{"id":3332,"date":"2021-07-08T11:33:12","date_gmt":"2021-07-08T06:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/colombotelegraph.com\/?p=3332"},"modified":"2021-07-19T01:12:24","modified_gmt":"2021-07-18T19:42:24","slug":"wikileaks-basil-is-corrupt-education-limited-and-expelled-from-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wikileaks-basil-is-corrupt-education-limited-and-expelled-from-school\/","title":{"rendered":"WikiLeaks: Basil Is Corrupt, Education Limited And Expelled From School"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Colombo Telegraph –<\/p>\n

\u201cEmbassy contacts say Basil has no close advisors and more enemies than friends in Sri Lanka because he makes a habit of trying to \u2018buy people,\u201d the US Embassy Colombo informed Washington.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cBasil worked for the Ministry of Mahaweli Development, where he earned the nickname ‘Mr. Ten Percent’ for demanding a ten percent commission on every project. Basil continues to be accused of significant corruption in his current position,\u201d the Embassy further wrote.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Basil worked for the Ministry of Mahaweli Development, where he earned the nickname “Mr. Ten Percent” for demanding a ten percent commission on every project.<\/p><\/div>\n

The Colombo Telegraph found the related leaked cable from the WikiLeaks database. The cable is classified as \u201cCONFIDENTIAL\u201d details biographic data related to the Presidend Rajapaksa\u2019s brother \u00a0minister Basil Rajapaksa. The cable was written on May 15, 2007 by the US Ambassador to Colombo Robert O. Blake.<\/p>\n

Ambassador Blake wrote \u201cThe President consults Basil on most political matters. Basil’s influence can be seen in the alleged deal with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to suppress Tamil votes in the North and East in the November 2005 Presidential election and the January 2007 Cabinet reshuffle and luring of ‘crossover’ opposition members of Parliament. According to Embassy contacts, Basil advises the President on an array of topics despite his limited education and lack of relevant work experience (see paragraph 12).\u201d<\/p>\n

Under the relevant paragraph 12 Blake wrote \u201cBasil was also educated in Matara and Galle. According to his school friends, he was expelled a couple of times from his college in Galle. He joined the SLFP at a young age and supported his brother Mahinda in 1970 when he contested the Beliatta electorate in the Hambantota District Parliamentary elections. In 1977, however, he joined the UNP and worked against his brother. Basil worked for the Ministry of Mahaweli Development, where he earned the nickname ‘Mr. Ten Percent’ for demanding a ten percent commission on every project. Basil continues to be accused of significant corruption in his current position. Basil rejoined the SLFP for a few years, but then crossed back to the UNP in the 1990s. Former President Chandrika Kumaratunga refused to allow him to rejoin the SLFP during her tenure. He then moved to the U.S., but returned in 2005 to support Mahinda’s bid for the Presidency.\u201d<\/p>\n

Below we give the\u00a0relevant part of the confidential cable;<\/p>\n

VZCZCXRO5144 OO RUEHBI RUEHLMC DE RUEHLM #0698\/01 1350532 ZNY CCCCC ZZH O 150532Z MAY 07 FM AMEMBASSY COLOMBO TO RUEHC\/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6029 INFO RUEHRL\/AMEMBASSY BERLIN PRIORITY 0380 RUEHKA\/AMEMBASSY DHAKA PRIORITY 0087 RUEHIL\/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 7068 RUEHKT\/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU PRIORITY 5157 RUEHLO\/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 3729 RUEHNE\/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 0943 RUEHNY\/AMEMBASSY OSLO PRIORITY 3800 RUEHKO\/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 2880 RUEHCG\/AMCONSUL CHENNAI PRIORITY 7654 RUEHBI\/AMCONSUL MUMBAI PRIORITY 5335 RUEHGV\/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 2019 RHHMUNA\/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY RHEFDIA\/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY RHEHAAA\/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY RUEHBS\/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY RUEHLMC\/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION PRIORITY C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 COLOMBO 000698 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR SCA\/INS MCC FOR D NASSIRY AND E BURKE E.O. 12958: DECL: 01\/12\/2017 TAGS: PGOV<\/a> PREL<\/a> PTER<\/a> PHUM<\/a> MOPS<\/a> CE<\/a> SUBJECT: PRESIDENT RELIES ON BROTHERS FOR POLICY ADVICE AND POLITICAL COVER<\/p>\n

Classified By: Ambassador Robert O. Blake, Jr., for reasons 1.4(b,d). \u00b6<\/a><\/p>\n

5. (C) The President consults Basil on most political matters. Basil’s influence can be seen in the alleged deal with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to suppress Tamil votes in the North and East in the November 2005 Presidential election and the January 2007 Cabinet reshuffle and luring of “crossover” opposition members of Parliament. According to Embassy contacts, Basil advises the President on an array of topics despite his limited education and lack of relevant work experience (see paragraph 12). \u00b6<\/a><\/p>\n

6. (C) The President’s brothers have few advisors of their own. Gothabaya occasionally consults some of his army colleagues who have retired. Embassy contacts say Basil has no close advisors and more enemies than friends in Sri Lanka because he makes a habit of trying to “buy people.” \u00b6<\/a><\/p>\n

12. (C) Basil was also educated in Matara and Galle. According to his school friends, he was expelled a couple of times from his college in Galle. He joined the SLFP at a young age and supported his brother Mahinda in 1970 when he contested the Beliatta electorate in the Hambantota District Parliamentary elections. In 1977, however, he joined the UNP and worked against his brother. Basil worked for the Ministry of Mahaweli Development, where he earned the nickname “Mr. Ten Percent” for demanding a ten percent commission on every project. Basil continues to be accused of significant corruption in his current position. Basil rejoined the SLFP for a few years, but then crossed back to the UNP in the 1990s. Former President Chandrika Kumaratunga refused to allow him to rejoin the SLFP during her tenure. He then moved to the U.S., but returned in 2005 to support Mahinda’s bid for the Presidency.<\/p>\n

BLAKE<\/p>\n

* First published on January 5, 2012 by Colombo Telegraph<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[…]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":4031,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,1,63,6969,2375,27],"tags":[1143,1273,1739,1740,1139,1741,1245,1263],"class_list":["post-3332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-anti-corruption","category-news","category-politics-2","category-popular-stories","category-stories","category-wikileaks","tag-authoritarianism","tag-basil-rajapaksa-in-wikileaks","tag-corrupt-presidential-advisors","tag-corruption-in-sri-lankan-politics","tag-democracy","tag-rajapaksa-brothers","tag-slfp","tag-us-embassy-cables-on-sri-lanka"],"yoast_head":"\nWikiLeaks: Basil Is Corrupt, Education Limited And Expelled From School - 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\/wikileaks-basil-is-corrupt-education-limited-and-expelled-from-school\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"WikiLeaks: Basil Is Corrupt, Education Limited And Expelled From School - 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