Colombo Telegraph –

“A senior police officer (protect) confided to Pol FSN: ‘police received instructions from the Presidential Secretariat to stop the rally and to assault participants if SIPDIS they did not adhere to the police instructions to disband.’ The police source added that the Presidential Secretariat further instructed the police not to arrest the group led by Deputy Minister Silva. Local journalists told the BBC January 9 that ‘police did not arrive to prevent the attacks by about 100 thugs.’” the US Embassy Colombo informed Washington.

Deputy Minister Mervin Silva with underworld gangs at Nugegoda rally

The Colombo Telegraph found the related leaked cable from the WikiLeak database. The cable classified as “CONFIDENTIAL” details Nugegoda mob attack led by Deputy Minister of Labor Mervyn Silva. The cable was written on January 10, 2007 by the US Ambassador to Colombo Robert O. Blake.

Ambassador Blake wrote “On January 9 a mob led by Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) Deputy Minister of Labor Mervyn Silva attacked demonstrators at a peace rally in Colombo organized by the United People’s Movement (UPM), according to credible media reports. The UPM represents a range of opposition political parties, including the main opposition United National Party (UNP), and socialist and Tamil parties, in support of political power sharing between Sinhalese and Tamil-speaking communities within a united Sri Lanka. The mob severely beat Ajith Senaviratne a journalist from the government-critical Ravaya newspaper.”

“United National Party (UNP) Member of Parliament Dayasiri Jayasekara, a co-founder of the UPM who took part in the peace rally, confirmed to Pol FSN on January 10 that he had witnessed Deputy Minister Silva at the demonstration ‘with well over 50 thugs attacking the rally participants.’ Deputy Minister Silva, an outspoken nationalist, has often disrupted peace rallies during the Chandrika Kumaratunga and Mahinda Rajapaksa Presidencies.” he wrote.

Placing a comment ambassador Blake wrote “The allegation from our police source linking the Presidential Secretariat to an order to permit the disruption of a peaceful political rally is disturbing. It is inconsistent with the government’s pro- political solution message to the international community. Many of the participants came from the “reform” wing of the opposition UNP. The mission will raise our concerns with Acting Foreign Secretary DeSilva and seek an opportunity to do the same with the Presidential Secretariat. Septel will report on the likelihood of defections from other elements of the UNP to the government in the next few days.”

Read the cable below for further details;

C O N F I D E N T I A L COLOMBO 000045

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/10/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PHUM MOPS CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: MINISTER'S "THUGS" BEAT JOURNALIST AT
ANTI-WAR PROTEST

Classified By: Ambassador Robert O. Blake, Jr., for reasons 1.4(b,d).

¶1. (C) Summary:  The BBC and several local independent news
agencies reported that on January 9 a mob led by Sri Lanka
Freedom Party (SLFP) Deputy Minister of Labor Mervyn Silva
attacked participants at a peace rally in Colombo organized
by the United People's Movement (UPM), an organization
representing a range of opposition political parties,
including the main opposition United National Party (UNP),
leftist and Tamil parties.  The mob severely beat Ajith
Senaviratne, a journalist from the government-critical Ravaya
("Rumor") newspaper.  The rally organizers and a confidential
police source alleged that the order to disrupt the peace
demonstration came from the Presidential Secretariat.  End
summary.

Mervyn's Mob
------------

¶2. (C) On January 9 a mob led by Sri Lanka Freedom Party
(SLFP) Deputy Minister of Labor Mervyn Silva attacked
demonstrators at a peace rally in Colombo organized by the
United People's Movement (UPM), according to credible media
reports.  The UPM represents a range of opposition political
parties, including the main opposition United National Party
(UNP), and socialist and Tamil parties, in support of
political power sharing between Sinhalese and Tamil-speaking
communities within a united Sri Lanka.  The mob severely beat
Ajith Senaviratne a journalist from the government-critical
Ravaya ("Rumor") newspaper.

¶3. (C) United National Party (UNP) Member of Parliament
Dayasiri Jayasekara, a co-founder of the UPM who took part in
the peace rally, confirmed to Pol FSN on January 10 that he
had witnessed Deputy Minister Silva at the demonstration
"with well over 50 thugs attacking the rally participants."
Deputy Minister Silva, an outspoken nationalist, has often
disrupted peace rallies during the Chandrika Kumaratunga and
Mahinda Rajapaksa Presidencies.

Police Inactive
---------------

¶4. (C) United People's Movement (UPM) and Civil Monitoring
Committee (CMC) co-founder (and a Tamil Member of Parliament)
Mano Ganesan told Pol FSN that Sri Lanka Muslim Congress
leader Rauff Hakeem and Tamil National Alliance MP Suresh
Premachandran were preparing to address the rally when "a mob
of 150 persons led by Mervyn Silva arrived at the site of the
meeting... and smashed the flags, stage and PA system all in
the presence of journalists.  We had advance information that
our rally might be threatened and requested police
protection, but the police arrived only after the mob had
left."  Ganesan added: "The mob attack shows the GSL is not
serious about power sharing or a political solution.  Mervyn
would not do this on his own."

¶5. (C) A senior police officer (protect) confided to Pol FSN:
"police received instructions from the Presidential
Secretariat to stop the rally and to assault participants if

SIPDIS
they did not adhere to the police instructions to disband."
The police source added that the Presidential Secretariat
further instructed the police not to arrest the group led by
Deputy Minister Silva.  Local journalists told the BBC
January 9 that "police did not arrive to prevent the attacks
by about 100 thugs."

¶6. (C) COMMENT:  The allegation from our police source
linking the Presidential Secretariat to an order to permit
the disruption of a peaceful political rally is disturbing.
It is inconsistant with the government's pro- political
solution message to the international community.  Many of the
participants came from the "reform" wing of the opposition
UNP.  The mission will raise our concerns with Acting Foreign
Secretary DeSilva and seek an opportunity to do the same with

SIPDIS
the Presidential Secretariat.  Septel will report on the
likelihood of defections from other elements of the UNP to
the government in the next few days.
BLAKE