Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09COLOMBO356
2009-03-30 11:16:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Colombo
Cable title:
SRI LANKAN GOVERNMENT OPENS DIALOGUE WITH TAMIL DIASPORA
how-toP 301116Z MAR 09 FM AMEMBASSY COLOMBO TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9678 INFO AMEMBASSY DHAKA AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU AMEMBASSY LONDON AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI AMEMBASSY CANBERRA AMEMBASSY OTTAWA AMEMBASSY BERN AMEMBASSY BERLIN AMEMBASSY OSLO AMEMBASSY TOKYO AMCONSUL CHENNAI AMCONSUL MUMBAI AMCONSUL TORONTO HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI USMISSION GENEVA DIA WASHINGTON DC NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC USEU BRUSSELS
UNCLAS COLOMBO 000356
STATE FOR SCA/INS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKAN GOVERNMENT OPENS DIALOGUE WITH TAMIL DIASPORA
UNCLAS COLOMBO 000356
STATE FOR SCA/INS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKAN GOVERNMENT OPENS DIALOGUE WITH TAMIL DIASPORA
1. (U) Twenty Tamils from Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom,
Norway, Germany, France, and Switzerland attended a two-day
conference hosted by the Sri Lankan Government on March 29-30 2009.
The initiative grew out of a meeting Sri Lankan Foreign Minster
Rohitha Bogollagama held with Australian Tamils during a visit to
Australia earlier this year. At the meeting, Australian Tamil Dr.
Noel Nadesan offered to encourage several of his friends from other
countries to visit Sri Lanka and engage in dialogue with the
Government of Sri Lanka.
2. (U) During the conference, Minister Bogollagama briefed the group
of Tamils on the situation in the North and East and on the
Government's plans for rehabilitation and reconstruction. Secretary
of Foreign Affairs Palitha Kohona, Minister of Science and
Technology Tissa Vitharana and the Minister of Constitutional
Affairs and Integration D.E.W. Gunasekera also addressed the group.
3. (SBU) The two sides reportedly talked about the politics,
security, and the economy of the North and East. According to a
media account, the participants were mostly critical of the war and
want a political solution in the North and East. Foreign Minister
Bogollogama told Ambassador that he plans to expand this dialogue by
instructing High Commissioners in all countries with Tamil Diaspora
to conduct a similar dialogue.
4. (SBU) COMMENT: This is the first time to our knowledge that the
Government of Sri Lanka has engaged with the Tamil Diaspora and
could be a useful first step, particularly if it leads to follow-on
outreach efforts by Sri Lankan Embassies in key countries.
Ambassador, who attended an evening event on the margins of the
conference, noted that most participants appeared to be
well-meaning, but generally pro-Government Tamils who came as
individuals. The group did not appear to include representatives of
mainstream Tamil groups that dominate the debate taking place in
countries that host large number of Sri Lankan Tamils and other
public spaces, such as the Internet. It will be important, if this
dialogue is to have any significant impact on the resolution of Sri
Lanka's long-standing conflict, that the government take steps to
allay the distrust of the mainstream Tamil Diaspora groups. This
will depend to a large extent on how the GSL handles the end of the
semi-conventional conflict and its aftermath.
BLAKE
STATE FOR SCA/INS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKAN GOVERNMENT OPENS DIALOGUE WITH TAMIL DIASPORA
1. (U) Twenty Tamils from Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom,
Norway, Germany, France, and Switzerland attended a two-day
conference hosted by the Sri Lankan Government on March 29-30 2009.
The initiative grew out of a meeting Sri Lankan Foreign Minster
Rohitha Bogollagama held with Australian Tamils during a visit to
Australia earlier this year. At the meeting, Australian Tamil Dr.
Noel Nadesan offered to encourage several of his friends from other
countries to visit Sri Lanka and engage in dialogue with the
Government of Sri Lanka.
2. (U) During the conference, Minister Bogollagama briefed the group
of Tamils on the situation in the North and East and on the
Government's plans for rehabilitation and reconstruction. Secretary
of Foreign Affairs Palitha Kohona, Minister of Science and
Technology Tissa Vitharana and the Minister of Constitutional
Affairs and Integration D.E.W. Gunasekera also addressed the group.
3. (SBU) The two sides reportedly talked about the politics,
security, and the economy of the North and East. According to a
media account, the participants were mostly critical of the war and
want a political solution in the North and East. Foreign Minister
Bogollogama told Ambassador that he plans to expand this dialogue by
instructing High Commissioners in all countries with Tamil Diaspora
to conduct a similar dialogue.
4. (SBU) COMMENT: This is the first time to our knowledge that the
Government of Sri Lanka has engaged with the Tamil Diaspora and
could be a useful first step, particularly if it leads to follow-on
outreach efforts by Sri Lankan Embassies in key countries.
Ambassador, who attended an evening event on the margins of the
conference, noted that most participants appeared to be
well-meaning, but generally pro-Government Tamils who came as
individuals. The group did not appear to include representatives of
mainstream Tamil groups that dominate the debate taking place in
countries that host large number of Sri Lankan Tamils and other
public spaces, such as the Internet. It will be important, if this
dialogue is to have any significant impact on the resolution of Sri
Lanka's long-standing conflict, that the government take steps to
allay the distrust of the mainstream Tamil Diaspora groups. This
will depend to a large extent on how the GSL handles the end of the
semi-conventional conflict and its aftermath.
BLAKE