By Colombo Telegraph-

“Jayasuriya told the Ambassador that he is leading a group of 17 reformists within the UNP and hopes he and some of his colleagues will be named ministers when President Rajapaksa announces a new cabinet, probably after a January 19 SLFP executive committee meeting. He noted that the UNP members who accept government posts will retain their party affiliation.”the US Ambassador Robert O. Blake informed Washington eleven days before Karu Jayasuriya  joined Mahinda Rajapaksa government with a group of UNP parliamentarians.

Karu was confident the majority of UNP members would support the government within parliament, and together, the two parties could convince the bulk of voters to accept a devolution proposal to bring a peaceful end to Sri Lanka's ethnic conflict

The Colombo Telegraph found the related leaked cable from the WikiLeak database. The cable is classified as “CONFIDENTIAL” and written on January 17, 2007 by the US Ambassador to Colombo Robert O. Blake.

Ambassador wrote “Jayasuriya pointed out that the MoU so far has produced few tangible results, other than assuring UNP support for the government’s budget. He criticized party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe for signing the MoU without insisting on an implementing mechanism. He posited that even if Wickremesinghe abrogates the MoU, it will have no material effect. Jayasuriya assessed that most UNP members – in or out of the government – will consider the greater national interest and support a strong devolution proposal if the government presents it in parliament, whether or not the MoU is in effect.”

“According to Jayasuriya, taking ministries will give the UNP a voice in governance and permit genuine cooperation on the peace process. He was confident the majority of UNP members would support the government within parliament, and together, the two parties could convince the bulk of voters to accept a devolution proposal to bring a peaceful end to Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict.”ambassador Blake further wrote

Under the subheading “Need for Internal Reform” ambassador he wrote  “Jayasuriya believed that UNP members are seeking government posts out of a sense of frustration with their own party. He noted that since 1994, when Wickremesinghe came to power, the party has lost 14 out of 16 elections and lost much of its support in agrarian districts. He added that in 1995, Wickremesinghe implemented a new regulation that makes it almost impossible to oust the party leader, who appoints members to all key party positions, including the only working group that might remove him from office. Despite Wickremesinghe’s tight grip on the party and his predicted displeasure with “cross-overs” who join government, Jayasuriya said, he was confident UNP members taking cabinet posts will not hinder efforts to revive the peace process.” .

Read the cable below for further details;

C O N F I D E N T I A L COLOMBO 000099

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/17/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PTER CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: OPPOSITION WILL COOPERATE WITH
GOVERNMENT ON PEACE PROCESS REGARDLESS OF INTERNAL RIFTS

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

¶1. (C) The Ambassador met with Karu Jayasuriya, former deputy
leader of the opposition United National Party (UNP), on
January 17 to discuss whether the likely "cross-over" of UNP
members to accept cabinet slots in the government would
damage the MoU between the UNP and governing Sri Lanka
Freedom Party (SLFP).  Jayasuriya pointed out that the MoU so
far has produced few tangible results, other than assuring
UNP support for the government's budget.  He criticized party
leader Ranil Wickremesinghe for signing the MoU without
insisting on an implementing mechanism.  He posited that even
if Wickremesinghe abrogates the MoU, it will have no material
effect.  Jayasuriya assessed that most UNP members - in or
out of the government - will consider the greater national
interest and support a strong devolution proposal if the
government presents it in parliament, whether or not the MoU
is in effect.

Need for Internal Reform
-------------------------

¶2. (C) Jayasuriya told the Ambassador that he is leading a
group of 17 reformists within the UNP and hopes he and some
of his colleagues will be named ministers when President
Rajapaksa announces a new cabinet, probably after a January
19 SLFP executive committee meeting.  He noted that the UNP
members who accept government posts will retain their party
affiliation.  According to Jayasuriya, taking ministries will
give the UNP a voice in governance and permit genuine
cooperation on the peace process.  He was confident the
majority of UNP members would support the government within
parliament, and together, the two parties could convince the
bulk of voters to accept a devolution proposal to bring a
peaceful end to Sri Lanka's ethnic conflict.

¶3. (C) Jayasuriya believed that UNP members are seeking
government posts out of a sense of frustration with their own
party.  He noted that since 1994, when Wickremesinghe came to
power, the party has lost 14 out of 16 elections and lost
much of its support in agrarian districts.  He added that in
1995, Wickremesinghe implemented a new regulation that makes
it almost impossible to oust the party leader, who appoints
members to all key party positions, including the only
working group that might remove him from office.  Despite
Wickremesinghe's tight grip on the party and his predicted
displeasure with "cross-overs" who join government,
Jayasuriya said, he was confident UNP members taking cabinet
posts will not hinder efforts to revive the peace process.

¶4. (C) COMMENT: While many analysts greeted the MoU between
the UNP and SLFP as an important foundation for building a
"southern consensus," Jayasuriya is correct that it has
yielded little to date.  While Wickremesinghe will balk at
the president's "raid" of UNP members, the majority of UNP
parliamentarians have voter bases that strongly support a
negotiated settlement to the ethnic conflict.  Jayasuriya is
right that most UNP parliamentarians will likely support a
strong devolution proposal in parliament, not simply in the
national interest, but also in order to cater to their voters.
BLAKE