Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
03COLOMBO588
2003-04-07 10:02:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Colombo
Cable title:  

OFFICIAL INFORMAL NUMBER 54 (04-07-03)

Tags:  CE MV AGMT 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L COLOMBO 000588 

SIPDIS

OFFICIAL INFORMAL

DEPARTMENT FOR SA/INS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04-07-13
TAGS: CE MV AGMT
SUBJECT: OFFICIAL INFORMAL NUMBER 54 (04-07-03)
Classified by Ambassador Wills, Reasons 1.5 (b, d)

CONTENTS: MEETING THE PRESIDENT -- AND HER BROTHER
- LOCAL REACTION RE IRAQ

MEETING THE PRESIDENT -- AND HER BROTHER
----------------------------------------
C O N F I D E N T I A L COLOMBO 000588

SIPDIS

OFFICIAL INFORMAL

DEPARTMENT FOR SA/INS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04-07-13
TAGS: CE MV AGMT
SUBJECT: OFFICIAL INFORMAL NUMBER 54 (04-07-03)
Classified by Ambassador Wills, Reasons 1.5 (b, d)

CONTENTS: MEETING THE PRESIDENT -- AND HER BROTHER
- LOCAL REACTION RE IRAQ

MEETING THE PRESIDENT -- AND HER BROTHER
--------------

1. (C) Please see Colombo 587, which reviews the
Ambassador's April 5 meeting with President Kumaratunga.
(Note: By the way, CBK is slated to be in Chennai and
New Delhi for four days. She has meetings with top GoI
and opposition figures, including Sonia Gandhi and
Jayalalitha.)


2. (C) The Ambassador also met with Anura Bandaranaike,
her brother and a senior PA MP, on April 7. Bandaranaike
was in a relatively jovial mood and was more cogent than
his sis. Re cohabitation, he thought it was working to
some extent, but that a lot of tension remained between
the president and the PM (no argument from us in that
point!). He really did not see any possibility of the
two sides' (PA and UNP) working together given all of the
stresses. As we have reported, Bandaranaike was strongly
in favor of the PA's working out a deal with the JVP.
Like other PA'ers we have met, he thought the party could
easily subsume the JVP, just as it had other left wing
parties in the past. He admitted that the road to a
formal PA/JVP alliance seemed to be getting a bit
difficult, as the JVP had not yet agreed to the PA's
plans re federalism as encapsulated in CBK's 2000
devolution plan. That said, Bandaranaike predicted a
deal could be done by June (a bit later than we had heard
before). If there was a deal, he did not think a snap
election was immediately forthcoming, but he predicted
one by next year. (POL)

LOCAL REACTION RE IRAQ
--------------

3. (C) Local reaction re Iraq is real, real quiet.
The papers have lots of coverage re the dramatic events
re Baghdad, but editorials are moving on to other local
subjects like the death penalty and whether a peace
process referendum is necessary. As we reported to you,
demonstrations in SL on Friday, April 4, were very, very
small. We have heard no reports of future rallies at this
point. When asked about Iraq, Anura Bandaranaike (see
above) waved his hand, indicating that he preferred to
talk about other, more relevant (and less contentious)
subjects. (POL)

WILLS