![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/g-l-peiris-colombo-telegraph.jpg\" "\\"G.L.-Peiris")
<\/a>GL a Pomme<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>Mlinda a Yankee<\/p><\/div>\n
The Colombo Telegraph found the related leaked cable from the WikiLeak database. The cable classified as \u201cCONFIDENTIAL\u201d analyses the Sri Lanka’s pro \u2013 US foreign policy under \u00a0Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. The cable was written on May 29, 2003 by the US Ambassador to Colombo E. Ashley Wills.<\/p>\n
Ambassador Wills wrote \u201cIn general, the Oxford-educated Peiris’ focus has been more on cultivating ties with former colonial power Britain and other Commonwealth countries, but he is very pro-U.S. and often visits Washington. More than Peiris’, Moragoda’s direct focus has been on cultivating relations with the U.S. and with India. Re the U.S., the intelligent, articulate Moragoda is a perfect fit. Born in Washington, D.C, he is a dual national Amcit (please protect) married to an American, with plenty of Washington connections, many from his days as a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation and at Harvard. A “big picture” person, Moragoda is also highly aware that the U.S. is the most powerful country in the world, and he feels that it is better that Sri Lanka recognize that fact and work within it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Placing a note the ambassador further wrote \u201cOf late, the duo of Peiris and Moragoda have been joined by a new pro-U.S. player: In just several months on the job, Ambassador Devinda Subasinghe, a U.S.-educated financier and close friend of the PM, has already made a mark in Washington.\u201d<\/p>\n
Below we give\u00a0the relevant part of the confidential cable;<\/p>\n
Related news to this cable; WikiLeaks: \u201cRanil is a Yankee, like his uncle\u201d US cable\u00a0implies<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":2447,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[53,1,27],"tags":[1161,1569,1570,1571,1559,1561,1298,1263],"class_list":["post-2437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-global-politics","category-news","category-wikileaks","tag-foreign-affairs","tag-minister-of-constitutional-affairs-g-l-peiris","tag-minister-of-economic-reform-milinda-moragoda","tag-prime-minister-wickremesinghe","tag-pro-u-s-foreign-policy","tag-sri-lankan-foreign-policy","tag-sri-lankans-in-wikileaks","tag-us-embassy-cables-on-sri-lanka"],"yoast_head":"\nC O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 COLOMBO 000909\n\nSIPDIS\n\nDEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA\/INS, S\/P, IO, INR\/NESA; NSC FOR E.\nMILLARD\n\nLONDON FOR POL\/RIEDEL\n\nE.O. 12958: DECL: 05-29-13\nTAGS: PREL<\/a> PGOV<\/a> PINR<\/a> CE<\/a> UN<\/a>\nSUBJECT: Sri Lanka's foreign policy: Prime Minister\ntilts toward U.S., but faces resistance\n\nRefs: Colombo 873, and previous\n\n(U) Classified by Ambassador E. Ashley Wills.\nReasons: 1.5 (b,d).\n\n\u00b6<\/a>1. (C) SUMMARY: Since coming to power, PM Wickremesinghe\nhas taken steps to steer Sri Lankan foreign policy\ncloser to the U.S. In doing this, he has had successes,\nincluding the signing of an ICC waiver with the U.S. and\nin regard to Iraq where the GSL steered a constructive\ncourse. Moreover, one of his key ministers recently\nproposed that the GSL take the lead in forming some sort\nof counterweight to NAM. That said, the PM's initiative\nhas faced stiff resistance from MFA bureaucrats. In\naddition, the president and Opposition, backed by much\nof the press and the intelligentsia, have cut into his\nroom for maneuver via their generally anti-U.S. biases.\n\n\u00b6<\/a>2. (C) In the post-Iraq war environment, we think the\nGSL will continue to want to draw closer to the U.S.\nWith the PM facing a precarious cohabitation situation,\nhowever, additional steps toward the USG will have to be\ncarefully plotted out. Nonetheless, with Sri Lanka\nfacing a difficult peace process and needing help to\nconstrain the Tamil Tigers, we think the larger trend in\nthe country provides ballast for the PM's pro-U.S.\nproclivities. END SUMMARY.\n\n--------------------\nPM tilts toward U.S.\n--------------------\n\n\u00b6<\/a>3. (C) Since coming to power in late 2001, Prime\nMinister Ranil Wickremesinghe has taken steps to steer\nSri Lankan foreign policy closer to the U.S.\nWickremesinghe's pro-U.S. views have been long-standing\nand are in part a function of family connections. His\nuncle, J.R. Jayewardene, for example, was Sri Lanka's\npresident from the late 1970s through the late 1980s,\nand maintained very close links with the U.S.\n(Note: In fact, Jayewardene was called \"Yankee Dickey\"\nby leftists for years.) Moreover, Wickremesinghe, who\ncomes from a very wealthy business family, is a strong\nadvocate of free enterprise and strongly opposed to the\ndisastrous socialist policies of former governments.\nWickremesinghe is also surprisingly knowledgeable about\nU.S. history and politics; he is an avid reader about\nthe American Civil War, U.S. military history, and U.S.\nlegislation. The prime minister's pro-U.S. views also\nemerge out of his political calculus that Sri Lanka\nneeds the support of the international community,\nespecially the U.S., to constrain the Tamil Tigers.\nWith the peace process his government's number one\npriority bar none, the prime minister has worked hard to\nsecure U.S. support for his efforts in this area from\nvery early on in his tenure.\n\n\u00b6<\/a>4. (C) In pursuing this pro-U.S. course, Wickremesinghe\nhas been supported by two dynamic advisers, Minister of\nConstitutional Affairs G.L. Peiris and Minister of\nEconomic Reform Milinda Moragoda. (Note: Beyond their\nofficial titles, both Peiris and Moragoda play key roles\nas peace process negotiators and policy formulators for\nthe GSL.) In general, the Oxford-educated Peiris' focus\nhas been more on cultivating ties with former colonial\npower Britain and other Commonwealth countries, but he\nis very pro-U.S. and often visits Washington. More than\nPeiris', Moragoda's direct focus has been on cultivating\nrelations with the U.S. and with India. Re the U.S.,\nthe intelligent, articulate Moragoda is a perfect fit.\nBorn in Washington, D.C, he is a dual national Amcit\n(please protect) married to an American, with plenty of\nWashington connections, many from his days as a visiting\nfellow at the Heritage Foundation and at Harvard. A\n\"big picture\" person, Moragoda is also highly aware that\nthe U.S. is the most powerful country in the world, and\nhe feels that it is better that Sri Lanka recognize that\nfact and work within it.\n\n\u00b6<\/a>5. (C) (((Note: Of late, the duo of Peiris and\nMoragoda have been joined by a new pro-U.S. player: In\njust several months on the job, Ambassador Devinda\nSubasinghe, a U.S.-educated financier and close friend\nof the PM, has already made a mark in Washington.)))\n WILLS<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"