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 Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. The cable was written on May 29, 2003 by the US Ambassador to Colombo E. Ashley Wills.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/cinton_and_chandrika-colombotelegraph.jpg\" "\\"Cinton_and_Chandrika")
<\/a>While she is not anti- U.S. per se, President Kumaratunga's education also appears to have affected her and she is quite pro-French<\/p><\/div>\n
Ambassador Wills wrote \u201cIn addition to the entrenched bureaucracy in the MFA, Wickremesinghe’s tilt toward the U.S. has also encountered sharp resistance from the president, her People’s Alliance (PA) party, and the radical Janantha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) party. While she is not anti- U.S. per se, President Kumaratunga — who shares a very tense cohabitation relationship with the PM — is not particularly friendly to our international positions on issues as diverse as Iraq, climate change, the ICC, general North\/South affairs, etc.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKumaratunga’s stance seems to be strongly influenced by the fact that her parents, who were both prime ministers, were advocates of NAM-type thinking on the international stage. The president’s Sorbonne education also appears to have affected her and she is quite pro-French. As could be expected, the president’s PA party basically mirrors her perspectives. As for the leftist JVP, the party has always been strongly anti-U.S., accusing us routinely in public of being the “arch-imperialist. Given that an alliance between a large section of the PA with the JVP is set to be announced soon, there is little indication that Opposition views of the U.S. will improve in the near-term.\u201d Wills further wrote.<\/p>\n
Below we give\u00a0the relevant part of the confidential cable;<\/p>\n
Related news to this cable;<\/p>\n
WikiLeaks: \u201cRanil is a Yankee, like his uncle\u201d US cable\u00a0implies<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n WikiLeaks: GL a Pomme, Milinda a Yankee, US cable\u00a0contends<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":2532,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[53,1,27],"tags":[1255,1161,1559,1561,1298,1263],"class_list":["post-2531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-global-politics","category-news","category-wikileaks","tag-chandrika-bandaranaike-kumaratunga-in-wikileaks","tag-foreign-affairs","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.)))\u00a0\n\n\u00b6<\/a>11. (C) In addition to the entrenched bureaucracy in\nthe MFA, Wickremesinghe's tilt toward the U.S. has also\nencountered sharp resistance from the president, her\nPeople's Alliance (PA) party, and the radical Janantha\nVimukthi Peramuna (JVP) party. While she is not anti-\nU.S. per se, President Kumaratunga -- who shares a very\ntense cohabitation relationship with the PM -- is not\nparticularly friendly to our international positions on\nissues as diverse as Iraq, climate change, the ICC,\ngeneral North\/South affairs, etc. Kumaratunga's stance\nseems to be strongly influenced by the fact that her\nparents, who were both prime ministers, were advocates\nof NAM-type thinking on the international stage. The\npresident's Sorbonne education also appears to have\naffected her and she is quite pro-French. As could be\nexpected, the president's PA party basically mirrors her\nperspectives. As for the leftist JVP, the party has\nalways been strongly anti-U.S., accusing us routinely in\npublic of being the \"arch-imperialist. Given that an\nalliance between a large section of the PA with the JVP\nis set to be announced soon, there is little indication\nthat Opposition views of the U.S. will improve in the\nnear-term.\nWILLS<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"