SRI LANKA: FORMER FOREIGN MINISTER RECEIVES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 000082

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/23/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PHUM MOPS CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: FORMER FOREIGN MINISTER RECEIVES
THREATS, WILL SEEK TEMPORARY HAVEN ABROAD

Classified By: AMBASSADOR ROBERT O. BLAKE, JR. REASONS: 1.4(b,d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: Former Foreign Minister Mangala Samawaweera
told Ambassador on January 23 that he felt his life was in
danger and was planning to seek temporary safe haven abroad.
He strongly implied that Defense Secretary Gothabaya
Rajapaksa was behind the threats to his life, but admitted he
does not have concrete evidence. Recalling his break with
the President and his powerful brothers over human rights and
dismissal from the government in early 2007, Samaraweera said
he believed the extremists in the Presidents entourage such
as JHU Minister of Environment Ranawaka were intent on
installing a Sinhalese supremacist, authoritarian regime. He
said the President's entourage was systematically silencing
dissent and predicted further attacks on the media and
opposition politicians. He reported that the President had
scolded a pastor for allowing opposition figures to speak at
the funeral of slain editor Lasantha Wickrematunge. He also
noted that his attorney, who was appearing in an important
constitutional case, had also received threats. Samaraweera
told us the reports he would seek to give a dossier detailing
the government's crimes to Secretary Clinton were a ruse he
concocted to protect himself by raising his profile. He said
he planned to visit New York in early March and requested
assistance in obtaining a senior-level meeting at the
Department. End summary.

DEATH THREATS TO FORMER MINISTER
--------------


2. (C) Former Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera told
Ambassador and Pol Chief on January 23 that he had started
receiving abusive calls in November 2008. He had then raised
this as a "privilege" issue in Parliament, and the Speaker
had referred the matter to the Inspector General of Police.
Eventually, the IGP had grudgingly provided two more
policemen as security officers - but no vehicle for them.
Samaraweera said he had demanded to know whether the officers
were supposed to run behind his car. The IGP responded that
the Defense Secretary had to approve all requests for
additional security and vehicles for VIP protection.
Samaraweera told us he declined to appeal directly to the
Defense Secretary "because I know that he's behind
everything that is going on, and I will not beg for my
security." Samaraweera said that when the calls started
coming, a number of former colleagues still in the cabinet
began warning him to be very careful. Even the Prime
Minister had passed word to him through an intermediary that
his life was in danger, he said. Other Ministers were so
frightened that they arranged to call him from the homes of
friends outside Colombo.


3. (C) Samaraweera noted that a group of the president's
close confidants - National Freedom Front leader Wimal
Weerawansa, JHU party head and current Environment Minister
Champika Ranawaka and Transport Minister Dullas Allahapperuma
had begun labeling him an LTTE supporter, and accusing him of
trying to sabotage the war effort. However, Samaraweera only
became worried when the President himself began telling
reporters that Samaraweera had personal enemies. "Who would
bother to kill him (Samaraweera) - except for people in his
personal life?" He recalled that the President had warned
editor Lasantha Wickrematunge before his murder to be careful
of "disgruntled business partners and retired army officers."


4. (C) Samaraweera said that he was convinced that the
government had timed its attacks on the media to coincide
with major military victories like the capture of Kilinochchi
and Elephant Pass. He feared that future military successes
would be coupled with several more attacks. As a result, he
confided that he planned to leave the country soon and would
spend about a month in London before heading for New York.

RECALLS BREAK WITH PRESIDENT OVER HUMAN RIGHTS

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5. (C) Samaraweera recounted the history of his break with
the Rajapaksas and dismissal from the government in February

2007. By mid-2006, he recalled, and especially after the
murder of 17 Tamil humanitarian aid workers in Muttur in
August 2006, he met the President, Defense Secretary, Senior
Advisor Basil Rajapaksa and Presidential Secretary Lalith
Weeratunge several times and argued for an investigation and
prosecution of those responsible for serious human rights
abuses. Basil started shouting at him, he told us, and
Gothabaya insisted that to do so "would demoralize the whole
Army." Samaraweera rejoined that in fact, the Army was
becoming demoralized by the non-prosecution of the few guilty
members of the armed forces. The government's inaction was
sullying the reputation of the entire security forces. "The
President cannot absolve himself of these deeds. I know,
because we discussed them many times. His style is that he
does not issue these orders directly. He gives a wink and a
nod, and those around him know what to do. They all must be
held accountable."


6. (C) Samaraweera said that in his opinion, Weerawansa and
Ranawaka in particular had always believed that democracy was
wrong for Sri Lanka and wanted to install an authoritarian,
Sinhala Buddhist supremacist regime. Samaraweera said they
had found the perfect vehicle for their plans in Defense
Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa, whom he termed "extremely
ambitious." The government's post-conflict strategy was
beginning to emerge, he said, and that was "to silence
critical voices." Samaraweera believed thatSri Lanka was
headed toward some sort of politicl climax soon, "either in
the war or in governane." Samaraweera mused that the
President himsel was becoming a victim of the forces he had
unleashed.

PRESIDENT UPBRAIDS PASTOR ABOUT EDITOR'S FUNERAL
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7. (C) Lanka Dissent, Samaraweera's news website, stopped
publishing the day after editor Lasantha Wickrematunge's
murder. Samaraweera said he had spoken to some Christian
clergy who had met President Rajapaksa recently. The
President wanted to reassure them about the pending
anti-conversion bill, but first singled out the pastor of the
church where Wickrematunge's funeral had taken place. "My
brother (Gothabaya Rajapaksa) is upset that you had his
funeral in your church." The pastor protested that
Wickrematunge had been a member of the congregation. The
President responded, "Yes, but you shouldn't have allowed all
those UNP politicians to speak." The President was
reportedly somewhat mollified when the ministers offered to
pray for him as the leader of the country. He said, "I don't
like this (anti-conversion) bill either - but we'll see what
we can do."

DEATH THREATS TO ATTORNEY IN CONSTITUTIONAL CASE
-------------- ---


8. (C) Samaraweera mentioned that his party's attorney had
also received death threats. Poloff met separately with the
lawyer, Ravi Jayawardene, a petitioner in two fundamental
rights cases currently before the Supreme Court. Jayawardene
reported that he had received two phone calls on January 22
that threatened his life. The calls were traced to two
separate phone booths in Colombo. Jayawardene said he had
decided to leave the country and had already applied for a UK
visa. Jayawardene is due in court on January 26 for a
scheduled hearing before the Supreme Court in the suit
seeking to compel the president to implement the 17th
amendment to the Constitution by appointing the moribund
Constitutional Council. The hearing is the first since the
Chief Justice issued a 30-day deadline on December 4 for the
government to reach an agreement with the opposition for

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nominees to the constitutional council. Jayawardene reported
that he had heard that the President had held up an agreement
with UNP leader Wickremasinghe over the opposition leader's
nomination of Ranjith Abeysuriye, a former Attorney General
and Police Commission Chief. According to Jayawardene, the
President would likely again seek to delay appointing the
Council by having a Sinhalese extremist party object to
whoever the UNP nominated in Abeysuriye's place. That way,
he could avoid implementing the Amendment without having to
assume responsibility.


9. (C) COMMENT: According to recent media reports,
Samaraweera was planning to go to Washington to request a
meeting with Secretary of State Clinton to hand over a
dossier detailing the crimes of the Defense Secretary and
Army Commander. However, Samaraweera somewhat sheepishly
confided that he himself had put out that story, thinking
that raising his own profile at this juncture might provide
some protection. He admitted he does not have sufficient
specific evidence to compile such a dossier. According to
the timeline he gave us, he plans to be in New York in early
March. He expressed interest in meeting a senior official at
the State Department, such as Assistant Secretary Boucher.
We advised him that because of the transition it was
difficult to arrange such appointments now, but offered to
facilitate a meeting for him closer to the date of his
travel.
Blake