SCA PDAS CAMP PRESSES GSL ON POLITICAL PROPOSALS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 000790

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/15/2016
TAGS: PGOV PTER PREL PHUM CE
SUBJECT: SCA PDAS CAMP PRESSES GSL ON POLITICAL PROPOSALS
FOR PEACE PROCESS

REF: COLOMBO 767

Classified By: Charge' d'Affaires, a.i. James F. Entwistle. Reason: 1
.4 (b,d).

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) In separate May 15 meetings with Foreign Minister
Mangala Samaraweera and Government of Sri Lanka (GSL) Peace
Secretariat head Palitha Kohona, Principal Deputy Assistant

SIPDIS
Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Camp

SIPDIS
emphasized U.S. concern at the escalation in violence and
increasing fragility of the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA).
Underscoring the U.S. desire to assist the GSL in arresting
the downward spiral, he pressed the Government to investigate
and prosecute human rights cases and to address more visibly
Tamil grievances, especially by developing political
proposals that offer the "maximum devolution" President
Rajapaksa promised. Samaraweera and Kohona each thanked the
U.S. for its support and asserted that the GSL had begun
reviewing the outlines of such a proposal but offered no
concrete details. Both interlocutors agreed on the
importance of upholding human rights, but Samaraweera
maintained that many allegations were "exaggerated."
Samaraweera welcomed U.S. initiatives to form a larger "Sri
Lanka contact group" or groups to curb Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam (LTTE) fundraising and weapons procurement and
noted that during his recent visit to India he had detected
signs of greater "flexibility," in the aftermath of state
elections in Tamil Nadu, in India's disinclination toward
greater involvement in the peace process. End summary.

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HELP US HELP YOU
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2. (C) In separate May 15 meetings with Foreign Minister
Mangala Samaraweera and Government of Sri Lanka (GSL) Peace
Secretariat head Palitha Kohona, Principal Deputy Assistant

SIPDIS
Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Camp,

SIPDIS
accompanied by Charge', expressed heightened U.S. concern at
the acceleration of violence and continued unraveling of the
Ceasefire Agreement (CFA). The U.S. and other Co-chairs want
to help the GSL avert the precipitate downward spiral, Camp
stressed. To reverse the alarming trend, the GSL should take
two immediate steps, he urged: investigate and prosecute
human rights abuses and address Tamil concerns by fleshing
out President Mahinda Rajapaksa's campaign promise to offer
"maximum devolution." The GSL should put these steps on the
"fast track," Camp urged, to demonstrate publicly to Tamils
GSL commitment to safeguard their rights and provide them
security.


3. (C) Both Samaraweera and Kohona agreed on the need for
prompt investigations of human rights allegations.
Samaraweera, who was accompanied in his meeting by Foreign
Secretary H.M.G.S. Palihakkara and Additional Secretary

SIPDIS
Geetha de Silva, conceded there might be a "certain amount"
of abuse committed by GSL security forces but contended that
many recent reports had been "highly exaggerated" or, as in
the case of the purported abductions of Tamil Rehabilitation
Organization (TRO) employees in January, completely
"stage-managed." (Comment: Many observers, including the
ICRC and Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, seem to share this
view of the TRO incidents.) If there were any "rogue
elements" perpetrating abuse in the security forces, "they
have been dealt with," the Foreign Minister asserted.
Nonetheless, the GSL takes seriously its responsibility to
ensure the anomaly does not spread and must thus investigate
all allegations, he said. Kohona, who was accompanied in his
meeting by his deputy Kethesh Loganathan, emphasized that all
investigations into alleged abuses were being conducted by
authorities in Colombo, rather than at the incident sites,

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but acknowledged that the failure so far to identify the
perpetrators in a single such incident is "very
unsatisfactory."

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"MAXIMUM DEVOLUTION":
STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS
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4. (C) In addition to the all-party conference aimed at
forging consensus on a political resolution (Reftel),the GSL
had set up a "small committee looking at the contours of a
new Constitutional draft to encompass the President's
proposals on maximum devolution," Samaraweera reported. At
the moment, the committee is composed only of GSL members,
but once the draft is developed, the President hopes to put
it before the all-party conference. "While trying to engage
the LTTE in talks, we must prove our credentials to the
Tamils," Samaraweera observed. He added that the President
attaches a great deal of importance to achieving
multi-partisan consensus on the peace process, asserting that
the "consensus is still miraculously holding, despite the
violence." Kohona and Loganathan said the GSL wants to
encourage democratic alternatives to the LTTE in the north
and east to emerge. "Maximum devolution" might start with
"appropriately monitored local elections" in the north and
east in which the LTTE might even participate, Kohona
suggested. With that hopeful beginning, the President would
make additional infrastructure development funds for the
north and east available, while "in parallel, we would talk
about what would be an acceptable (model of) devolution for
the Tamils." "The Government is committed to this," Kohona
declared. He acknowledged PDAS Camp's point that the LTTE
would be unlikely to sit down with rival Tamil
groups--especially those purporting to be democratic
alternatives--to discuss devolution models, adding "We will
bring the others in separately."


5. (C) Noting that discussions on maximum devolution might
take some time, PDAS Camp asked his interlocutors what
"fast-track" confidence-building measures the GSL could
undertake with the Tamil community in the near term.
Samaraweera stressed that development work in the north and
east continues--in some cases, as with tsunami reconstruction
in Jaffna and Mullaithivu, outstripping the pace in the
south. Foreign Secretary Palihakkara reported that the north
and east had been allocated USD 645 million in development
funding over several years. (Note: This figure includes
foreign assistance and multilateral bank lending.)

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GSL WELCOMES MULTILATERAL
EFFORT TO CURB GUNS, MONEY
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6. (C) Both Samaraweera and Kohona welcomed the U.S.
initiative to explore how the broader international
community, perhaps through formation of a larger "Sri Lanka
contact group," might help curb the flow of arms and funds to
the LTTE. Kohona stressed the need to involve other
countries in the region. He added that the effort might
"illuminate" the ugly truth about LTTE terrorism to the Tamil
diaspora, which could have a further dampening effect on
Tiger fundraising. Loganathan noted that the "hegemony of
the LTTE" was now being challenged within the Tamil diaspora,
creating some space for other Tamil political voices to be
heard. Samaraweera said that an EU designation of the LTTE
as a terrorist organization could act as a powerful incentive
to urge the Tigers back to the negotiating table.

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INDIA LESS ALOOF,
MORE "FLEXIBLE"?
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7. (C) Turning to his May 8-10 visit to India, Samaraweera
said the Indians indicated a desire to be "privately helpful"
on the peace process. He said he sensed a "slight
flexibility and relaxation" in the usual Indian
stand-offishness about taking on a greater role in the peace
process, a result, he speculated, of the outcome of elections
in Tamil Nadu. "Sri Lanka is no longer an issue in Tamil
Nadu politics," Samaraweera said, which gives the Indian
government "a little more confidence" in assessing its role
in the peace process. That said, the Indians were
"noncommittal" about playing a larger role in tandem with the
co-chairs, Samaraweera reported, while Palihakkara said they
were "a bit silent" on the GSL request to exert pressure on
the EU to list the Tigers as a terrorist organization.



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COMMENT
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8. (C) While it is good to hear that the GSL may be starting
to think about what it means by "maximum devolution," it is
unclear how far this effort has progressed. We suspect not
far. Beset by LTTE violence, the GSL obviously has many
distractions, but it cannot afford to defer devoting serious
and sustained attention to the question of Tamil aspirations.
The longer the GSL shows no sign of addressing Tamil
concerns--including threats to their rights and security in
government-controlled territory--the greater danger that even
moderate Tamils may find the LTTE's claims of GSL
intransigence and insincerity more persuasive.


9. (U) PDAS Camp has cleared this message.
ENTWISTLE