the political
section, two members of the Buddhist clergy from the
Malwatte and Asgiriya temples (the two leading monastic
orders) expressed their disappointment with the
President and her actions. Venerable Dehideniye
Ratanasara, deputy chief of the Malwatte temple, told
Pol FSN that the President's actions were destabilizing
for the country. Ratanasara felt that the President
should support the PM in his government's efforts to
negotiate a peaceful, durable solution with the Tigers.
Venerable Koshinne Dhammarama from the Asgirya temple
further mentioned that, in working with the government,
the President should return control of the ministries to
the GSL.


10. (C) COMMENT: As the various parties continue
discussions, the next weeks may be crucial to the
resolution of this political stalemate. The PM
continues to emphasize that he cannot continue the peace
process if there is split responsibility, i.e. if the
President continues to hold the Defense portfolio. As
for the President, various parties continue to speak out
against her actions of last week. The effort of
resolving the impasse between the PM and President is
likely to be lengthy, with the peace process on hold in
the meantime. We find it very encouraging, however,
that the first PM-President meeting lasted at least two
hours and that apparently agreement was reached to meet
again. END COMMENT.


11. (U) Minimize considered.

LUNSTEAD