![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/karu_sajit-ranil-colombotelegraph1.jpg\" "\\"Karu_Sajit")
<\/a>Despite the criticism, Wickremesinghe seems set to hang on as party leader, as there are no clear challengers to his rule at this time<\/p><\/div>\n
The Colombo Telegraph found the related leaked cable from the WikiLeak database. The cable classified as \u201cCONFIDENTIAL\u201d analyses UNP internal crisis just after the 2004 April election. The cable was written on May 24, 2004 by the US Ambassador to Colombo Jeffrey J. Lunstead.<\/p>\n
Ambassador Jeffrey \u00a0wrote \u201cDuring the May 10 UNP meeting, Amaratunga related that one party member had complained to Wickremesinghe’s face that his constituents were unhappy that the former PM never smiles and they wonder why they should vote for the UNP. Amaratunga said Wickremesinghe did not respond, remaining stonefaced. In a conversation with Ambassador on April 8, former minister Milinda Moragoda remarked that Wickremesinghe “did not have the common touch.” Moragoda, who is a close adviser to Wickremesinghe, compared him unfavorably with former President J.R. Jayawardene, who ran a series of strong UNP campaigns in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.\u201d<\/p>\n
Under the subheading \u201cDespite criticism, no clear alternative<\/strong>\u201d ambassador Jeffrey wrote \u201cDespite the criticism, Wickremesinghe seems set to hang on as party leader, as there are no clear challengers to his rule at this time. In the May 10 conversation with the DCM noted above, for example, former minister John Amaratunga said that he had recently been in several UNP meetings at which there had been “frank discussions” as to whether Wickremesinghe should be replaced. Amaratunga said the conclusion from the meetings was that Wickremesinghe should not be forced out right away. He also said he felt that former Minister of Power and Energy Karu Jayasuriya — who some interlocutors have recommended as a possible replacement for Wickremesinghe — was “not a viable option.” Amaratunga noted that he was not impressed with Jayasuriya’s organizational and leadership abilities, for example. Party dissidents themselves, such as Premadasa and others, have also failed to name a definitive alternative to Wickremesinghe. In the meantime, in his meeting with the Ambassador, G.L. Peiris indicated that he did not think that efforts to remove Wickremesinghe would go anywhere. He added that reported tensions in the party were \u2018much exaggerated.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n The Ambassador wrote \u201cPremadasa, who is the son of former President Premadasa and a former deputy minister, told poloff on May 12 that he had introduced a proposal in a May 10 UNP parliamentary group meeting that all party officers be elected. (Some press reports state that Premadasa wants a “secret” ballot, but he did not confirm this. Currently, the party leader appoints all the party’s officers.)\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIn a May 12 meeting with the Ambassador, G.L. Peiris, a former minister, derided Premadasa’s proposals, asserting that the party leader had to have authority to make decisions and should not be constrained in doing so by a committee structure.\u201d he further wrote.<\/p>\n Placing a comment ambassador Jeffrey wrote “Wickremesinghe’s image has suffered serious damage in recent months. Most particularly, he has suffered in comparison with longtime rival President Kumaratunga, who is widely seen as dynamic and passionate. That said, Wickremesinghe should be able to weather the storm for now. In the mid- to longer term, if the party is to improve its standing, however, it will have to open up to a new generation of leaders. There is a view that UNP leadership circles have become a bit stuffy and are not open to new blood. Humbled by its recent defeat, the UNP is going to have to adjust to get out of its current political trough or face further defeats down the road.”<\/p>\n To read other US\u00a0diplomatic cables related to UNP internal crisis click here\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Read the\u00a0cable below\u00a0for further details;<\/p>\n […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":2861,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,63,27],"tags":[1143,1139,1636,1298,1638,1639,1647,1263],"class_list":["post-2856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-politics-2","category-wikileaks","tag-authoritarianism","tag-democracy","tag-ranil-wickremesinghe-leadership","tag-sri-lankans-in-wikileaks","tag-unp-dissidents","tag-unp-internal-crisis","tag-unp-leadership-struggle","tag-us-embassy-cables-on-sri-lanka"],"yoast_head":"\nC O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 000770\n\nSIPDIS\n\nDEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA\/INS, INR\/NESA\n\nNSC FOR E. MILLARD\n\nE.O. 12958: DECL: 05-12-14\nTAGS: PGOV<\/a> PINR<\/a> PREL<\/a> CE<\/a>\nSUBJECT: After recent election defeat, UNP leader\nWickremesinghe under fire from within his party\n\nRefs: Colombo 760, and previous\n\n(U) Classified by Ambassador Jeffrey J. Lunstead.\nReasons 1.5 (b,d).\n\n\u00b6<\/a>1. (C) SUMMARY: UNP leader and former prime minister\nRanil Wickremesinghe is under fire from members of his\nown party who are seeking to clip his wings and\/or\nremove him as party leader. The discontent stems from\nthe view of many party members that Wickremesinghe led\nthe party poorly in the April election in which the UNP\nwas defeated. Despite the heat, Wickremesinghe seems\nset to hang on as party leader, as there are no clear\nchallengers to his rule at this time. In the mid- to\nlonger term, if the party is to improve its standing, it\nwill have to open up to a new generation of leaders.\nEND SUMMARY.\n\n=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=\nDissension in the UNP\n=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=\n\n\u00b6<\/a>2. (C) The United National Party (UNP) has been roiled\nby internal dissension since the party lost the April\nparliamentary election. The dissent is a bit unfocused,\nbut its main aim is to clip the wings of Ranil\nWickremesinghe, the UNP and Opposition Leader, and\/or\nremove him as party leader. (Wickremesinghe was prime\nminister from December 2001 until the UNP's defeat in\nthe April election.) Two main challenges to\nWickremesinghe's leadership of the party have emerged\nrecently:\n\n-- In the first challenge, Sajith Premadasa, a UNP MP\nfrom Hambantota District in the south, has proposed\nchanges to how the UNP selects its party officers.\nPremadasa, who is the son of former President Premadasa\nand a former deputy minister, told poloff on May 12 that\nhe had introduced a proposal in a May 10 UNP\nparliamentary group meeting that all party officers be\nelected. (Some press reports state that Premadasa wants\na \"secret\" ballot, but he did not confirm this.\nCurrently, the party leader appoints all the party's\nofficers.) Premadasa also proposed that a committee\nstructure be set up to make policy decisions. Premadasa\ntold poloff he had made these proposals out of \"a\ngenuine need for reform within the UNP on several\nlevels,\" and because he felt the UNP needed \"more\ninternal democracy.\" Although he stressed to poloff\nthat his proposal was not anti-Wickremesinghe in thrust,\nPremadasa has been known to have had a tense\nrelationship with the former PM for some time.\nPremadasa said his proposal had been well-received by\nmany party members, though the party leadership had not\nyet formally weighed in on them as of yet. The UNP was\nscheduled to have further meetings later this week to\nreview Premadasa's proposals as well as other issues.\n(In a May 12 meeting with the Ambassador, G.L. Peiris, a\nformer minister, derided Premadasa's proposals,\nasserting that the party leader had to have authority to\nmake decisions and should not be constrained in doing so\nby a committee structure.)\n\n-- In the second challenge, UNP party member and Sri\nLanka Telecom (SLT) chairman Thilanga Sumithapala\nspearheaded an effort to replace Wickremesinghe as party\nleader last week. Sumithapala, in making this move,\nclaimed that Wickremesinghe had failed the party and\nneeded to be removed. Nimal Weeraratne, a UNP official,\nconfirmed to Pol FSN on May 12 that Sumithapala had\ntried to oust Wickremesinghe and asserted that\nSumithapala had also attempted to convince several UNP\nmembers to cross over and support the United People's\nFreedom Alliance (UPFA) government. According to\nWeeraratne, members loyal to Wickremesinghe had told the\nformer PM of these machinations and the effort was\nquashed. (Contacts have told Mission that Sumithapala,\ncurrently on bail for his alleged involvement in an\nimmigration scandal, may be forced to resign from his\nposition as SLT chairman shortly.) In fending off\nSumithapala's effort, there are unconfirmed reports that\nWickremesinghe had to promise that he would undertake\nlarge-scale reform and \"restructuring\" of the UNP.\n(Indeed, at the UNP's May 10 meeting, Wickremesinghe had\nreportedly placed some reform proposals on the table,\nincluding the idea of developing \"a UNP code of\nconduct.\" This latter idea is aimed at stopping\ncorruption and ethical improprieties. Charges of\ncorruption dogged a number of ministers and UNP MPs\nduring the recent election campaign.)\n\n=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=\nParty Leader Under Fire\n=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=\n\n\u00b6<\/a>3. (C) Overall, the discontent within the UNP stems\nfrom the view of many party members (and outside\nobservers) that Wickremesinghe led the party poorly in\nthe April election campaign. The sense that\nWickremesinghe was a failure has taken various forms,\nincluding many press commentary pieces in English- and\nSinhala-language newspapers grumbling about his\nleadership style, which is commonly seen as lackluster\nto put it mildly. In one such article, which appeared\nin the English-language ISLAND on April 5, local\npolitical analyst Rohan Edirisinha said \"the prime\nminister never really took people into confidence,\nwhether he was dealing with the peace process or the\nrebels or dealing with the economy.\"\n\n\u00b6<\/a>4. (C) Long-standing UNP members have also criticized\nWickremesinghe's election strategy, though mostly in\nprivate. In a May 10 meeting with the DCM, for example,\nformer Interior and Christian Affairs Minister John\nAmaratunga said the UNP had lost the election due in\npart to a lack of charisma on Wickremesinghe's part.\nAmaratunga stated: \"You have to at least give the\nimpression that you are willing to die for what you\nstand for.\" During the May 10 UNP meeting, Amaratunga\nrelated that one party member had complained to\nWickremesinghe's face that his constituents were unhappy\nthat the former PM never smiles and they wonder why they\nshould vote for the UNP. Amaratunga said Wickremesinghe\ndid not respond, remaining stonefaced. In a\nconversation with Ambassador on April 8, former minister\nMilinda Moragoda remarked that Wickremesinghe \"did not\nhave the common touch.\" Moragoda, who is a close\nadviser to Wickremesinghe, compared him unfavorably with\nformer President J.R. Jayawardene, who ran a series of\nstrong UNP campaigns in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. (One\nmajor exception to the mainly quiet nature of complaints\nabout Wickremesinghe by UNP figures was former foreign\nminister Tyronne Fernando, who went public with his\nopposition to Wickremesinghe in late April. Fernando's\noutburst appeared more linked with the UNP's decision\nnot to give him a \"national list\" seat in Parliament,\nhowever, than actual animus toward Wickremesinghe.\nFernando has since resigned from the UNP.)\n\n=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=\nDespite criticism, no clear alternative\n=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=\n\n\u00b6<\/a>5. (C) Despite the criticism, Wickremesinghe seems set\nto hang on as party leader, as there are no clear\nchallengers to his rule at this time. In the May 10\nconversation with the DCM noted above, for example,\nformer minister John Amaratunga said that he had\nrecently been in several UNP meetings at which there had\nbeen \"frank discussions\" as to whether Wickremesinghe\nshould be replaced. Amaratunga said the conclusion from\nthe meetings was that Wickremesinghe should not be\nforced out right away. He also said he felt that former\nMinister of Power and Energy Karu Jayasuriya -- who some\ninterlocutors have recommended as a possible replacement\nfor Wickremesinghe -- was \"not a viable option.\"\nAmaratunga noted that he was not impressed with\nJayasuriya's organizational and leadership abilities,\nfor example. Party dissidents themselves, such as\nPremadasa and others, have also failed to name a\ndefinitive alternative to Wickremesinghe. In the\nmeantime, in his meeting with the Ambassador, G.L.\nPeiris indicated that he did not think that efforts to\nremove Wickremesinghe would go anywhere. He added that\nreported tensions in the party were \"much exaggerated.\"\n(According to observers, aside from Jayasuriya, other\npossible replacements for Wickremesinghe include:\nJoseph Michael Perera, a senior UNP MP and former\nSpeaker; K. Rambukwella, a senior MP and former\nminister; and Milinda Moragoda.)\n\n=-=-=-=\nCOMMENT\n=-=-=-=\n\n\u00b6<\/a>6. (C) Wickremesinghe's image has suffered serious\ndamage in recent months. Most particularly, he has\nsuffered in comparison with longtime rival President\nKumaratunga, who is widely seen as dynamic and\npassionate. That said, Wickremesinghe should be able to\nweather the storm for now. In the mid- to longer term,\nif the party is to improve its standing, however, it\nwill have to open up to a new generation of leaders.\nThere is a view that UNP leadership circles have become\na bit stuffy and are not open to new blood. Humbled by\nits recent defeat, the UNP is going to have to adjust to\nget out of its current political trough or face further\ndefeats down the road. END COMMENT.\n\n\u00b6<\/a>7. (U) Minimize considered.\n\nLUNSTEAD<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"