Special Media Reaction: Sri Lankan Foreign

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000054 SIPDIS DEPT FOR S/ES, INR/MR, PA SCA/INS (CAMP, SIM, GOWER) SCA/PD (SCENSNY, ROGERS, PALLADINO); SCA/PAS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED E.O. 12958:N/A TAGS: PHUM KPAO PTER EAID OIIP PREL CE SUBJECT: Special Media Reaction: Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera's Visit to Washington ¶1. (U) Summary: Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera's first official visit to Washington D.C. January 5 - 8 elicited much attention from the government- owned and mainstream independent press. State-run and independent television news programs carried prominent footage of the Minister's visit, including a clip of his meeting with the Secretary. Most independent Tamil and pro- LTTE media downplayed the story, though some criticized the Foreign Minister's comments in Washington. End Summary. ¶2. (U) Government-owned newspapers praised the Foreign Minister's visit to Washington as fruitful in Friday and weekend papers. In a below-the-fold front page piece, the Sunday Observer (1/8) headlined, "U.S. appreciates Government restraint," noting Samaraweera's meetings with the U.S. Congress, the Energy Secretary, and Customs and Border Patrol. All government media highlighted the U.S. Congress's expression of commitment to the Sri Lankan peace process and an op-ed in the Daily News (1/9) reiterated the Sri Lankan administration's concern about possible LTTE fundraising in the U.S. The government-owned Daily News (1/7) editorialized positively about the United States following Samaraweera's meeting with Senator Richard Lugar. ¶3. (U) An excerpt of the Daily News editorial titled, "The West must wake-up" follows: "The Government's efforts to resolve our conflict by political means have been substantially boosted by a statement made by the Chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Richard Lugar, that the peace exercise has the full support of the US Congress. This is indeed encouraging news and on this score alone Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera's current visit to the US could be said to be a success. A 'yes' from the US Congress for the Government's peace process should further energize the State's search for a Southern consensus and we call on it to proceed towards this basis for a negotiated solution with unflagging zeal, now that a vital segment of democratic opinion in the West is unambiguously siding with it. After all, the US is considered as being synonymous with democratic vibrancy and a 'yes' from this citadel of representative governance in the West should be seen by the Lankan State as a strong vote of confidence in it. Of the Western states which are with Sri Lanka in these challenging times, the US could be said to be one of the most balanced in its approach to our conflict. To begin with, it is continuing to keep the pressure on the LTTE by keeping it on its list of prohibited terror organizations. Unfortunately, the West is yet to speak in one, clear voice on this question. Despite the LTTE proving that it is still committed to terror, it is continuing to receive tacit and not so tacit support from some sections of the West. Perhaps, this duplicity is rooted in the fact that they are yet to see and experience political terror in all its Satanic destructiveness. The US, on the other hand, has seen terror in all its heinousness and this accounts for its unambiguity on LTTE terror." End excerpt. ¶4. (U) Independent media reported the Foreign Minister's visit to the United States less prominently than government owned media, but still afforded the visit some attention, noting the GoSL's commitment to peace and raising a red flag regarding possible LTTE fundraising in the U.S. The Daily Mirror (1/7) led with an AFP story from Washington, "No war with Tigers, says Mangala." On its front page, the Sunday Times (1/7) bannered, "Government wants TRO (LTTE-linked Tamil Rehabilitation Organization) banned in U.S." and reprinted two wire stories on page three, one from Reuters titled, "LTTE a brutal terror machine: Mangala. Condoleezza lauds Lankan restraint." A second article excerpted Samaraweera's interview on BBC's World Today with a headline, "No promises, Mangala expects US to nudge Tigers to peace talks," in which the Foreign Minister emphasized he provided the State Department with evidence of LTTE fund raising in the U.S. The anti-government Sunday Leader (1/08),in a short page-six story with full color photos of U.S. President George W. Bush and Foreign Minister Samaraweera, headlined, "Mangala's move to woo Bush," followed by a critique of the Foreign Minister's alleged hypocrisy for purportedly "following his buddies in the JVP [Marxist/Sinhala nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna] headed protests against the United States within the SLFP [ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party]," and "laughing at then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe for meeting with American President George Bush." ¶5. (U) Sinhala nationalist media in both English and Sinhala took less note of the Foreign Minister's visit to Washington, relegating stories to short, below the fold inside placement. ¶6. (U) Independent Tamil and pro-LTTE media considerably downplayed the Foreign Minister's visit to the U.S. Tamil Net, a mouthpiece for the LTTE, ignored the trip. Pro-LTTE daily Sudar Oli (1/6),however, reported the U.S. had offered full support to the peace process and blasted the Minister's alleged statement to the Secretary naming the LTTE "not a liberation organization but a terror machine worse than al-Qaeda." Flagship Tamil daily Virakesari (1/7),in a back-page article, reported Samaraweera "informed Washington Rajapaksa is trying to get support from the Southern parties to form a consensus on the peace process." ¶7. (U) The Tamil media also carried photographs of the Foreign Minister's meeting with Secretary Rice. Government- owned Tamil daily Thinakaran (1/07) reported, "President Mahinda Rajapaksa firm on going ahead with the peace process despite provocations. If the LTTE rejects all calls for talks, international pressure is essential - Minister Mangala tells in America." Independent Tamil daily Thinakkural (1/07) reported, "Sri Lanka needs international support immediately to avert the war - Mangala requested Condoleezza Rice." Tamil media treated Samaraweera's more direct comments about the LTTE with less emphasis. Pro-LTTE Tamil daily Sudar Oli (1/07) bannered, "LTTE is not a liberation organization but a killer machine even worse than Al Qaeda - Mangala Samaraweera to the Washington Times," and independent Tamil daily Virakesari (1/07) reported, "LTTE worse than Al-Qaeda Mangala tells Washington Times." ¶8. (U) Both state-run and independent television stations broadcast several seconds of footage of the Foreign Minister meeting Secretary Rice, on different newscasts, and reported the visit in a straightforward manner. ¶9. (SBU) Comment: Predictably, government-run media played up the Foreign Minister's meetings in Washington as more newsworthy than did independent and some vernacular media. Mainstream independent media emphasized Samaraweera's concern about possible LTTE fundraising in the U.S. amidst government-owned media's more glorified accounts of the visit. The media representing both the extreme Sinhala nationalist and pro-LTTE points of view, however, preferred -- for their own reasons -- not to give the Rajapakse government much credit for the outcome of this visit. End Comment. LUNSTEAD