{"id":1523,"date":"2011-11-06T00:22:30","date_gmt":"2011-11-06T00:22:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/colombotelegraph.com\/?p=1523"},"modified":"2012-03-21T23:47:56","modified_gmt":"2012-03-21T23:47:56","slug":"fonseka-sampanthan-pact-shows-up-butenis-slip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/fonseka-sampanthan-pact-shows-up-butenis-slip\/","title":{"rendered":"Fonseka-Sampanthan pact shows up Butenis\u2019 slip"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The Editor of The Nation<\/em> wrote his this week column based on the Colombo Telegraph<\/em> news story which revealed Sampanthan \u2013 Fonseka pact.\u00a0 Below we give the full text of the Nation editor Malinda Seneviratne\u2019s article.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fonseka-Sampanthan pact shows up Butenis\u2019 slip<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Malinda Seneviratne<\/p>\n

A few days ago,\u00a0www.colombotelegraph.com<\/a>\u00a0broke the news that Sarath Fonseka had signed a secret pact with R. Sampanthan, the leader of the Tamil National Alliance.\u00a0\u00a0It was always known that the Fonseka camp had come to some agreement with the TNA during the 2010 Presidential Campaign.\u00a0\u00a0What was not made public was the full text of the pact.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The key member parties of that coalition, the UNP and the JVP have remained silent about these revelations, culled from Wikileaks files, subsequently clearly painstakingly perusalby the \u2018colombotelegraph\u2019 people.\u00a0\u00a0It is hard to believe that the JVP, for instance, did not know the details of this agreement.\u00a0\u00a0If they did, then the question arises why they did not share the information with the voting public.\u00a0\u00a0If they didn\u2019t know then that speaks volumes about their political immaturity and ignorance.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, it is well known that politicians rarely bother about the nitty-gritty of manifestos and policy declarations.\u00a0\u00a0That\u2019s just necessary frill for real intent, which is power-need.\u00a0\u00a0If, as can be argued, the UNP and JVP knew from the beginning that they were backing a losing cause out of sheer lack of options, then the fact of pact would not have even warranted discussion.\u00a0\u00a0The fact that the agreement was essentially one of confederacy, is therefore only of academic interest.\u00a0\u00a0What I found more compelling about this \u2018leak\u2019 and others related to the 2010 Presidential Election is the thinking of the USA, as articulated by that country\u2019s representative in Sri Lanka, Patricia Butenis.<\/p>\n

The communiqu\u00e9s to Washington from the office of the US Ambassador, carrying her signature, are not cursory reports of political developments.\u00a0\u00a0The selectivity and emphasis contained in them indicate political preferences.<\/p>\n

The fact that the Sampanthan-Fonseka agreement found its way to the US Embassy and not the voting public indicates the true location of Fonseka\u2019s (and by association, the UNP\u2019s and JVP\u2019s) political home was and is.\u00a0\u00a0It indicates that the USA had a huge stake in Fonseka\u2019s bid while the track record of interfering in the politics of other countries makes it difficult to assume that support did not include funds and promises.<\/p>\n

Butenis\u2019 comments make sad reading, actually.\u00a0\u00a0A tendency to take seriously the calculations of those who allowed reason to be discoloured by hope may have given the lady reasons re entertain (cautious) hope herself, it reflects poorly on her status as a senior diplomat.\u00a0\u00a0Sampathan\u2019s confessions, for example, have persuaded her to believe that \u2018a Fonseka victory appears more possible each day\u2019.\u00a0\u00a0This was the crux of her statement on January 1, 2010. Earlier, on November 10, 2009, Butenis makes much of Sampanthan saying that a Rajapaksa\/Fonseka content would split the army and that the election campaign would get \u2018hot\u2019.<\/p>\n

Although clearly at odds with the JVP\u2019s stated ideological preferences (she says they are opportunists and were revenge-seekers \u2013 January 15, 2010), Butenis salivates about the Tilvin-Somawansa faction of the JVP splitting from the ruling coalition to support Fonseka.\u00a0She doesn\u2019t note, for example, the fact that the JVP\u2019s start rhetorician, Wimal Weerawansa backed Mahinda Rajapaksa or that the JVP had suffered huge losses in popularity after the party left the coalition.<\/p>\n

Butenis acknowledges that Fonseka\u2019s soft-hands and weak-kneed relationship with the US might have some negative fallout, lamenting that he could have been more discreet about his dealings with US authorities (November 6, 2009 communiqu\u00e9).\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The role of the US in Fonseka\u2019s campaign is also evidenced by the fact that Fonseka treated Butenis as a key confidante with whom he shared all plans including a desire to travel to Singapore and stay there, after he lost the election (January 28, 2010 communiqu\u00e9).<\/p>\n

I believe that the account of a meeting with Sunimal Fernando (one of President Rajapaksa\u2019s numerous \u2018advisors\u2019 \u2013 \u2018hangers-on\u2019 would be a better tag) is what shows Butenis up most.\u00a0\u00a0Fernando, well-known for survival footwork and hardly the pollster he (and Butenis) claims he is, was clearly hedging his bets when he a) met with US Embassy officials, and b) dubbed the race \u2018statistically a dead heat\u2019.\u00a0\u00a0Butenis cannot be expected to have the math skills necessary to read the Sri Lankan polity and Fernando would not be asked to read it by anyone who has any sense.\u00a0\u00a0Butenis, obviously ignorant about Fernando\u2019s abilities, has fired a communiqu\u00e9 to Washington quoting Fernando (January 22, 1010 communiqu\u00e9) and without taking the trouble to check with people who knew better.\u00a0The sheer eagerness indicates political preferences and sophomoric intellect.\u00a0\u00a0Sad.<\/p>\n

As hilarious is the fact that Butenis took former President Chandrika Kumaratunga\u2019s observations seriously enough to quote her in a communiqu\u00e9.\u00a0\u00a0Her incompetence is well documented, as are her shady deals and utter disregard for democratic practices.\u00a0\u00a0Her objections on these matters are therefore laughable.\u00a0\u00a0Butenis must have been thrilled to bits that Kumaratunga said Fonseka would win. As a responsible official of the US Government, though, one would have thought she gives a reasonable amount of context so that claim can be properly assessed.\u00a0\u00a0Kumaratunga\u2019s opinions are not taken seriously in Sri Lanka.\u00a0\u00a0She could have mentioned this, but did not.<\/p>\n

I am sure\u00a0www.colombotelegraph.com<\/a>\u00a0will meticulously peruse relevant documents from Wikileaks. I believe that other documents from the US Embassy in Colombo will only confirm Patricia Butenis\u2019 incompetence and further entrench the perception that she is a meddler who does little to improve relations between the USA and Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[…]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":1524,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[53,8,70],"tags":[1139,1208,1161,1185,1206,1385,1298,1263],"class_list":["post-1523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-global-politics","category-editorial","category-right-to-reply","tag-democracy","tag-election-monitoring","tag-foreign-affairs","tag-patricia-a-butenis","tag-presidential-election-2010","tag-sampanthan-fonseka-secret-pact","tag-sri-lankans-in-wikileaks","tag-us-embassy-cables-on-sri-lanka"],"yoast_head":"\nFonseka-Sampanthan pact shows up Butenis\u2019 slip - Colombo Telegraph<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/fonseka-sampanthan-pact-shows-up-butenis-slip\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Fonseka-Sampanthan pact shows up Butenis\u2019 slip - 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