WikiLeaks: MR Had No Intention Of Going To War, LTTE Behavior At Oslo Would Strengthen Hard-Liners – Palitha To US
By Colombo Telegraph -
“Palitha said that he had spoken on the phone that morning to Norwegian Special Envoy Jon Hanssen-Bauer, and that Hanssen-Bauer, despite the setback, was still optimistic. The Government, Palitha said, would reply soon to Solheim’s five questions, and the answers would all be affirmative. The Government, he said, would not renege on previous agreements. President Rajapaksa, he said, had no intention of going to war. Unfortunately, LTTE behavior at Oslo would strengthen the hand of hard-liners in the Government.” the US Embassy Colombo informed Washington.
palitha-420×0
Palitha Kohona
A Leaked ‘Confidential’ US diplomatic cable, dated June 13, 2006, updated the Secretary of State regarding and a meeting Ambassador Jeffrey J. Lunstead had with Palitha Kohona, head of the GSL Peace Secretariat and head of the Oslo delegation. The Colombo Telegraph found the related leaked cable from the WikiLeaks database. The cable is signed by the US Ambassador to Colombo Jeffrey J. Lunstead.
The ambassador wrote; ”Ambassador also met June 13 with Palitha Kohona, head of the GSL Peace Secretariat, and also head of the negotiating team which went to Oslo. Palitha said that the LTTE refusal to meet was a complete surprise. The GSL team had been waiting in the negotiating room at 9 a.m. on June 8, when they were told by the Norwegians that the LTTE was refusing to join them. The GSL team stayed around until 7:30 that evening while the Norwegians worked on the Tigers to participate. In the interim Palitha had consulted with President Rajapakse, and when Eric Solheim came to see them at 7:00 that evening, he told Solheim they were going home. Solheim was furious at the LTTE, Palitha said.”
“Palitha said there was no doubt in his mind that the entire drama had been cooked up by the LTTE beforehand. He surmised that they wanted to show the Tamil diaspora that the EU listing did not prevent them from traveling and meeting. He agreed that the Tigers’ seven-page “Oslo Communiqu” had not been written on the spot but prepared beforehand. It was the work, he said, of New York-based lawyer Rudrakumaran and Australian resident (and former Attorney General of Sri Lanka) Pashupati Siva.” the ambassador further wrote.
“Ambassador told Palitha that the US had now started the initiative to form two international groups to work on the issue of Tiger financing and weapons procurement. As he had done with Foreign Secretary earlier, Ambassador said that the US was undertaking a significant effort here, and that it was crucial that the Government work to ensure a clean human rights record. Palitha said that he understood, and that US emphasis on this point would help him and his like-minded colleagues, in debates within the Government. Ambassador asked that Palitha not spread the word of this initiative yet. Palitha also said that he agreed with US and other Co-Chairs that the Government had to come up with something to offer to Tamils to show they had an alternative to armed struggle. In this regard, he thought the announcement the day before of a bi-partisan experts committee to come up with recommendations on a final settlement was a positive step. The Ranil Wickremasinghe government had some good ideas, but tried to impose then without building consensus–which had led to Ranil’s downfall. President Rajapaksa, by contrast, was a careful consensus builder. Progress might be slower under Rajapaksa, he said, but it would be more likely to last.”
Placing a comment ambassador Lunstead wrote; “Not surprisingly, both Palihakkara and Kohona picked up quickly on the importance of the Ref B working group initiative, and that it will give the GSL, if it is inclined, “grace” to put forward a concrete, substantive plan for a permanent solution.”
Read the cable below for further details;
Related posts to this cable;
WikiLeaks: US Invites Fifteen Other Governments To Address Tiger Financing And Weapons Procurement
WikiLeaks: LTTE’s Motives For Playing A ‘Surprise Card’ In Oslo Were Two Fold – GoSL To US
VZCZCXRO6947 OO RUEHBI DE RUEHLM #0998/01 1641136 ZNY CCCCC ZZH O 131136Z JUN 06 FM AMEMBASSY COLOMBO TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3660 INFO RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 9715 RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 6144 RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 4179 RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 9250 RUEHNY/AMEMBASSY OSLO 3133 RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 2210 RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 3044 RUEHSM/AMEMBASSY STOCKHOLM 0254 RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI 6695 RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI 4578 RUEKDIA/DIA WASHDC RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 1209
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 000998
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/20/2016
TAGS: PREL PTER PHUM CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: FOREIGN SECRETARY DISCUSSES OSLO,
POSITIVELY RECEIVES AMBASSADOR'S DEMARCHE ON TERRORISM
WORKING GROUPS
REF: A. COLOMBO 990 AND PREVIOUS
¶B. STATE 94541
Classified By: Ambassador Jeffrey Lunstead. 1.4(b,d)
¶1. (C) Summary: Ambassador met Sri Lankan Foreign Secretary
Palihakkara and Peace Secretariat Chief and head of the Oslo
delegation Kohona on June 13 in the wake of the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam's (LTTE) refusal to enter talks with
the Government of Sri Lanka (GSL) in Oslo on June 8-9 on the
status of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM). (Ref A)
Palihakkara and Kohona stated they believed the LTTE's
surprise card at Oslo was meant to assure the Tamil diaspora
that the EU ban of May 30 had not deterred the LTTE, and that
the LTTE wanted a forum to release their Oslo Communiqu that
reaffirmed Tamil rights to self determination and possibly
alluded to military action. The Ambassador briefed both on
the U.S.'s initiative to engage fifteen countries to stem
LTTE financing and weapons procurement, which both GSL
officials accepted with genuine thanks and promise of
cooperation.
---------------
The Tiger Card
---------------
¶2. (C) Ambassador met with Foreign Secretary Palihakkara on
June 13 to discuss the situation after the LTTE scuttling of
talks with the GSL in Oslo. Palihakkara said he had opted
out of accompanying Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera to
Oslo to meet with the Norwegians June 12 in order to wait for
Oslo delegation head and Peace Secretariat chief Palitha
Kohona's debrief upon the latter's return to Sri Lanka.
¶3. (C) Taking an evenhanded tone, Palihakkara stated that he
surmised the LTTE's motives for playing a "surprise card" in
Oslo were two fold. First, they wanted to demonstrate to the
Tamil diaspora, which in large part funds the terrorist
organization either willingly or unwillingly, that the E.U.
ban had neither affected their fundraising and recruitment
abilities nor their resolve. Second, Palihakkara contended,
the LTTE wanted a well-publicized platform from which to
release their clearly premeditated "Oslo Communiqu" of June
9: the document may have presaged LTTE military or other
violent action against the GSL.
------------
Gut Feeling
------------
¶4. (C) While Palihakkara admitted the possibility of "nasty"
Tiger violence, he said, "My gut feeling is that the LTTE is
more posturing than substance. I don't think there will be a
major security problem." On the issue of LTTE refusal to
accept EU nationals as members of the SLMM, Palihakkara
recommended patience. "The LTTE needs the SLMM as much as
anyone else." Similarly, Norway is "correctly facing a lot
of criticism by trying to accommodate the LTTE" but "Norway
must be given some space" to facilitate.
----------------------
Devolution Think Tank
----------------------
¶5. (C) Palihakkara noted that President Rajapaksa is taking a
proactive approach to the peace process following the failure
of the Oslo talks. Three initiatives include: the
appointment of a bipartisan committee or "think tank" of Sri
Lankan academics to draft a proposal for maximum devolution
of power to the North and East; "humanitarian focal points"
to deal with displaced persons in the East; and increased
political dialog with the pro-LTTE Tamil National Alliance
(TNA) and other Tamil groups. "The TNA," Palihakkara added,
"is also in an impossible situation. They are afraid."
(Presumably Palihakkara meant that the TNA has little choice
COLOMBO 00000998 002 OF 003
but to toe the LTTE line.)
--------------------------------------------- -
Demarche Delivered on Sri Lanka Contact Groups
--------------------------------------------- -
¶6. (C) The Ambassador told Palihakkara that the US is
inviting fifteen other governments to form overlapping
contact groups to address Tiger financing and weapons
procurement. Palihakkara agreed to reinforce Sri Lanka's
interest in working with the international community to bring
an end to the conflict by reaching out to these nations'
foreign offices after the US has made initial proposals, but
to "be economical" in discussing the initiative until the USG
wishes to make it known.
¶7. (C) Ambassador impressed upon Palihakkara the importance
and uniqueness of this initiative, since the LTTE does not
pose a world-wide threat or a terrorist threat to the US. As
the move represents a big step outside of the vital national
interests of the US, the GSL must do everything in its power,
the Ambassador stressed, to make sure that the GSL's human
rights record is clean. Palihakkara said he understood and
would use the Ambassador's message to influence others in the
GSL.
¶8. (C) Palihakkara was visibly pleased with the US's contact
group initiative, saying "We value your commitment to do
peacemaking in a practical way." The Ambassador stressed the
need not to announce or leak this initiative, and Palihakkara
said he would keep the news in close-hold.
---------------------------
Peace Secretariat Surprised
---------------------------
¶9. (C) Ambassador also met June 13 with Palitha Kohona, head
of the GSL Peace Secretariat, and also head of the
negotiating team which went to Oslo. Palitha said that the
LTTE refusal to meet was a complete surprise. The GSL team
had been waiting in the negotiating room at 9 a.m. on June 8,
when they were told by the Norwegians that the LTTE was
refusing to join them. The GSL team stayed around until 7:30
that evening while the Norwegians worked on the Tigers to
participate. In the interim Palitha had consulted with
President Rajapakse, and when Eric Solheim came to see them
at 7:00 that evening, he told Solheim they were going home.
Solheim was furious at the LTTE, Palitha said.
¶10. (C) Palitha said there was no doubt in his mind that the
entire drama had been cooked up by the LTTE beforehand. He
surmised that they wanted to show the Tamil diaspora that the
EU listing did not prevent them from traveling and meeting.
He agreed that the Tigers' seven-page "Oslo Communiqu" had
not been written on the spot but prepared beforehand. It was
the work, he said, of New York-based lawyer Rudrakumaran and
Australian resident (and former Attorney General of Sri
Lanka) Pashupati Siva.
11 (C) Palitha said that he had spoken on the phone that
morning to Norwegian Special Envoy Jon Hanssen-Bauer, and
that Hanssen-Bauer, despite the setback, was still
optimistic. The Government, Palitha said, would reply soon to
Solheim's five questions, and the answers would all be
affirmative. The Government, he said, would not renege on
previous agreements. President Rajapaksa, he said, had no
intention of going to war. Unfortunately, LTTE behavior at
Oslo would strengthen the hand of hard-liners in the
Government.
¶12. (C) Ambassador told Palitha that the US had now started
the initiative to form two international groups to work on
the issue of Tiger financing and weapons procurement. As he
had done with Foreign Secretary earlier, Ambassador said that
the US was undertaking a significant effort here, and that it
COLOMBO 00000998 003 OF 003
was crucial that the Government work to ensure a clean human
rights record. Palitha said that he understood, and that US
emphasis on this point would help him and his like-minded
colleagues, in debates within the Government. Ambassador
asked that Palitha not spread the word of this initiative
yet. Palitha also said that he agreed with US and other
Co-Chairs that the Government had to come up with something
to offer to Tamils to show they had an alternative to armed
struggle. In this regard, he thought the announcement the day
before of a bi-partisan experts committee to come up with
recommendations on a final settlement was a positive step.
The Ranil Wickremasinghe government had some good ideas, but
tried to impose then without building consensus--which had
led to Ranil's downfall. President Rajapaksa, by contrast,
was a careful consensus builder. Progress might be slower
under Rajapaksa, he said, but it would be more likely to last.
-------
Comment
-------
¶13. (C) Comment. Not surprisingly, both Palihakkara and
Kohona picked up quickly on the importance of the Ref B
working group initiative, and that it will give the GSL, if
it is inclined, "grace" to put forward a concrete,
substantive plan for a permanent solution. End comment.
LUNSTEAD
India, the largest democratic country by its population created the Tamil armed groups to keep Sri Lanka under its wings. However, India also understood that letting the Tamil armed groups grow beyond its control would be detrimental to India. This is the reason Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi reached a very good political solution for the Tamils’ issues in Sri Lanka under the Indo-Sri Lanka agreement. Unfortunately the LTTE did not see what Rajiv Gandhi did, because of the Tamil diaspora. The 2002 ceasefire agreement between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government also broken by the LTTE. A reasonable political minded person knows that Prabhakaran would not have fought against India without the help of the Westerners through the Tamil diaspora. And also Prabhakaran would not have broken the 2002 ceasefire agreement with the Sri Lankan government without the help of the Westerners through the diaspora. If you can answer the following questions you will know who have most of the Tamils’ and the Sinhalese’s blood on their hands. Who have been deliberately stopping the peace agreements? Who have been guiding the diaspora? Who have been fuelling “hate and bitterness” among the Tamils and Sinhalese? Who have been facilitating the funding to the LTTE? The answer is Western political minds through their intelligence network. Even though the Westerners had everything within their reach to stop money get transferred from the diaspora to the LTTE, but they did nothing in order to fuel the war to keep the division. Think about the lost lives due to the war, think about the sufferings, think about the lost opportunities to develop the country and the people’s lives. The Westerners created bitter divisions among the Tamils, Sinhalese, and Indians through the diaspora. The Westerners act like peace makers, but they are not. They talk about democracy and human rights to fool others, in order to turn people against their own governments to destabilise the developing countries. The US, the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are called five eyes. They named their powerful countries as the “United” States of America and “United” Kingdom, because they know the value of “UNITED” and the the benefits of “DIVIDING” others. The truth is, the Westerners have a vital interest to divide every community and every country to rule others. The Westerners have a most ugliest face underneath their white faces, it is pure evil. Not many people have the ability to see their real face, but few of us do through our hard work and sacrifices. Ask Julian Assange and Bradley Manning, they will tell you more about the Westerners evil side. Julian Assange and Bradley Manning are Westerners, but they exposed the truth and ended up in a prison in the US and stuck inside an embassy in London, UK. Some Sri Lankans and some other Asians are backing the Westerners for their own self-centred lifestyle, they don’t care about their own people, or their motherland.
In the 1970’ and 1980’s the Sri Lankan President J R Jayewardene established a good relationship with the United States of America, in order to develop Sri Lanka; however, during this period India was leaning towards Russia and felt threaten by the Sri Lankan government’s action. Therefore, India was a British colony and applied the same strategy as their Western Masters do when they are in trouble. India applied divide and conquer strategy as their Western Masters. The Indian Central Government created the Tamil Armed groups to keep Sri Lanka under its wings, and also to undermine the Tamils who are well established in India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, and Malaysia. The Indian Central Government always felt threaten by the Tamil Nadu, because the Tamil Nadu has been always different compare to the other states in India. The Tamil Nadu never approved Hindi as a mandatory second language, and the Congress and the BJP political parties do not have influence in Tamil Nadu either. The DMK president M. Karunanidhi always has been a proud Tamil, and wanted to have a separate country for the Tamils. However, the Indian Central Government was too smart for him; it created the Tamil armed groups in order to squeeze the Tamils’ aspiration, and stopped the Tamils going alone to have their own country. The Tamil Armed groups have taken the Tamils backward beyond any Tamil’s imagination. Knowingly or Unknowingly the Tamil Nadu politicians are faithful to the Indian Central Government than to the Sri Lankan Tamils. The Tamils Diaspora leaders are faithful to their Western Masters than to the Sri Lankan Tamils. The Westerners are developing the Western Countries using the Tamils. Therefore, I urge the Sri Lankan Tamil leaders to work with the Sri Lankan government to give better life to all Sri Lankans. “Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered”. Once you have eliminated the Shepherd, then you can do whatever you want with the sheep, because the shepherd is not there to look after the sheep. This is what happening to the Tamils. India created the LTTE and eliminated the Tamils leaders, now India and the Westerners are using the Tamils to fulfil their interests. The Sri Lankan Tamils future is not looking good at all. The Tamils who have the knowledge can’t help the Tamils, because the Indians and the Westerners will never allow the smart Tamils to lead the Tamils. If they do, then they can’t use the Tamils to fulfil their own interests. I personally believe that the Tamils need a strong leadership before even think about political autonomy. I believe that the government wouldn’t give any autonomy to the Tamils while the Tamil leaders are under the grip of the Indians and the Westerners who have encouraged and supported the bloody war for thirty years.
Who is going to rebuke the US and the other Western Countries for their atrocities? The Westerners have killed thousands, if not millions in Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq. Obama’s choice for defence secretary was very good at killing in Vietnam. Chuck Hagel admitted that he killed hundreds of innocent people in Vietnam. He said that “We were amazingly proficient at it all. In firefights we’d shoot hundreds and hundreds of rounds and after we’d walk 100 yards and see hundreds and hundreds of bodies”. Even after he has admitted that he killed hundreds of innocent people, there is no war crime investigation on Chuck Hagel. The Americans are hypocrites; they have one law for themselves, and one law for the developing countries. Who is going rebuke India for creating the Tamil Armed Groups? Who is going to rebuke the Western Countries for funding the LTTE, indirectly through the diaspora? India is liable for creating the Tamil armed groups, and the Western Countries are liable for making them as the most dangerous terrorist groups in the world. The Western Countries knew how much money have been poured into the LTTE by the Tamil diaspora, but did nothing. Canada banned the LTTE in 2006, but millions of dollars poured into the LTTE in 2007 and 2008. The CSIS knew everything, but did nothing. The Westerners are happy, as long as the rest of the world is divided; kill each other, and the West get to talk about war crimes, democracy and human rights, in order to undermine others. The Westerners are only 8% of the world’s population; therefore they will do everything to divide others, in order to rule the majority.
Antany Peter - February 15, 2013
10:14 pm