Sri Lanka: President swears in new Cabinet

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000637

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS, INR/NESA
DEPARTMENT PLEASE ALSO PASS TOPEC
NSC FOR E. MILLARD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04-14-14
TAGS: PGOV PINS PINR CE
SUBJECT: Sri Lanka: President swears in new Cabinet
amid dispute with key coalition partner

Refs: (A) Colombo - SA/INS 04-14-04 unclass email

- (B) Colombo 620, and previous

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


1. (C) SUMMARY: President Kumaratunga swore in Sri
Lanka's new Cabinet on April 10. As expected, the
President kept control of the defense and internal
security portfolios, while key SLFP advisers received
most of the other top portfolios. The radical JVP, a
key SLFP ally in the recent campaign, boycotted the
ceremony in a dispute over the ministries it was to
receive. The dispute may be papered over quickly and
several JVP ministers sworn in soon, but, even if that
happens, there is little doubt that the SLFP-JVP
coalition is inherently fragile. END SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) NEW CABINET SWORN IN: President Chandrika
Bandaranaike Kumaratunga named her new Cabinet, swearing
in 31 ministers and roughly 30 deputy ministers on
April 10. (A full list of the ministerial appointments
is contained in Ref A.) The swearing in ceremony at the
President's House in the Fort area of Colombo was
delayed several hours due to a dispute with the Marxist
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, "JVP," a key partner in the
President's United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA)
coalition. In the end, the swearing in ceremony went
forward despite the JVP's decision to boycott the
occasion.


3. (SBU) As expected, the President kept control of the
defense and internal security (formerly interior)
portfolios, while key Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP)
advisers received most of the other top portfolios
(foreign ministry, finance, trade, etc.). (The
President also took control of the constitutional
affairs and education ministries.) Most of the rest of
the ministerial positions were awarded to SLFP MPs, as
well as members of other parties that had supported her
alliance in the April 2 election. Separate from the
portfolios slated to go to the JVP (see below),several
additional ministries -- including those connected with
north/east rehabilitation, Buddhist affairs, and the
upcountry tea plantations -- also remain without
ministerial appointments.


4. (SBU) Key appointments in the new Cabinet follow
(bio-data on key ministers will be provided via Septel):

-- Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse was also made
Minister of Highways.

-- Lakshman Kadirgamar was appointed as Foreign
Minister, the same position he held in the President's
People's Alliance government from 1994-2001.

-- Sarath Amunugama, SLFP spokesman and a senior MP, was
appointed Finance Minister.

-- Mangala Samaraweera, a senior SLFP MP and a former
minister, was appointed Minister of Ports and Aviation.

-- Anura Bandaranaike, President Kumaratunga's brother
and a former minister, was appointed Minister of
Industry, Tourism, and Investment Promotion.

-- Jeyaraj Fernandopulle, a senior SLFP MP, was named
Minister of Trade, Commerce, and Consumer Affairs.

-- Ferial Ashraff, head of the Muslim National Unity
Alliance (NUA),was appointed as Minister of Housing and
Construction Industry, Eastern Province Education, and
Irrigation Development.

-- Douglas Devananda, head of the anti-Tamil Tiger Eelam
People's Democratic Party (EPDP),was appointed Minister
of Agricultural Marketing Development, Hindu Affairs and
Tamil Language Schools and Vocational Training (North).

5. (C) DISPUTE WITH JVP: In a sign of the fragility of
the UPFA coalition, the JVP boycotted the April 10
ministerial oath-taking due to differences with the
President over four cabinet portfolios (National
Heritage and Culture, Fisheries and Aquatic Resources,
Rural Economy and Agriculture, and Lands and Irrigation)
originally allotted to them. Officially, the JVP's
absence from the ceremony was due its leaders'
participation in a rally commemorating the JVP's 1971
armed insurrection. According to contacts, however, JVP
members boycotted the swearing in ceremony because
significant portions of the portfolios that had been
assigned them had been re-assigned to other ministries.
For example, the JVP was angered that the Mahaveli
(interior river system) Development sector had been
removed from the agriculture ministry. In addition to
the complaints regarding Cabinet portfolios, the JVP was
also reportedly unhappy that Mahinda Rajapakse had been
named PM, over Lakshman Kadirgamar or even another
member of the SLFP. (Rajapakse, who hails from southern
Sri Lanka, is a long-standing foe of the JVP, which is
strong in that region.)


6. (SBU) In an effort to resolve the dispute with the
JVP, the President has established a five-member
committee. At present, the President is refraining from
further discussions with the JVP until she receives the
recommendations from this committee. There has been no
indication from the committee, as of yet, regarding any
schedule of meetings or date to present a report to the
President.


7. (C) COMMENT: The SLFP/JVP dispute may be papered
over quickly and several JVP ministers sworn in soon,
but, even if that happens, there is little doubt that
the SLFP-JVP coalition is inherently fragile. The JVP,
after immense electoral success, is clearly feeling its
oats and will bicker with the SLFP if it feels its voice
is not being heard. At the same time, President
Kumaratunga is a brutal political infighter and almost
certainly will not bow down to the JVP if she can help
it. All of this does not bode well for amity in the
coalition. In the meantime, the President has other
troubles. Although she has now appointed ministers for
her new government, her coalition has yet to attain a
majority in the Parliament. At present, her UPFA
alliance is still seven seats short of the minimum 113
seats necessary. During a April 11 meeting with a
visiting U.S. Congressional delegation, Prime Minister
Mahinda Rajapakse told Representative Dreier that
establishing the UPFA's majority status was his top
priority before the new Parliament convenes on April 22.
Our guess is that majority status for the UPFA is
attainable, but it may take a lot more bargaining with
smaller parties. END COMMENT.


8. (U) Minimize considered.

LUNSTEAD