SRI LANKA: FOREIGN MINISTER PROVIDES HIS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 001555

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS; NSC FOR DORMANDY
PLEASE ALSO PASS TOPEC

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/20/2014
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER CE LTTE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: FOREIGN MINISTER PROVIDES HIS
ASSESSMENT OF THE GOVERNMENT AND THE PEACE PROCESS

REF: COLOMBO 1526 AND PREVIOUS

Classified By: Ambassador Jeffrey J. Lunstead. Reason 1.4(b,d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: In a September 15 meeting with the
Ambassador, Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar provided his
update on the peace process with the Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam (LTTE),stating that the group was creating
barriers to resuming negotiations. Kadirgamar added that he
was appreciative of the international community's pressure on
the Tigers and thought that it was beginning to have a small
impact on them. Kadirgamar said that the recently publicized
support for the government by the Ceylon Workers
Congress(CWC) gave the government its parliamentary majority
and ensured the government's stability through the budget
debate. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) The Ambassador met with Foreign Minister Lakshman
Kadirgamar on September 15. The Ambassador said when he saw
Deputy Secretary Armitage in mid-August, he underscored
President Kumaratunga's flexibility on the agenda for
returning to talks, in the face of LTTE recalcitrance and
continued killings of its opponents. The Ambassador added
that the Deputy Secretary remains deeply interested in Sri
Lanka and the two had specifically discussed the text of the
August 19 press statement released in Washington.


3. (C) The FM and Ambassador both agreed that part of the
difficulty in getting the LTTE back to the peace talks was
that the group did not respond to traditional incentives of
financial or economic assistance, but did whatever was
necessary to further its political goals. Kadirgamar said he
tried to explain that to Japanese officials during his recent
trip to Tokyo and urged the Japanese to be patient with the
GSL. The international pressure was very useful and
beginning to have a small effect on the LTTE, Kadirgamar
said, adding that he appreciated the strong statements by
Ambassador Black during his September 7-9 visit to Sri Lanka.
Echoing comments of many other government and non-government
interlocutors, the Foreign Minister also thought that the
LTTE's lack of control in the East was another significant
reason in delaying its return to peace talks.


4. (C) Turning to local politics, Kadirgamar characterized
the recently announced support for the government by the
upcountry Tamil estate workers party, Ceylon Workers Congress
(CWC),as a "majority on paper." The Foreign Minister did
add, however, that the government would likely no longer
pursue the support of the nine-MPs party of Buddhist monks,
the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU). In his opinion, the "budget
was safe," referring to the annual end-of-year debate on the
government's fiscal agenda that is often very politicized.
Kadirgamar indicated that the government was busy with
preparing the budget, which would have its first reading in
Parliament on November 19.


5. (C) As for the government's main coalition partner, the
leftist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP),Kadirgamar told the
Ambassador that the group was doing well, not complaining
about "fundamental issues," except for the LTTE's Interim
Self-Governing Authority (ISGA) proposal. The Foreign
Minister conceded, however, that the JVP had a pretty firm
line against the Tigers' proposal. He added that the Tigers
were very aware of the JVP's negative stance and were
continually using that rhetoric in their resistance to resume
negotiations.


6. (C) COMMENT: The Foreign Minister offered his assessment
of politics in Sri Lanka: the President's government was
doing fine, the JVP were coming along and the LTTE was still
operating by its own rules. He continued his praise for
international, especially U.S., pressure on the Tigers but
did not offer any new ideas for getting the group back to the
peace table. He seemed content to let LTTE's internal
struggle in the East provide the excuse for lack of
negotiations. Kadirgamar, a major JVP supporter, may likely
have this attitude because he recognizes that the government
still has its own internal dissension on the agenda for talks
with the LTTE and has not been successful in getting the JVP
to toe the party line. END COMMENT.
LUNSTEAD