SRI LANKA: DEFENSE SECRETARY ESCALATES THREATS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 COLOMBO 000054 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/15/2019 TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PHUM MOPS CE SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: DEFENSE SECRETARY ESCALATES THREATS AGAINST MEDIA REF: A) COLOMBO 0018 B) COLOMBO 0025 C) COLOMBO 0047 Classified By: AMBASSADOR ROBERT O. BLAKE, JR. REASONS: 1.4(b,d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: On January 14, despite assurances from President Rajapaksa to senior editors and journalists that none of them would be harmed, threats to the media escalated. His brother, Defense Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa, gave a rambling interview in which he accused the MTV television network of connections to the Tamil Tigers and put forward a bizarre theory that the TV station had conducted the attack on itself to collect insurance money. He accused MTV station manager Chevaan Daniel, who had given an interview to CNN about the incident, of being a terrorist. Daniel sought temporary refuge at the Canadian High Commission and made plans to leave the country on January 15. A Reuters correspondent reported receiving threats from the Defense Secretary, who threatened to have Reuters permanently barred from Sri Lanka, but then appeared to back down. Daniel and defense columnist Iqbal Athas told us that their families had been visited in the night by police who claimed to be looking for evidence. Tamil newspaper editors and the head of Sri Lanka's Free Media movement also believe they are in jeopardy. Ambassador intervened with a number of senior officials who gave assurances that Daniel would not be arrested, but one minister reported that he was still working to get the Defense Secretary to withdraw his threat. The GSL's fumbling efforts at damage control appear to be unraveling. The Defense Secretary's unsupported accusations have undermined the government's efforts to pin the blame for the MTV attack on the opposition and further damaged the government's reputation. End summary. PRESIDENT REASSURES JOURNALISTS -------------- ¶2. (SBU) In the wake of a number of protests by media representatives and lawyers, President Rajapaksa invited several hundred lawyers to meet him at his residence on the evening of January 13. The President, evidently concerned about the impact the attacks on media are having on his government's reputation, also summoned the senior editors of state and private media to his residence on January 14. At the meeting, Rajapaksa said he had invited the media heads in order to discuss the current situation, especially in view of 
"irresponsible reporting" on the recent attack on MTV/Sirasa (ref A) and the killing of Mr. Wickrematunge (ref B). He said that while politicians were free to make any statements about matters of public interest, the media had to ensure that these were not reported in a manner that would divert inquiries and obstruct police investigations. The President noted that one arrest (note: of a minor UNP politician, ref C) had already been made in the MTV/Sirisa attack, and it was likely that others would follow soon. President Rajapaksa said the Government had no interest whatever in courting disgrace through attacks on the media. He gave his personal assurance that no journalist or media institution would be threatened or attacked by the Government. ¶3. (SBU) The president reportedly also complained that head of the Sri Lankan Free Media Movement Sunanda Deshapriya, along with opposition politicians, had carried banners at the funeral procession for editor Lasantha Wickrematunge saying, "the killer is the one wearing a shawl" (a reference to the President). Deshapriya sent a message to colleagues saying he felt threatened and was considering going into hiding. DEFENSE SECRETARY ACCUSES STATION OF ATTACKING ITSELF -------------- -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The journalists were not much reassured by a 90-minute televised interview given by the president's brother, Defense Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa, later on January 15. He accused MTV/Sirasa of spreading false news COLOMBO 00000054 002 OF 004 reports. The Defense Secretary said that there was no need for the government to engage in such "low acts" as the attack on MTV/Sirasa. "What does the government, president, the army commander or I stand to gain from this?" His accusations continued: "Investigations have revealed that Sirasa did this to themselves. We will reveal this in the future... Sirasa has a motive to set fire to themselves. The reason is Sirasa is the voice of the Tigers. Sirasa was the organization that represented the LTTE in Colombo. Now they need sympathy." His pique seemed to stem from an interview by phone Daniel had given to CNN on the attack. "I will put the man who spoke to CNN in prison." Rajapaksa similarly accused the editors of a Tamil-language newspaper group that publishes Sudar Oli in Colombo and Uthayan in Jaffna of terrorism. (Note: Uthayan has been repeatedly and lethally attacked by unidentified groups.) AMBASSADOR INTERVENES TO PROTECT STATION MANAGER -------------- --- ¶5. (C) Ambassador immediately contacted Presidential Secretary (NSA equivalent) Weeratunga to ask that he convey to the President U.S. concern at the prospect of Daniel's possible arrest. Coming on the heels of the killing of Lasantha and the attack on Sirasa TV, Ambassador said, Daniel's arrest would be widely seen as yet another blow to media freedom in Sri Lanka. The Government should therefore be sure it has rock-solid evidence against Daniel if it did indeed plan to arrest him. Ambassador made the same points to Human Rights Minister Samarasinghe and Foreign Secretary Kohona. Weeratunga responded that he did not think Daniel would be arrested, but promised to relay the Ambassador's concerns to the President. Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe called Ambassador later to report that his brother, Shan Wickremesinghe (himself the owner of an independent radio station) had spoken to President Rajapaksa, who assured him Daniel would not be arrested. ¶6. (C) Ambassador also contacted Tourism Minister Moragoda. Moragoda recounted that the previous week, after the attack, he had accompanied Daniel to a meeting with the President's other brother and senior political advisor, Basil Rajapaksa. The Inspector General of Police (IGP) was also present. Moragoda confirmed he had spoken to Basil about the news of Daniel's possible arrest and that Basil had spoken to the Defense Secretary. Moragoda said he also would be meeting with the Defense Secretary to urge caution. ¶7. (C) However, in a briefing for foreign heads of mission on January 13, Daniel recounted that far from finding the meeting reassuring, he had found it intimidating. The IGP had categorically refused to provide police protection for the station, even after the attack, on the grounds that police resources were required for an exhibition at the Convention Hall. Further - Daniel quoted the Inspector General - his police were not willing to protect MTV because it had "attacked the security forces" in its reporting. ¶8. (C) Moragoda subsequently reported back to Ambassador that he had spoken to the Defense Secretary. Moragoda confirmed that while no arrest warrant had been issued, he was still working to persuade the Defense Secretary not to arrest Daniel. U.S. SEEKS TO COORDINATE WITH INDIA -------------- ¶9. (C) DCM also spoke with his Indian counterpart, Vikram Misri, who was generally aware of the situation. Misri said he would propose to Indian High Commissioner Alok Prasad that Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon, expected to arrive shortly in Colombo, raise Daniel's case with the GSL during his meetings on January 16. COLOMBO 00000054 003 OF 004 STATION MANAGER TO FLEE COUNTRY -------------- ¶10. (C) Daniel sought refuge the evening of January 14 at the residence of the Canadian High Commissioner Angela Bogdan (please protect. Note: Bogdan's AmCit spouse is a consultant to MTV and works closely with Daniel.) DCM met with Daniel at the Canadian residence on January 15 and briefed Bogdan on the interventions Ambassador had undertaken that morning with the GSL. Daniel related that the police searched his house, where he lives with his parents and sister, the morning of January 15. He noted that while to the best of his knowledge the police did not take anything from the house, he feared that they may have planted an incriminating object, such as a weapon or document. Lawyers from the Center for Policy Alternatives (CPA) were also present at Bogdan's residence. Their view was that without any evidence the police could detain Daniel under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, as they had columnist J.S. Tissanaiyagam. ¶11. (C) Daniel concluded that while he had done nothing whatsoever illegal, he would likely be jailed indefinitely if he remained in the country. For that reason he decided to depart Sri Lanka as quickly as possible, before an arrest warrant was issued. (Embassy learned later that Norwegian and Dutch diplomats were preparing to accompany Daniel to the airport.) DCM assured Daniel and Bogdan that the Embassy would continue to press the GSL to drop any charges against Daniel and to not issue a warrant for his arrest unless there were solid grounds for doing so. ¶12. (C) Independent defense analyst and columnist Iqbal Athas, who also works occasionally for CNN, reported that he had reached a safe haven abroad (ref C). However, Athas said he was concerned about his wife and daughter, who remain in Colombo. The police had visited their residence in the night and demanded any recordings or documents relating to the CNN interview with Daniel. Mrs. Athas responded that she had no knowledge of such things. REUTERS ALSO REPORTS THREATS BY DEFENSE SECRETARY -------------- -------------- ¶13. (C) Reuters Colombo Bureau Chief Bryson Hull told Ambassador on January 15 of his concerns about recent Government of Sri Lanka interventions against him and Reuters. According to Hull, Defense Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa called him on January 10 to express displeasure with an article that appeared in the International Herald Tribune sourced to Hull's Reuters filings. The story reported that Gothabaya had filed a lawsuit against slain journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge prior to his assassination - a fact that had been widely reported in the Sri Lankan press. In the phone conversation, Gothabaya threatened to sue Reuters, expel Hull from the country and ensure that Reuters would never again be allowed to operate in Sri Lanka, Hull recounted. In response, despite the information in the public record, Reuters issued a correction that removed any specific reference to Gothabaya. ¶14. (C) Hull did not believe he was in imminent danger and believed the worst the Government could do would be to expel him from the country, which he doubted the GSL would do. However, Hull, an American citizen, was more concerned about the safety of his wife (a Kenyan national) and their infant child. Hull asked if they could seek refuge in the Embassy if they were in imminent danger, or they had to flee the country. Ambassador Blake responded positively, noting though that the U.S. could not be in the position of obstructing legal proceedings if charges had been filed. ¶15. (C) COMMENT: The government, by putting out various, equally implausible versions of the attack on MTV ("the UNP did it, MTV itself did it") has undermined its own damage COLOMBO 00000054 004 OF 004 control efforts. Another journalist we spoke to at editor Wickrematunge's wake reported a conversation with President Rajapaksa. She noted that many blame shadowy groups within the government who operate outside of political control for both incidents. The President conceded to the editor that such groups exist, and that he does not have power over them, adding, "no President in no country has full control over these." The moderates in the President's team appear fully cognizant that irreparable harm is occurring to their own, the country's and the government's reputation - but seem to be powerless to do anything about it. It is ironic that the government is suffering these self-inflicted wounds while it is reporting daily victories in its campaign against the Tigers and appears on the verge of overrunning the LTTE's remaining positions. The losers in this sad story will include the President and his government, but also the 14 - 15 million regular viewers of MTV and Sirasa, if the station goes off the air with Daniel's departure. Blake