A leaked US diplomatic cable says \u201c Sampanthan said this remark, coupled with the recent decree by nationalist Buddhist monks against Fonseka running in the election and the fact that a Rajapaksa\/Fonseka contest would \u2018split the army,\u2019 were \u2018dangerous trends\u2019 and indicated that the election campaign would get \u2018hot.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/sampanthan-colombo-telegraph1.jpg\" "\\"sampanthan-colombo")
<\/a>Sampanthan met Rajapaksa privately<\/p><\/div>\n
A leaked US diplomatic cable recount details of a meeting the embassy had had with Tamil National Alliance Chairman R. Sampanthan on November 10, 2009. The Colombo Telegraph found the cable from WikiLeaks database. The cable written on November 13, 2009, classified as \u201cCONFIDENTIAL\u201d by the Deputy Chief of Mission Valerie Fowler.<\/p>\n
The US ambassador Patricia A. Butenis\u00a0wrote \u201c Sampanthan said President Rajapaksa recently expressed a desire to meet and they did so privately.\u201d \u201c Sampanthan said the president wanted elections as soon as possible before the \u2018war crimes\u2019 issue got any heated, GSP-Plus concessions expired, or the economy got any worse\u201d she further wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cSampanthan noted the president\u2019s willingness to meet with Sampanthan and other Tamils, but overall he was not sanguine about the Rajapaksas\u2019 commitment to reconciliation. They had stalled implementation of the 13th<\/sup> amendment and the election season would likely further reduce chances for putting the amendment into effect. Asked what other steps short of the 13th<\/sup> amendment would be important for reconciliation, Sampanthan noted the de-militarization of society and elimination \u2013 or at least reduction \u2013 of checkpoints, which particularly impacted young Tamil men. Sampanthan also urged the elimination of the Emergency Regulations. With the end of the war and complete defeat of the LTTE, Sampanthan thought there was no longer any justification for extraordinary measures.\u201d the US ambassador wrote.<\/p>\n The ambassador Butenis wrote \u201cSampanthan said he wanted to meet with the US diaspora to stress with them the need to be pragmatic and not extreme in finding a political solution to the plight of Tamils, and to encourage them to become more involved in reconstruction and economic development.\u201d \u201cWe encouraged him both in making the trip and in pursuing these goals\u201d Butenis further wrote.<\/p>\n Read the full cable for further details and the ambassador\u2019s comments;<\/p>\n […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":1198,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[53,1,27],"tags":[1139,1161,1220,1135,1185,1257,1298,1318,1150,1263,6983],"class_list":["post-1024","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-global-politics","category-news","category-wikileaks","tag-democracy","tag-foreign-affairs","tag-gotabhaya-rajapaksa","tag-mahinda-rajapakse","tag-patricia-a-butenis","tag-sarath-fonseka-in-wikileaks","tag-sri-lankans-in-wikileaks","tag-tamil-daispora","tag-tamils","tag-us-embassy-cables-on-sri-lanka","tag-war-crimes"],"yoast_head":"\nVZCZCXRO7049\nOO RUEHAG RUEHROV RUEHSL RUEHSR\nDE RUEHLM #1031\/01 3171024\nZNY CCCCC ZZH\nO 131024Z NOV 09\nFM AMEMBASSY COLOMBO\nTO RUEHC\/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0752\nINFO RUCNMEM\/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY\nRUEHKA\/AMEMBASSY DHAKA PRIORITY 2028\nRUEHIL\/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 9064\nRUEHKT\/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU PRIORITY 7302\nRUEHLO\/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 5211\nRUEHNE\/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 3457\nRUEHNY\/AMEMBASSY OSLO PRIORITY 5163\nRUEHOT\/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA PRIORITY 0036\nRUEHSM\/AMEMBASSY STOCKHOLM PRIORITY 0698\nRUEHKO\/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 4274\nRUEHCG\/AMCONSUL CHENNAI PRIORITY 9627\nRUEHBI\/AMCONSUL MUMBAI PRIORITY 6921\nRUEHON\/AMCONSUL TORONTO PRIORITY 0010\nRHEFDIA\/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY\nRUEHGV\/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 3821\nRHHMUNA\/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY\nRUEHBS\/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY\nRHEHAAA\/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY\nRUEKJCS\/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY\nC O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 001031\n\nSIPDIS\n\nDEPARTMENT FOR SCA\/INSB\n\nE.O. 12958: DECL: 11\/13\/2019\nTAGS: PGOV<\/a> PREL<\/a> PREF<\/a> PHUM<\/a> PTER<\/a> EAID<\/a> MOPS<\/a> CE<\/a>\nSUBJECT: TAMIL LEADER SAMPANTHAN FORESEES \"HOT\" ELECTION\nCAMPAIGN\n\nCOLOMBO 00001031 001.2 OF 002\n\nClassified By: DEPUTY CHIEF OF MISSION VALERIE FOWLER. REASONS: 1.4 (B\n, D)\n\n \u00b6<\/a>1. (C) SUMMARY: In a November 10 meeting with PolChief,\nTamil National Alliance Chairman Rajavarothiyam Sampanthan\nsaid President Rajapaksa told him there would be early\npresidential elections. He affirmed General Fonseka's\nintention to run but noted that a Rajapaksa\/Fonseka contest\nwould \"split the army\" and indicated that the election\ncampaign would get \"hot.\" Key steps on national\nreconciliation for the Tamil community included\nde-militarization of society, elimination of check points,\nand ending the Emergency Regulations. Sampanthan wanted to\nmeet with the U.S. diaspora to stress with them the need to\nbe pragmatic and not extreme in finding a political solution\nto the plight of Tamils and to encourage them to become more\ninvolved in reconstruction and economic development. END\nSUMMARY.\n\nELECTIONS: COULD GET \"HOT\"\n--------------------------\n\n\u00b6<\/a>2. (C) Sampanthan said President Rajapaksa recently expressed\na desire to meet and they did so privately. When Sampanthan\nasked the president's intentions whether he would call an\nearly presidential election, Rajapaksa said he decided to\n\"leave the decision to the people\" and recounted how he had\nasked crowds at events whether they wanted elections.\nEveryone supposedly put their hands up. Sampanthan said the\npresident wanted elections as soon as possible before the\n\"war crimes\" issue got any more heated, GSP-Plus concessions\nexpired, or the economy got any worse.\n\n\u00b6<\/a>3. (C) On Fonseka, Sampanthan said the general would run and\nnoted that the president would have to accept his resignation\nor be seen as \"dishonorable.\" (NOTE: On November 12, Fonseka\nresigned his commission effective December 1, and the\npresident immediately accepted the resignation. Serving\nmilitary officers are barred from participating in politics.\nEND NOTE.) Sampanthan also recounted a disturbing\nconversation he recently had with the president's brother\nBasil Rajapaksa, who said matter-of-factly \"Fonseka could be\nassassinated.\" Sampanthan said this remark, coupled with the\nrecent decree by nationalist Buddhist monks against Fonseka\nrunning in the election and the fact that a Rajapaksa\/Fonseka\ncontest would \"split the army,\" were \"dangerous trends\" and\nindicated that the election campaign would get \"hot.\"\n\nRECONCILIATION\n--------------\n\n\u00b6<\/a>4. (C) Sampanthan noted the president's willingness to meet\nwith Sampanthan and other Tamils, but overall he was not\nsanguine about the Rajapaksas' commitment to reconciliation.\nThey had stalled implementation of the 13th amendment and the\nelection season would likely further reduce chances for\nputting the amendment into effect. Asked what other steps\nshort of the 13th amendment would be important for\nreconciliation, Sampanthan noted the de-militarization of\nsociety and the elimination -- or at least reduction -- of\ncheckpoints, which particularly impacted young Tamil men.\nSampanthan also urged the elimination of the Emergency\nRegulations. With the end of the war and the complete defeat\nof the LTTE, Sampanthan thought there was no longer any\njustification for extraordinary measures.\n\nDIASPORA CONFERENCE\n-------------------\n\n\u00b6<\/a>5. (C) Sampanthan was nonchalant about a Tamil diaspora\n\nCOLOMBO 00001031 002.2 OF 002\n\nconference reported to be taking place soon, noting that it\nhad already switched from London on November 12 to Zurich\nperhaps on November 19. Nevertheless, he said he often spoke\nto diaspora leaders, and recounted a conversation he had had\nthat morning with unidentified Tamil leaders in California\nwho were interested in getting involved in economic\ndevelopment and reconstruction of the war-ravaged Sri Lankan\nnorth and east. These leaders encouraged him to plan a trip\nto the U.S., which he was eager to do soon.\n\n\u00b6<\/a>6. (C) Sampanthan said he wanted to meet with the U.S.\ndiaspora to stress with them the need to be pragmatic and not\nextreme in finding a political solution to the plight of\nTamils, and to encourage them to become more involved in\nreconstruction and economic development. We encouraged him\nboth in making the trip and in pursuing these goals.\n\nCOMMENT\n-------\n\n\u00b6<\/a>7. (C) The Sri Lankan Tamil community, of which Sampanthan is\nnow probably the most prominent member, could play an\nimportant role in any upcoming election, whether presidential\nor parliamentary. If Fonseka runs against Rajapaksa in a\npresidential contest, the Sinhala vote could be evenly split,\nmaking every vote count -- including those of the Tamil\ncommunity. Although Tamils initially were dead-set against\nFonseka, given his past statements defending Sinhala-Buddhist\nnationalism, we have begun to hear some express willingness\nto support the general against what many regard as the very\ncorrupt Rajapaksas. Fonseka himself appears aware of the\npotential of this constituency and added the Rajapaksas poor\ntreatment of IDPs and failure to move ahead on national\nreconciliation to his list of complaints in his resignation\nletter.\nBUTENIS<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"