OFFICIAL INFORMAL NUMBER 076 (05/26/04)

C O N F I D E N T I A L COLOMBO 000877 SIPDIS OFFICIAL INFORMAL FOR SA/INS E.O. 12958: DECL: 5/26/14 TAGS: AMGT CE MV LTTE SUBJECT: OFFICIAL INFORMAL NUMBER 076 (05/26/04) Classified by DCM James F. Entwistle for reasons 1.5 (b) and (d). CONTENTS: CALL FROM OPS CENTER RE SOLHEIM VISIT - KADIRGAMAR REPORTEDLY OFF TO INDIA SOON CALL FROM OPS CENTER RE SOLHEIM VISIT -------------- ¶1. (C) FYI. We received a call today from the Ops Center asking whether President Kumaratunga's rescheduling of her planned meeting with visiting GoN envoy Erik Solheim was a deliberate snub. (The meeting was slated to take place on May 25 and is now scheduled to take place later this week, from what we have heard.) We have tried to call the Norwegian Embassy to ask about the situation, but embassy personnel are out with Solheim, who is scheduled to meet with the Tigers today (May 26) in the Vanni. We told the Ops Center that we have not seen any indications that the rescheduling of the meeting was meant as any sort of snub, however, since the President apparently was late returning from a trip to Kandy. The President is certainly capable of delivering this type of snub and she has done so in the past. That said, she has been trying to be nice to the Norwegians of late and we see no reason she would be nasty to Solheim. And, as we experience regularly ourselves, sudden cancellations of or long waits for Presidential appointments are the norm here. FYI - the Ambassador will meet with Solheim Friday. (POL) KADIRGAMAR REPORTEDLY OFF TO INDIA SOON -------------- ¶2. (SBU) FYI. The papers are reporting that FM Kadirgamar is planning to visit India shortly to meet with the new government. We are trying to confirm the reports with the MFA. (Kadirgamar visited New Delhi right after the UPFA electoral triumph in April, meeting with the then-BJP government.) (POL) LUNSTEAD