SRI LANKA HOT TOPICS: FONSEKA, BUDDHIST CRITICISM

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 000108

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INSB

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/09/2020
TAGS: PGOV PREL PREF PHUM PTER EAID MOPS CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA HOT TOPICS: FONSEKA, BUDDHIST CRITICISM
OF GSL, ACCOUNTABILITY, PARLIAMENT DISSOLUTION

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Classified By: CHARGE D'AFFAIRES VALERIE C. FOWLER. REASONS: 1.4 (B, D
)


1. (C) SUMMARY: On February 10, Charge met with the Foreign
Secretary, who said that the Government of Sri Lanka (GSL)
had acted with complete transparency when detaining Sarath
Fonseka and that the U.S. statement of "concern" by the State
Department spokesman was premature. He left the door open
for an undetermined length of detention for Fonseka while an
investigation continued and promised that other opposition
leaders had nothing to fear. In other news, Parliament was
dissolved, with the general election expected to take place
on April 8. The head of the oldest and largest Buddhist sect
in Sri Lanka -- and a hitherto staunch defender of President
Rajapaksa -- shocked the country by saying on February 9 that
it was a "grave crime" to imprison a war hero and that voters
should throw out the responsible politicians at the next
poll. The government announced that copies of vote tally
sheets from the presidential election would not be released,
and tear gas was reportedly used by police to break up a
clash between government supporters and protesters calling
for Fonseka's release. The Defense Secretary meanwhile
appeared to soften his tone on war crimes investigations in a
newspaper interview. END SUMMARY.

FOREIGN SECRETARY SAYS
NO CAUSE FOR CONCERN
--------------


2. (C) On February 10, Charge met with Foreign Secretary
Romesh Jayasinghe to continue the conversation begun by A/S
Blake on February 8 with the Sri Lankan Ambassador to the
U.S., regarding the detention of Sarath Fonseka. Jayasinghe
insisted that the government had undertaken this action in a
completely transparent manner and according to long-standing
Sri Lankan military regulations. He did not use the term
"arrest" when describing Fonseka's detention but said that
Fonseka was under investigation for alleged charges violating
clause 57 (1) of the Army Act and had been taken into
detention to further that investigation. Jayasinghe declined
to detail how long the investigation or any subsequent court
action could be expected to last or how long Fonseka might be
detained, responding simply that the Sri Lankan military
system was very transparent and well-established and that the
case would be handled within the parameters set up by the
Army Act. When asked whether an appearance by someone
serving in the military at a political campaign rally would
be punishable under the Army Act, Jayasinghe hedged, saying
the seriousness of the matter would be subject to a legal
interpretation. (NOTE: Opposition supporters have complained
that active duty uniformed military officers and personnel
loyal to President Rajapaksa, including one of Rajapaksa's
sons who is serving in the Navy, participated in campaign
events with no apparent legal repercussions. END NOTE.)


3. (C) Jayasinghe maintained that other opposition leaders
were not under threat by this investigation, and that
civilians could never be the subject of a military justice
investigation, which only applied to military and former
military personnel. He also went on to clarify that any
decision against a defendant in a military court martial
could be appealed within the civil justice system, initially
to the Appeals Court and even to the Supreme Court.
Jayasinghe said he believed that A/S Crowley's February 8
statement to the media that the U.S. was concerned about
Fonseka's detention was premature. (NOTE: Crowley expressed
"concerns that any action be in accord with Sri Lankan law.")
Jayasinghe contended that details were not usually available
in the hours immediately after such a development and that it
was now clear to all that the detention had been done in a

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completely transparent and open manner in accordance with Sri
Lankan law.

ALL DETAINED FONSEKA
LOYALISTS ACCOUNTED FOR
--------------


4. (C) Post contacts outside of the government confirmed that
all Fonseka loyalists who had been detained since the end of
the presidential election had been accounted for, and most
had received visits from independent monitors on February 9.
Ministry of Defense Spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella stated on
February 9 that the detainees had all been transferred to the
Criminal Investigative Division (CID) for further inquiries.


PARLIAMENT DISSOLVED,
VOTE LIKELY ON APRIL 8
--------------


5. (C) As expected, the President dissolved parliament on the
evening of February 9. The nomination period is expected to
begin in about ten days and last for one week, with the
election campaign period following. The election itself is
likely to be held on April 8, just prior to the celebration
of the Sri Lankan New Year the following week.

KEY BUDDHIST CLERIC DECRIES FONSEKA ARREST,
ACCUSES GOVERNMENT OF DECEIVING THE PEOPLE
--------------


6. (C) The Mahanayaka of the Malawatte Chapter (essentially
the head of the oldest and largest Buddhist sect in Sri
Lanka),Tibbotuwawe Sri Siddhartha Sumangala, shocked the
country by saying on February 9 that it was a "grave crime"
to imprison a war hero and by coming out strongly in defense
of freedom of the press. Expressing his views during a
meeting with the wife and children of missing journalist
Pradeep Ekneligoda, the Buddhist prelate -- who had been a
staunch defender of President Rajapaksa -- said the people's
right to know the truth should be safeguarded and that
"depriving that right is not democracy." On Fonseka, he said
that if the general had made some mistake, his service to the
nation in defeating terrorism entitled him to be pardoned.
He noted that the present political leaders came to visit him
for advice but don't listen to what he says. The prelate
said he had a pile of letters from poor people living in fear
or even fleeing into the jungle because they had voted for
Fonseka. He added, "What is the need of a leader who
harasses poor people? When casting their vote, people should
know not to send this sort of people to such positions."

NO COPIES OF
VOTE TALLY SHEETS
--------------


7. (C) After public complaints by the election monitoring
group Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) that their
repeated requests to see the carbon copies of the vote
counting tally sheets from the January 26 election went
unanswered, the government responded on February 10 that
these copies would not be released to the public because
there was "no need for that."

OPPOSITION PROTESTS
--------------


8. (C) Opposition supporters assembled at the Supreme Court
Complex on February 10 to protest the arrest of General
Fonseka. Government supporters also held a counter rally at

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the same location. The opposition supporters demanded
Fonseka's release and burned life-sized posters of President
Rajapaksa. A clash erupted when the two groups threw rocks
at each other, at which point the police intervened and
reportedly used tear gas twice to control the crowd. There
were an estimated 3,000 total demonstrators, including both
sides. Several were injured and taken to local hospitals.
Late reports said police had also used tear gas on protesters
in Galle, Ampara, and Matara.

DEFENSE SECRETARY SOFTENS
TONE ON ACCOUNTABILITY
--------------


9. (C) Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa seemed to soften
his tone on calls for accountability over possible violations
of international human rights. In an earlier interview with
the BBC, the Defense Secretary had vigorously opposed any
international investigation into possible violations. In a
February 8 interview with the local Island newspaper,
however, Rajapaksa said "no one would oppose a genuine
investigation initiated by the international community" and
that the Defense Ministry would take punitive action against
any military personnel guilty of war crimes or criminal
activity.

COMMENT
--------------


10. (C) The Foreign Secretary's clarification that Fonseka
was under detention to further the investigation appears to
reflect the government's consolidation of its position on his
case, making sure they do not box themselves in with any
procedural complexities. His arguments about the
government's handling of the case with "complete
transparency" resembled the government's response to the EU's
report on the removal of GSP-plus preferential tariffs. In
both instances, a strong statement was made that Sri Lankan
laws did not allow for any misdeeds, and therefore nothing
questionable could have happened.


11. (C) The Buddhist Mahanayaka's comments on Fonseka and the
Rajapaksas came as a bombshell to Sri Lankans, already
reeling from the news of the general's arrest. The prelate
has been very pro-government, insisting to Ambassador during
her visit to Kandy last October that we work with the
president and denying there were any problems between
Sinhalese and Tamils lingering after the war. The Rajapaksas
took steps to try to suppress news of his latest remarks,
warning MTV not to do a breaking report, though the station
went ahead and televised the Mahanayaka's remarks in their
entirety during a regularly scheduled newscast. Roman
Catholic Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith, who made very supportive
remarks regarding the president during the campaign, also
told us yesterday he was seeking a meeting with the president
to warn him against further moves against Fonseka, which
"could damage his presidency." Rajapaksa worked hard to
court the favor of Sri Lankan religious leaders. We will be
watching, together with Sri Lankans, whether the religious
leaders' warnings now will help moderate the government's
actions.
FOWLER