TWO EX-MINISTERS JOIN THE OPPOSITION, FORM NEW

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000883 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS MCC FOR D NASSIRY AND E BURKE E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/20/2017 TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PHUM MOPS CE SUBJECT: TWO EX-MINISTERS JOIN THE OPPOSITION, FORM NEW PARTY WING Classified By: Ambassador Robert O. Blake, Jr., for reasons 1.4(b,d). ¶1. (C) Summary. On June 19, two high profile ex-ministers, Mangala Samaraweera and Sripathi Sooriyarachchi, crossed over from the President,s party, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP),to the opposition. In a letter to the Speaker of Parliament, Samaraweera announced his and Sooriyarachchi,s intention to form a new party, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party-Mahajana Wing (SLFP-M) on June 22. Samaraweera requested that the Speaker give him a seat in the opposition, but said publicly that he does not intend to abandon the SLFP, but rather will &work to save it.8 Samaraweera was greeted by over a thousand supporters when he arrived at Parliament on June 20 to give a strongly worded speech criticizing the government. Samaraweera and Sooriyarachchi,s decision to break away from the SLFP and their known loyalty to former President Chandrika Kumaratunga have further fueled speculation that she will return to Sri Lanka from London to build a coalition with the opposition to attempt to topple President Rajapaksa. End Summary. TWO EX-MINISTERS CROSS OVER TO THE OPPOSITION -------------- - ¶2. (U) On June 19, two ex-ministers, Mangala Samaraweera and Sripathi Sooriyarachchi crossed over from the President,s party, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP),to the opposition. In a symbolic gesture, they sat and voted with the opposition against the President,s request to raise the national budget to fund recently added ministries. The opposition welcomed their crossover with applause and cheers. PRESIDENT'S BUDGET PASSES ANYWAY -------------- ¶3. (U) The President's supplementary budget request for new ministries created as a result of the 17 UNP crossovers was approved despite heavy protests from the opposition, particularly the United National Party (UNP),Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and Tamil National Alliance. The JVP's vote against the budget was its first ever vote against the President. Thirty members of parliament (MP) from his own party were absent for the vote, some of them likely in protest of additional funds for crossover MPs and their ministries. Nonetheless, the Government secured a comfortable 107-87 vote in favor of the budgets. SLFP DISSENTERS FORM NEW POLITICAL WING -------------- ¶4. (U) In a letter to the Speaker of Parliament, Samaraweera announced his and Sooriyarachchi,s intentions to form a new party, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party-Mahajana Wing (SLFP-M) on June 22. Samaraweera wrote that the present Government has &betrayed the principles and philosophy of the SLFP8 and he is &totally opposed to this path of extremism.8 He requested that the Speaker give him a seat in the opposition and a chance to clarify his position in a statement to Parliament. Samaraweera said publicly that he does not intend to abandon the SLFP, but rather will &work to save it.8 SAMARAWEERA CRITICIZES THE PRESIDENT IN SPEECH TO PARLIAMENT -------------- -------------- ¶5. (U) On June 20, thousands of raucous supporters, mostly from the UNP, greeted Samaraweera upon his arrival at the Parliament. In his strongly worded speech at the Parliament, Samaraweera explained his reasons for crossing over, citing the President's mismanagement of the administration, the worsening economy, and violation of the SLFP philosophy. He COLOMBO 00000883 002 OF 002 began his speech by saying "(M)y conscience does not allow me to remain with a Government that has betrayed and abandoned the policies of my party...Today the party is being run by a quartet of brothers (who) control more than 70% of the country's budget." On the economy he said a "select group enrich themselves" while most other businessmen are taking their investments elsewhere and "today's rulers destroy the standard of living of the poor." Samaraweera accused the President of creating a "quasi-police state" where "racism is now the official policy...pushing (Tamils) into the lap of the LTTE." Speaking of the President's brother, he said "In the guise of fighting terrorism, the Defense Secretary and his cronies initiated a witch hunt against all democratic opposition to the Rajapaksa brotherhood." Concluding his speech, Samaraweera described his newly formed party as the "centrist wing" of the SLFP. He publicly invited all "loyal" SLFP members to join his party and explicitly asked Kumaratunga to return to "guide" and "protect" the party. KUMARATUNGA COMEBACK? -------------- ¶6. (C) Further complicating matters for the President is the anticipated return of former President Chandrika Kumaratunga. Samaraweera and Sooriyarachchi,s decision to break away from the SLFP and their known loyalty to Kumaratunga have further fueled speculation that she will seek, following her return to Sri Lanka from London, to build a coalition with the opposition to topple President Rajapaksa. Press reports quoted Kumaratunga,s personal assistant as saying that security is &beefing up8 in anticipation of her imminent return. A source close to Kumaratunga told us that Kumaratunga declined an offer by Wickremesinghe to work with the UNP because she did not want to be disloyal to her party, and that her anticipated return to Sri Lanka is for largely personal reasons. He explained that Kumaratunga is biding her time to reenter the political arena and predicted she may make her move if more SLFP members follow in the shoes of Samaraweera and Sooriyarachchi. ¶7. (C) COMMENT: Samaraweera and Sooriyarachchi have long been vocal critics of the President, so it comes as little surprise that they were the first to cross over to the opposition. This symbolic move could induce additional core members of the SLFP, particularly those unhappy about the President,s recruitment of UNP crossovers in January, to do the same. Samaraweera,s quest to start a new party will be difficult given legal restrictions on the registration of new parties. He likely will have to take over an existing, languishing party or settle for working as a splinter faction within the SLFP. The President,s success in passing the unpopular budget hikes the same day as the crossovers demonstrates that he continues to command considerable support, despite increasing opposition and real concerns about inflation and the economy. The true test for the Government will come in November when the opposition is expected to try to bring down the Government during consideration of the 2008 budget. BLAKE