SRI LANKA: CROSS PARTY TALKS MAY YIELD COOPERATION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 001538 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/19/2016 TAGS: PGOV PTER PHUM CE SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: CROSS PARTY TALKS MAY YIELD COOPERATION ON PEACE PROCESS Classified By: AMBASSADOR ROBERT O. BLAKE, JR. FOR REASONS 1.4(b) and ( d) ¶1. (SBU) Summary: On September 15 the governing Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) held the first in a series of talks with the opposition United National Party (UNP) to build consensus on a range of issues, including the peace process as a cornerstone for potential cooperation. After the initial discussion, the parties appointed a sub-committee to draft the agenda for future talks, and party leaders expressed hope that they could achieve broad cooperation by late October, when the budget is due to be debated in parliament. The parties met again September 19. While this signifies both sides' willingness to work together in favor of the national interest, obstacles to full cooperation remain. Nevertheless, the potential for SLFP-UNP agreement on a framework for the peace process is a positive development that could give President Rajapaksa more negotiating room if the talks succeed. End summary. -------------- CROSS-PARTY TALKS: MAKE-UP OF DELEGATIONS -------------- ¶2. (U) Representatives from the governing Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and opposition United National Party (UNP) met at the parliamentary complex September 15 to discuss possible cooperation on the peace process and a range of other issues. The SLFP delegation consisted of Premier Ratnasiri Wickremenayake, Minister of Irrigation and Mahaweli River Development Maithripala Sirisena, Minister of Justice and Legal Reforms John Seneviratne, Minister of Education Susil Premajayantha, and Minister of Health (and previous head of peace negotiations delegations) Nimal Siripala de Silva. Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera and Trade Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle were also appointed to the SLFP delegation, but were away from Colombo and did not attend the first cross-party meeting. Comprising the UNP side were deputy party leader Karu Jayasuriya, party chairman Malik Samarawickreme, Milinda Moragoda, Professor G.L. Peiris, John Amaratunga, Rukman Senanayake, and Ravi Karunanayake, all Members of Parliament (MPs). According to the media, Peiris proposed covering economic development, governance, health, education, infrastructure, and vocational training in addition to the peace process. Each party appointed two members to a sub-committee to draft a specific agenda for future talks, and the UNP's Karunanayake proposed that talks conclude by mid-October. The second round of talks was held September 19, and the agenda sub-committee reportedly identified key issue areas for possible consensus. ¶3. (C) Of the SLFP group, Prime Minister Wickremenayake is widely viewed as a hard-liner on the peace process; he has publicly stated that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) should lay down arms before the government will negotiate with them, a clear non-starter. Foreign Minister Samaraweera, though open to a negotiated peace settlement, supported the SLFP's 2004 electoral pact with the Marxist, Sinhalese nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP),and analysts believe he may be less comfortable working with the UNP. John Seniveratne may be more willing to work closely with the UNP because he supports its privatization policy platform. Minister Fernandopulle, however, told pol FSN the talks are "a waste of time." Within the UNP delegation, Milinda Moragoda and Malik Samarawickreme are said to genuinely favor an SLFP-UNP pact while Ravi Karunanayake is not optimistic about the outcome. -------------- UNP VIEWS -------------- ¶4. (C) In a September 18 meeting with the Ambassador, the COLOMBO 00001538 002 OF 002 UNP's Peiris said the impetus for the talks was the "political paralysis" caused by the SLFP's failure to command a majority in parliament. According to Peiris, when a routine finance bill did not pass because there was no legislative cooperation, it was clear that the two major parties needed to find a path forward. Peiris observed that parliament had been inactive and expressed hope that since the SLFP-UNP talks included MPs on the proposed committees, parliament might become more relevant. When the Ambassador noted the bad blood between the party leaders, Peiris said that UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has a better working relationship with President Rajapksa than he did with former president Kumaratunga, so it is more likely that the two parties can collaborate productively. Peiris also assessed that President Rajapaksa is a consensus-builder with strong political capital, so if the cross-party talks yield an agreement on the peace process, the president can rally national support for it. ¶5. (C) Wickremesinghe met the Ambassador separately on September 18 and noted that the government's invitation to the UNP had come while he was away, raising questions as to the SLFP's sincerity. Nevertheless, Wickremesinghe said, the UNP was amenable to the president's stated wish to work together in parliament. He was most hopeful about cooperation on the peace process and good governance. In response to the Ambassador's question about whether joining cross-party talks was a risky political move for the UNP, Wickremesinghe said the process will test whether the president really is a hard-liner on peace. He said the UNP and SLFP are seeking to reach agreement by the end of October, when the budget is due to be debated in parliament. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶6. (C) Both the SLFP and UNP deserve credit for taking steps to work together in the national interest. However, despite good intentions on both sides, creating a consensus will be a challenge. The government has appointed a high-level group comprised solely of ministers, which could make the technical work of hammering out a draft settlement more difficult. In addition, quibbles over the broad range of issues covered may cloud the discussions on the peace process, where there is potential for significant agreement in party positions. That said, if the two sides focus on common ground, especially in the areas of governance and peace, as Wickremesinghe suggested, there is potential the talks could yield concrete results. For now, the possibility of a united front by the SLFP and UNP on returning to talks with the LTTE offers hope of forward movement in the peace process. With UNP support, the President would be less hostage to the JVP's hardline views. ¶7. (C) Politically, local observers credit Rajapaksa with a shrewd initiative. Either the SLFP-UNP talks succeed and the president receives a more politically sustainable mandate to truly negotiate. Or, if the talks fail, the president can use the opportunity to persuade UNP supporters to cross over to the SLFP. End comment. -------------- PUBLIC DIPLOMACY -------------- ¶8. (U) The Ambassador used the occasion of his first press conference on September 19 to "applaud the recent initiative by the SLFP and UNP to come together to develop a consensus on the way forward in the peace process and other issues of national importance." BLAKE