In meeting with Ambassador, key aide reviews

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000674

SIPDIS

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

LONDON FOR POL/RIEDEL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04-17-13
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER CE IN NO JA LTTE
SUBJECT: In meeting with Ambassador, key aide reviews
President Kumaratunga's recent visit to India

Refs: Colombo 658, and previous

(U) Classified by Ambassador E. Ashley Wills.
Reasons: 1.5 (b, d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: In an April 16 meeting, former FM
Kadirgamar provided a readout of President Kumaratunga's
recent visit to India. Based on the New Delhi meetings,
Kadirgamar said the GoI seemed to want to become more
engaged re Sri Lanka. In Chennai, Chief Minister
Jayalalitha Jeyaram underscored her deep animus toward
the Tigers. Kadirgamar appeared satisfied with the
visit. END SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) The Ambassador met April 16 with Lakshman
Kadirgamar, a key aide to President Kumaratunga.
(Note: Kadirgamar is a former foreign minister and is
currently a senior People's Alliance MP.) Kadirgamar,
who was on her delegation, provided a brief readout on
Kumaratunga's April 7-10 visit to India.


3. (C) NEW DELHI: Kadirgamar said the president met
with a panoply of top Indian government officials,
including PM Vajpayee, Deputy PM Advani, Minister of
External Affairs Sinha, and Finance Minister Singh.
Kadirgamar related that the president used the meetings
to brief on the status of the peace process. In doing
this, he said she expressed overall support for the
process, but stressed her concerns re the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).


4. (C) Kadirgamar said the president's interlocutors
listened carefully to her comments. Taken as a whole,
he thought that the Indian officials appeared much more
interested in Sri Lanka during the just concluded visit,
as compared with her previous visit to India in early

2002. Kadirgamar said he got the strong feeling that
India wanted to get more engaged in Sri Lanka's peace
process in some way. That said, GoI officials
emphasized that India had no plans to assume a specific
role, such as that of peace facilitator or otherwise.
Ambassador Wills commented that the U.S. has encouraged
India to get more involved regarding Sri Lanka. As the
major regional power, it can play a key role in
solidifying the process, he noted.


5. (C) While in New Delhi, Kumaratunga also met with
Sonia Gandhi, the head of the Congress Party. According
to Kadirgamar, Gandhi, who was joined by assistant
Natwar Singh, listened intently to Kumaratunga's points
re Sri Lanka, but made few comments, preferring to focus
her remarks on domestic Indian politics. Gandhi, for
example, made no comments re the ultimate fate of LTTE
leader V. Prabhakaran should there be a negotiated
settlement of the conflict. (Note: Prabhakaran is
under indictment in India for the assassination of
former PM Rajiv Gandhi in 1991. The GSL received an
extradition request for Prabhakaran some years ago.)


6. (C) CHENNAI: Before proceeding to New Delhi,
Kumaratunga made a brief stopover to meet with Tamil
Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha Jeyaram. Kadirgamar
indicated that the meeting was very cordial, with an
animated Jayalalitha dominating the discussion. The
chief minister repeatedly made clear her long-standing
animus toward the LTTE and her doubts that the peace
process would work because of the group. She expressed
deep concern about the detention of Indian fishermen in
Sri Lanka, especially by the Tigers. The two also
discussed the fate of the approximately 100,000 Sri
Lankan Tamil refugees living in India. (Note: Per
Reftels, about 300,000 displaced persons have returned
to their home areas in Sri Lanka since the start of the
peace process, but very few refugees have gone back, so
far.)

7. (C) COMMENT: Kadirgamar seemed satisfied with the
visit. The president certainly received excellent press
coverage back home. This is important for her, as she
desperately tries to show that she is still "relevant."
Based on what we are hearing, Kumaratunga did not come
on strong in her meetings by hitting out hard against
her cohabitation rival, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe,
or the Tamil Tigers. (Note: She has reportedly tried
the hard-line tack before with Indians and not made much
headway with it.) In reporting that India might be
aiming to get more engaged, Kadirgamar seemed to think
that that meant the GoI would join the president in her
skepticism toward the peace process. We're not sure
where he may have got that impression, or whether it's a
fantasy. END COMMENT.


8. (U) Minimize considered.

WILLS