In meeting with Ambassador, President

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 000983

SIPDIS

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

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06-14-14
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER CE LTTE
SUBJECT: In meeting with Ambassador, President
discusses the obstacles to peace talks with the Tigers

Refs: (A) Colombo-SA/INS 06-14-04 unclass email

- (B) Colombo 959, and previous

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


1. (C) SUMMARY: In a June 11 meeting with the
Ambassador, President Kumaratunga expressed her
appreciation for the Co-Chairs' support for the peace
process and indicated her desire and difficulties in
getting the Tigers back to peace negotiations. Her
flexibility on the substance of the proposed discussions
have not netted her any reciprocal compromise from the
LTTE, who remain insistent on only discussing interim
administration issues at the peace table. In the
meantime, the President has publicly outlined her plans
regarding the GSL's involvement in peace negotiations,
including efforts to involve the body politic in the
process. With the Tigers continuing to be unyielding
and the latest confusion regarding the President's
position on agenda items for the talks, the peace
process continues to be shaky and it is not apparent
from where a fresh idea for restarting talks will
emerge. END SUMMARY.

President: Ready to talk with Tigers
--------------


2. (C) On the morning of June 11, the Ambassador was
unexpectedly called to see President Chandrika
Kumaratunga later that afternoon. As the meeting
started, it became evident that the President had
responded to the Ambassador's meeting request of several
days earlier to brief her on the Co-Chairs June 1
meeting in Brussels and subsequent press statement. (At
the beginning of the meeting, a tired-looking President
said she was departing on June 13 on a personal trip to
London; news reports have indicated she is attending
daughter Yasodhara's medical school graduation.)
Thanking the President for seeing him when she was
clearly busy, the Ambassador said Deputy Secretary
Armitage had personally underscored the sense of urgency
the Co-Chairs felt. All parties in Sri Lanka had to
work on resuming peace negotiations. Although the
international community was vested in a political
solution to the GSL's conflict with the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE),the Ambassador said that
other world issues would compete for donors' attention
and financial aid, especially if Sri Lanka's peace
process continued to drift.


3. (C) On one point, however, the Ambassador said there
should be no question of the international community's
support -- that all were committed to ensuring the
sovereignty of Sri Lanka throughout the peace process.
Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, also present at
the meeting, shared a letter from Chris Patten, EU
Commissioner of External Relations, which further
emphasized the Co-Chairs' support for Sri Lankan
sovereignty.


4. (C) The President responded that she was appreciative
of the Co-Chairs' message of encouragement. She
concurred with the need to resume peace talks with the
LTTE as soon as possible and felt there was still hope
for progress, despite the remaining differences between
the two sides. Both sides were ready to talk. The
Norwegian facilitators were insistent on having an
established agenda to frame the discussions, and that
the two sides needed to agree on a public statement.
The President stated, however, that in several drafts of
a statement, the Norwegians had reflected mostly the
LTTE's position, without sufficiently taking GSL issues
into account.


5. (C) She specifically highlighted the Tigers'
position to only discuss an interim administration -- on
the basis of their Interim Self Governing Authority
(ISGA) proposal -- with talks on final issues to follow
subsequently. Detailing the evolution of her thinking,
the President said that she would be willing to soften
the GSL's stance that interim and final issues be
discussed in parallel, if the LTTE agreed to start final
talks as a mutually approved interim arrangement was
being implemented. In response, she said, the LTTE
would only commit to discussing final issues after an
interim arrangement was "operational." The President
was not receptive to this idea.


6. (C) Separately, the President described her June 10
evening meeting with 20 MPs from the Tamil National
Alliance (TNA),calling the politicians "sincere" in
their commitment to the peace process. (See below for
the TNA readout of the meeting.) She was said the group
assured her that the LTTE would not seek a separate
state, if they were granted an interim administration
for the north/east. The MPs also felt that it was
within her power to change the constitution to
facilitate a permanent solution to the conflict. The
President said she replied that her power was from the
people and she had to include them in the process.

Tamil Politicians Upbeat after Presidential Meeting
-------------- --------------


7. (C) Following the June 10 meeting with the President
-- the group's first private meeting with her in over
two years -- the Tamil MPs declared that the President
had agreed to the LTTE's stance that the ISGA would be
the basis for talks. The same day, pro-LTTE website
"TamilNet" reported that the President agreed to discuss
"core issues after the conclusion of talks on the ISGA."
Separately, one TNA MP told POL FSN that the President
would commence talks in August, based on the LTTE's ISGA
proposal.


8. (C) The President did not agree with the TNA's
version of the June 10 meeting. She expressed
frustration when recounting early June 11 comments made
by R. Sampanthan, a senior TNA MP, who told the press
the President had agreed to discuss the ISGA, set up an
interim administration and then talk about final issues.

Presidential Address
--------------


9. (C) In her first major address since the April 2
parliamentary elections that brought her United People's
Freedom Alliance (UPFA) to power, the President
delivered a televised speech to the nation on the
evening of June 12. The wide-ranging speech outlined
key policy initiatives on the economic and political
matters, including the peace process. Highlights of the
speech (Ref A),as related to the peace process follow:

-- "The two parties (GSL and LTTE) are still working out
what the next round of peace negotiations should be
about," referring to the LTTE's desire to focus on
interim administration only while the government wished
to also engage in discussions on a permanent solution.

-- "As a responsible Government, we take very seriously
the urgent need to undertake effective development work
in the North & East, and are willing to explore with the
LTTE interim political measures that can address this
need...with the sovereignty...of the country."

-- The creation of a "broad-based national forum -- the
National Advisory Council on Peace and Reconciliation --
that will provide a mean for the people of the country
to contribute to a political settlement and work towards
reconciliation."

-- The establishment of a "continuing dialogue with all
the political leaders of the various communities and
groups represented in Parliament...parallel to talks
between the GSL and the LTTE." The dialogue is intended
to keep the country informed of progress of talks with
the LTTE and to convey to the LTTE the views of all
concerned parties. (The President had also expressed
her intent to the Ambassador to convene the political
parties for such a dialogue.)

-- "A negotiating team will be nominated from among
senior Cabinet Ministers, after dates for talks are
agreed upon."


10. (C) On June 13, TamilNet carried reports of a
negative LTTE reaction to the President's speech,
accusing her of "linking the ISGA with a permanent
political solution." The report also characterized the
President's desire to discuss "core issues" in parallel
to interim administration talks as a new condition.

COMMENT
--------------


11. (C) The President, while strongly committed to
resuming peace negotiations with the LTTE, appears to be
wavering in her approach to negotiations. She seems
torn between appeasing the Tigers (and their wishes) to
get them to the peace table and listening to members of
her party, especially Foreign Minister Kadirgamar, who
strongly advocates a Tiger commitment to final talks
sooner rather than later. It is not clear how this
latest clash occurred, whether she actually told the
TNA, "ISGA only in initial talks" on June 10 or whether
they misunderstood her intent. On the southern front,
the President will also have to focus energy on the
increasingly negative comments on the peace process by
the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP),the major alliance
partner in her minority government, who publicly oppose
any discussion with the LTTE based on the ISGA. In
recent talks with the Ambassador, both the President and
Foreign Minister recognize the need for an alternative
option to get the Tigers back to the peace table, but so
far, no fresh ideas have been forthcoming.


12. (C) COMMENT Continued: Norwegian Ambassador Hans
Brattskar told Ambassador June 14 that the situation was
"confusing and discouraging." Brattskar said he would
travel to Kilinochchi on June 16 for discussions with
LTTE leadership, and meet with the Co-Chairs on June 17
before heading to New Delhi where Norwegian Deputy
Foreign Minister Helgesen will be visiting. END
COMMENT.


13. (U) Minimize considered.

LUNSTEAD