![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/samapanthan-colombo-telegraph.jpg\" "\\"Sampanthan,")
<\/a>TNA leader Sampanthan<\/p><\/div>\n
In a leaked US diplomatic cable the TNA leader R. Sampanthan has been described by a senior official of the US Embassy, as a \u201cshow me the money\u201d kind of individual.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cSampanthan noted that he recognized the leverage the Tamil community increasingly held as a possible kingmaker in the election and he wanted to extract as many concessions as possible from General Fonseka and President Mahinda Rajapaksa before he committed his support to either candidate.\u201d the US Embassy wrote to Washington.<\/p>\n A leaked US diplomatic cable, classified as\u00a0\u201cCONFIDENTIAL\u201d recounts details of a meeting the Embassy has had with the Tamil National Alliance leader R. Sampanthan prior to the presidential election 2010 . \u00a0The Colombo Telegraph found the cable from WikiLeaks database. The cable was written on December 1, 2009\u00a0\u00a0by the Deputy Chief of Mission Valerie Fowler.\u00a0The cable subject was given a \u201cShow me the money: key Tamil leader delays endorsement in presidential race\u201d.<\/p>\n The Deputy Chief of Mission wrote, \u201cIn a 1 December meeting with the Charge and the Polconus, TNA leader R. Sampanthan noted that he will delay his endorsement of either General Fonseka or President Rajapaksa in the January 26 presidential election.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSampanthan assessed that the political environment had changed significantly in the past couple of months in Sri Lanka and that the Tamil vote had become much more important. Sampanthan divulged that many within the Tamil community had asked him to run as an independent candidate, but he assessed that it made no sense for him to win \u2018a couple of hundred thousand votes and lose,\u2019 \u201c she further wrote.<\/p>\n Placing a comment Fowler wrote \u201cSampnathan was extremely relaxed and appeared confident about his political position. He repeatedly stated that he had no intention of making a quick endorsement and that Fonseka and Rajapaksa would have to earn the Tamil vote.\u201d<\/p>\n Related news; WikiLeaks: Sampanthan \u2013 Fonseka secret pact revealed<\/a><\/p>\n Read the below cable for further details;<\/p>\n […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":1595,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,53,1,27],"tags":[6986,1139,1161,1135,1206,1298,1397,1398,1399,1263],"class_list":["post-1594","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-anti-corruption","category-global-politics","category-news","category-wikileaks","tag-anti-corruption","tag-democracy","tag-foreign-affairs","tag-mahinda-rajapakse","tag-presidential-election-2010","tag-sri-lankans-in-wikileaks","tag-tamil-politics","tag-tissainayagam-case","tag-tna-leader-r-sampanthan","tag-us-embassy-cables-on-sri-lanka"],"yoast_head":"\nVZCZCXRO0001\nOO RUEHAG RUEHROV RUEHSL RUEHSR\nDE RUEHLM #1094\/01 3361324\nZNY CCCCC ZZH\nO 021324Z DEC 09 ZDK CTG NUMEROUS SVC\nFM AMEMBASSY COLOMBO\nTO RUEHC\/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0868\nINFO RUCNMEM\/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY\nRUEHKA\/AMEMBASSY DHAKA PRIORITY\nRUEHIL\/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 9142\nRUEHKT\/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU PRIORITY 7388\nRUEHLO\/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 5262\nRUEHNE\/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 3540\nRUEHNY\/AMEMBASSY OSLO PRIORITY 5199\nRUEHOT\/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA PRIORITY 0067\nRUEHSM\/AMEMBASSY STOCKHOLM PRIORITY 0734\nRUEHKO\/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 4316\nRUEHCG\/AMCONSUL CHENNAI PRIORITY 9703\nRUEHBI\/AMCONSUL MUMBAI PRIORITY 6994\nRUEHON\/AMCONSUL TORONTO PRIORITY 0055\nRHEFDIA\/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY\nRUEHGV\/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 3870\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 001094\n\nSIPDIS\n\nDEPARTMENT FOR SCA\/INSB\n\nE.O. 12958: DECL: 12\/02\/2019\nTAGS: PGOV<\/a> PREL<\/a> PREF<\/a> PHUM<\/a> PTER<\/a> EAID<\/a> MOPS<\/a> CE<\/a>\nSUBJECT: SHOW ME THE MONEY: KEY TAMIL LEADER DELAYS\nENDORSEMENT IN PRESIDENTIAL RACE\n\nREF: A. COLiance (TNA) leader R. Sampanthan\nstated that horsing a candidate in the\nupcoming presidential election. Sampanthan noted that he\nrecognized the leverage the Tamil community increasingly held\nas a possible kingmaker in the election and he wanted to\nextract as many concessions as possible from General Sarath\nFonseka and President Mahinda Rajapaksa before he committed\nhis support to either candidate. The Tamil leader also noted\nhis concern about a credible election and the involvement of\nthe military in the election process. END SUMMARY.\n\nCOLOMBO 00001094 001.8 OF 002\n\nIn No Hurry to Make a Decision\n------------------------------\n\n\u00b6<\/a>2. (C) In a 1 December meeting with the Charge and the\nPolcouns, TNA leader R. Sampanthan noted that he will delay\nhis endorsement of either General Fonseka or President\nRajapaksa in the January 26 presidential election.\nSampanthan assessed that the political environment had\nchanged significantly in the past couple of months in Sri\nLanka and that the Tamil vote had become much more important.\n Sampanthan divulged that many within the Tamil community had\nasked him to run as an independent candidate, but he assessed\nthat it made no sense for him to win \"a couple of hundred\nthousand votes and lose.\"\n\nReady to Exploit Emerging Leverage\n----------------------------------\n\n\u00b6<\/a>3. (C) Alternatively, Sampanthan opined that the best\nscenario for the Tamil community would be to extract\nconcessions from the presidential candidates and have the\ninternational and domestic communities hold the candidates to\ntheir promises after the election. The Tamil leader noted\nthat he would use a December 2 meeting with Rajapaksa and an\nupcoming meeting with Fonseka to gauge their level of\ncommitment to the Tamil community. In particular, Sampanthan\nopined that he was looking for the manner in which each\ncandidate would make promises to the Tamil community; he\nnoted that he would be looking for a public declaration of\ncommitment to the Tamils, or at a minimum, campaign promises\nthat the candidates could be held to account for by \"key\ncountries\" within the diplomatic community.\n\n\u00b6<\/a>4. (C) Sampanthan noted that he would tell President\nRajapaksa in his meeting that he had not accomplished\nanything for the Tamils in his first term and that he would\nhave to make a strong statement on what he hoped to\naccomplish in his second term. Turning to Fonseka,\nSampanthan stated that he thought Fonseka's initial public\nstatements and press conference were encouraging, but that\nthe former General had a lot of questions ned About Upcoming Election\n---------------------------------\n\n\u00b6<\/a>5. (C) The Tamil leader noted that he was worried about\npre-election violence and that he was especially concerned\n\nCOLOMBO 00001094 002.2 OF 002\n\nabout the military's role during the campaign period.\nSampanthan noted that he was especially disturbed by reports\nhe had heard that Army officers were taking leave from their\njobs and joining the campaign. Furthermore, Sampanthan\nopined that he was worried about the prospect of military\npersonnel loyal to Rajapaksa and Fonseka clashing and\nattempting to influence the electoral process.\n\nSwitzerland Conference a Success\n--------------------------------\n\n\u00b6<\/a>6. (C) When queried about the recent meeting of key Tamil\nand Muslim leaders in Zurich, Sampanthan noted that he was\nhappy with the progress that had been made in Switzerland.\nHe stated that a consensus had emerged that minority leaders\nneed to forge greater unity to have an impact on the\npolitical process. While Sampanthan acknowledged that\ncertain minority individuals would continue to support the\nRajapaksa government, he opined that the majority of minority\nleaders ultimately would speak with one voice.\n\nComment\n-------\n\n\u00b6<\/a>7. (C) Sampanthan was extremely relaxed and appeared\nconfident about his political position. He repeatedly stated\nthat he had no intention of making a quick endorsement and\nthat Fonseka and Rajapaksa would have to earn the Tamil vote.\n Possibly as a reflection of his confidence, Sampanthan\nagreed to bring up the Tissainayagam case during his meeting\nwith President Rajapaksa. On December 2, Sampanthan called\nthe front office to confirm that he had raised the issue, and\nthat the President had said he would contact the Attorney\nGeneral on the matter, noting that the AG needed to consent\nin order for bail to be granted. Post will report ongoing\ncontact with key Tamil leaders.\n\nFOWLER<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"