Domestic Politics Update: Meeting between PM-

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 000994

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS, INR/NESA
NSC FOR E. MILLARD
LONDON FOR POL/RIEDEL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06-09-13
TAGS: PGOV PINR PINS PHUM SOCI CE
SUBJECT: Domestic Politics Update: Meeting between PM-
presidential aide stirs questions; MPs acting badly

Refs: Colombo 975, and previous

(U) Classified by Lewis Amselem, Charge d'Affaires.
Reasons: 1.5 (b, d).


1. (C) This update of Sri Lanka's domestic
political situation reviews the following:

-- In meeting, prime minister and key presidential aide
reportedly discuss coalition government

-- Supreme Court ruling puts provincial chief ministers
in jeopardy

-- Sri Lanka debates whether to lift long-standing
moratorium and re-impose the death penalty

-- Cricket board election hurts political prospects of
Opposition's bright new star

-- Governing party MPs acting badly

===============================
Coalition Government Discussed?
===============================


2. (C) There are reports that the GSL and the
Opposition may have discussed forming a coalition
government. Key presidential advisor Lakshman
Kadirgamar was reported to have proposed a coalition
between the president's Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP)
and the ruling United National Front (UNF) during talks
with Prime Minister Wickremesinghe on June 6.
(Note: The SLFP is the key constituent element of the
People's Alliance party. Kadirgamar is a former foreign
minister.) The press reports also indicate that
President Kumaratunga was considering naming Kadirgamar
as "interim prime minister" under this coalition
proposition. In remarks cited by the press on June 8,
Kadirgamar denied the "coalition proposal" report.
Early June 9, presidential spokesman Harim Peiris gave
some validity to the report, telling us that the concept
of the SLFP and UNF working closer together "probably
surfaced" during the PM-Kadirgamar discussion. Peiris
stressed, however, that the conversation probably did
not involve a proposal for a joint government.


3. (C) COMMENT: What exactly took place during the
PM/Kadirgamar discussion is a bit mysterious. In the
past, there has been off-and-on talk of the two major
parties, i.e., the UNF and the SLFP, forming some sort
of "national" government, but those proposals went
nowhere. In fact, the SLFP has been discussing a formal
alignment with the radical Janantha Vimukthi Peramuna
(JVP) party of late, which would preclude a link with
the UNF. While it is possible that the reports are some
sort of trial balloon put out by someone, our guess is
that a UNF-SLFP linkage is not in the cards at this
point, as there is too much bad blood between the two
sides. END COMMENT.

=========================
Ruling re Chief Ministers
=========================


4. (C) In a ruling with potentially wide political
ramifications, Sri Lanka's Supreme Court has ruled
against the legality of the chief minister of Uva
province's right to hold his office. (Note: FYI. Uva
is a tea growing region located in Sri Lanka's
southeast.) The ruling stated that the minister, a
member of the opposition People's Alliance (PA) party,
was not eligible to be nominated for the vacancy because
he was not originally a candidate during the 1999
provincial council election. While the ruling
technically addresses only the Uva province chief
minister's slot, two other PA-party chief ministers (for
the Western and the North-Central provinces) were
selected in the same way that the court ruled against.
We understand that the Uva chief minister is planning to
appeal the ruling.


5. (C) COMMENT: Sri Lanka has seven provincial
councils, with the PA controlling six of them. The
provincial councils and their chief minister positions
are not very powerful at this time. That could change,
especially if the GSL and the Tamil Tigers agree to form
a semi-autonomous set-up in the north/east, which could
lead to devolved powers in the rest of the country. In
any case, the ruling is a black eye for the PA, which
controls most of the councils now. President
Kumaratunga is said to be upset by the ruling and
considering next steps. END COMMENT.

====================
Death penalty debate
====================


6. (C) Sri Lanka continues to debate whether to lift a
long-standing moratorium and re-impose the death
penalty. A parliamentary debate recently took place on
the issue. The June 5 debate was introduced by eight
MPs from the ruling UNF who are in favor of bringing the
death penalty back. The eight argued that Sri Lanka has
a law-and-order problem and needs the death penalty as a
deterrent. Other UNF members, including Foreign
Minister Tyronne Fernando, stated their opposition to
the death penalty. MPs from the opposition People's
Alliance (PA) also came down on both sides of the issue.
Regarding President Kumaratunga's views, presidential
spokesman Harim Peiris is quoted as saying the president
continues to oppose the death penalty.


7. (C) COMMENT: Sri Lanka has not had an execution
since 1976 and it is not likely to have one anytime soon
in spite of the debate on the issue. Even if the UNF
government decides that the death penalty should be
brought back (and it is not clear where the PM stands on
the issue),the matter is ultimately in the hands of the
president, who, per Peiris' comments, seems dead set
against re-imposition. All that said, some in the UNF
are genuinely worried by rising crime -- and also
clearly see a lot of political mileage to be gained by
raising the issue and using it to get at the president.
END COMMENT.

============================================
Cricket Board election hurts Opposition Star
============================================


8. (C) The June 6 election of officers for Sri Lanka's
national cricket board has hurt the political prospects
of the Opposition's bright new star. (Note: The
technical name of the body is "Board of Control for
Cricket in Sri Lanka." The election involved the
tabulation of votes of members of cricket clubs around
the country.) In the election for president of the
board, Arjuna Ranatunga, an MP for the president's
People's Alliance (PA) party, lost the race in decisive
manner, polling less than five percent of the votes.
The loss was a bitter defeat for Ranatunga, a well-known
former cricketeer, who as captain of the team led Sri
Lanka to the 1996 world championship. The winner of the
race, Thilanga Sumathipala, is a businessman, who
maintains close ties with the governing UNF.


9. (C) COMMENT: Cricket is Sri Lanka's most popular
sport, maintaining the combined popularity that our "big
four" sports -- football, baseball, basketball, ice
hockey -- have all wrapped into one. As such, the
cricket board presidency is a very prestigious job,
which has been held in the past by powerful politicians,
including Foreign Minister Tyronne Fernando. The fact
that Ranatunga, a protege of President Kumaratunga, lost
the race in a landslide dulls his political star a bit.
That said, Ranatunga is good on the hustings and could
recover a bit of his previous lustre over time. It is
not clear whether or not the winner of the race,
Thilanga Sumathipala, has political ambitions. END
COMMENT.
================================
Governing Party MPs acting badly
================================


10. (C) A recent spate of alleged criminal activities
by parliamentarians has hit the newspapers. Almost all
of the cases involve members of the UNF governing
coalition, although there have been some involving
members of other parties. Recent incidents include:

-- On June 6, Minister of Fisheries Mahinda Wijesekara
is alleged to have publicly threatened a reporter who
wrote a negative article about the minister some 18
months ago. The incident allegedly took place at a local
restaurant. Wijesekara, with a bit of a wink and a nod,
has repeatedly denied threatening the reporter.

-- June 1 newspaper reports accused Minister of State
Transport Upali Piyasoma with assisting visa fraud.
Piyasoma was accused of interfering with his daughter's
effort to obtain a visa to the UK by telling lies about
her status. She was ultimately refused a visa.

-- On May 25, UNF MP Dulip Wedaarchi fired shots outside
a wedding reception at a hotel in Colombo. No one was
injured in the firing. Wedaarchi said he was upset and
decided to shoot off his gun.


11. (C) COMMENT: The prime minister is said to be very
angry over these reports and has called for his party to
create a code of conduct for MPs. A draft code is
currently being hashed out. Few people, however,
believe that the proposed code will put a stop to such
incidents. Indeed, if past patterns hold up, some
observers expect that the incidents will continue to
pile up the longer the government is in power. (Note:
By the end of its time in power in late 2001, the
previous PA government -- which had already been in
power for seven years -- was experiencing a recurring
nightmare of violence-tinged incidents involving MPs.
These incidents seriously hurt its reputation.) END
COMMENT.


12. (U) Minimize considered.

AMSELEM