![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/dillian-perara-colombotelegraph.jpg\" "\\"dillian")
<\/a>Dilan Perera<\/p><\/div>\n
The Colombo Telegraph found the related leaked cable from the WikiLeaks database. The cable is classified as \u201cSECRET\u201d and written by the Ambassador Robert O. Blake.<\/p>\n
Under the subject \u201cMODERATE PARLIAMENTARIANS CONDEMN GSL ACTIONS\u201d the Ambassador wrote \u201cThe Sri Lankan Muslim Congress, currently part of the ruling coalition, has condemned the government’s action. United National Party (UNP) crossovers serving as ministers and SLFP moderates have been instructed by the Government not to comment. Leader of the Up-Country People’s Front Radhakrishnan reportedly told the government he will leave the coalition if the removals continue. Justice Minister Dilan Perera (protect), an SLFP moderate close to former President Kumaratunga, told us he had refused a request to defend the government action in Parliament. Human rights organizations also strongly criticized the Government’s deportation actions and called for an immediate halt to further efforts to remove Tamils staying in Colombo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Placing a comment Blake wrote \u201cChief Justice Silva has generally been viewed as a reliable supporter of the Rajapaksa government. His decision to stay the removal of the Tamils is a welcome demonstration of judicial independence. President Rajapaksa’s expressed concern that the killing of two Tamil Red Cross employees was designed to discredit him before his speech to the International Labor Organization (ILO) in Geneva on June 15 (ref B) now appears misplaced. The decision of his brother, Defense Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa, to proceed with the internal deportations has likely done far more damage to Sri Lanka’s image. Government claims that the movements were voluntary are inaccurate based on numerous eyewitness accounts. Inspector General Abeywardena’s comments suggesting that Tamils were removed in response to criticism against the Government for failing to control abductions seemed particularly tone-deaf just a day after opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe accused him, Gothabaya Rajapaksa, and former Air Force squadron leader Nishantha Gajanayake of direct responsibility for numerous disappearances in Colombo (septel). Embassy will monitor closely over the coming weekend whether the GSL complies with the Supreme Court’s stay order.\u201d<\/p>\n
Related news to this cable;\u00a0WikiLeaks: Forced Removals Of Tamils Is A Police Plan \u2013 Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe to\u00a0US<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Below we give the relevant part of the cable;<\/p>\n […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":4757,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[48,31,57,63,26,27],"tags":[1143,1992,1139,1993,1134,1994,1995,1996,1558],"class_list":["post-4725","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-disappearance","category-judiciary","category-law-and-order","category-politics-2","category-war-crimes","category-wikileaks","tag-authoritarianism","tag-cpa-on-tamil-eviction","tag-democracy","tag-dilan-in-wikileaks","tag-human-rights","tag-nishantha-gajanayake-abductions","tag-removal-of-non-colombo-based-tamils","tag-sarath-silva-in-wikileaks","tag-white-van-abductions"],"yoast_head":"\nVZCZCXRO9615\r\nOO RUEHBI RUEHLMC\r\nDE RUEHLM #0820\/01 1591020\r\nZNY SSSSS ZZH\r\nO 081020Z JUN 07\r\nFM AMEMBASSY COLOMBO\r\nTO RUEHC\/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6213\r\nINFO RUEHRL\/AMEMBASSY BERLIN PRIORITY 0450\r\nRUEHKA\/AMEMBASSY DHAKA PRIORITY 0171\r\nRUEHIL\/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 7152\r\nRUEHKT\/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU PRIORITY 5259\r\nRUEHLO\/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 3807\r\nRUEHNE\/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 1054\r\nRUEHNY\/AMEMBASSY OSLO PRIORITY 3879\r\nRUEHOT\/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA PRIORITY 1112\r\nRUEHKO\/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 2964\r\nRUEHCG\/AMCONSUL CHENNAI PRIORITY 7740\r\nRUEHBI\/AMCONSUL MUMBAI PRIORITY 5402\r\nRUEHON\/AMCONSUL TORONTO PRIORITY 0230\r\nRUEHLMC\/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION PRIORITY\r\nRHEFDIA\/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY\r\nRUEHGV\/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 2102\r\nRHEHAAA\/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY\r\nRHHMUNA\/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY\r\nRUEHBS\/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY\r\nS E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 000820\r\n\r\nSIPDIS\r\n\r\nSIPDIS\r\n\r\nDEPARTMENT FOR SCA\/INS\r\nMCC FOR S GROFF, D TETER, D NASSIRY AND E BURKE\r\n\r\nE.O. 12958: DECL: 06\/08\/2017\r\nTAGS: PGOV<\/a> PREL<\/a> PTER<\/a> PHUM<\/a> MOPS<\/a> CE<\/a>\r\nSUBJECT: SRI LANKA: SUPREME COURT STAYS ORDER EXPELLING\r\nTAMILS FROM COLOMBO LODGES\r\n\r\nREF: A. COLOMBO 809\r\n\r\n \u00b6<\/a>B. COLOMBO 805\r\n\r\nClassified By: A\/DCM ROBERT GABOR, FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D)\r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>1. (S) SUMMARY: On June 8 the Sri Lanka Supreme Court\r\nstayed the removal of non-Colombo based Tamils temporarily\r\nresiding in Colombo lodges and hostels (ref A). The Court\r\nruled in favor of a Fundamental Rights Application filed by\r\nthe NGO Center for Policy Alternatives (CPA). Military\r\nspokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe (strictly protect)\r\ntold us that the idea for the forced removals came from the\r\npolice. Although the Army was not in favor, Defense\r\nSecretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa gave the order to proceed.\r\n\r\nSIPDIS\r\nSamarasinghe said the original plan was to suspend the\r\nroundups on Friday, June 8, but pursue them with renewed\r\nvigor over the weekend. It is not clear what impact the\r\nSupreme Court's stay will have on plans to continue the\r\nremovals on Saturday and Sunday. In the meantime, at least a\r\ncouple of hundred Tamils are being housed inside a school in\r\nVavuniya without adequate water or sanitation. The Red Cross\r\nis helping to care for them. There were unconfirmed reports\r\nthe GSL planned to move many Tamils across the Forward\r\nDefense Line through the Omanthai checkpoint into the\r\nTiger-controlled Vanni. Although the Liberation Tigers of\r\nTamil Eelam (LTTE) stated that the people would be welcomed\r\nin the Vanni, they denied that there have been contacts with\r\nthe GSL on this subject. Numerous members of Parliament,\r\nincluding several moderate members of the governing\r\ncoalition, have objected to the Government's actions.\r\nEmbassy issued a press release calling for an immediate halt\r\nto further deportations. END SUMMARY.\r\nMODERATE PARLIAMENTARIANS CONDEMN GSL ACTIONS\r\n---------------------------------------------\r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>8. (C) The Sri Lankan Muslim Congress, currently part of the\r\nruling coalition, has condemned the government's action.\r\nUnited National Party (UNP) crossovers serving as ministers\r\nand SLFP moderates have been instructed by the Government not\r\nto comment. Leader of the Up-Country People's Front\r\nRadhakrishnan reportedly told the government he will leave\r\n\r\nCOLOMBO 00000820 003 OF 003\r\n\r\nthe coalition if the removals continue. Justice Minister\r\nDilan Perera (protect), an SLFP moderate close to former\r\nPresident Kumaratunga, told us he had refused a request to\r\ndefend the government action in Parliament. Human rights\r\norganizations also strongly criticized the Government's\r\ndeportation actions and called for an immediate halt to\r\nfurther efforts to remove Tamils staying in Colombo.\r\n\r\nEMBASSY STATEMENT CONDEMNS FORCED REMOVALS\r\n------------------------------------------\r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>9. (U) On June 8, the Embassy issued the following press\r\nrelease:\r\n\r\n\"The United States condemns the forced removal of Tamils\r\n\r\nColombo, June 8, 2007: The United States condemns the forced\r\nremoval of Tamils from Colombo. Such measures violate the\r\nSri Lankan Constitution's guarantee that every citizen has\r\nthe right to freedom of movement and choice of residence\r\nwithin Sri Lanka.\r\n\r\nThe United States understands and supports Sri Lanka's\r\nobligation to defend itself against terrorism. But this\r\naction can only widen the ethnic divide at a time when\r\nimportant efforts are underway to reach a national consensus\r\nto end Sri Lanka's nearly quarter-century old conflict.\r\n\r\nWe call upon the Government of Sri Lanka to stop the forcible\r\nremoval of its citizens from Colombo, to make public the\r\ndestinations of those already removed, and to ensure their\r\nsafety and well-being.\"\r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>10. (C) COMMENT: Chief Justice Silva has generally been\r\nviewed as a reliable supporter of the Rajapaksa government.\r\nHis decision to stay the removal of the Tamils is a welcome\r\ndemonstration of judicial independence. President\r\nRajapaksa's expressed concern that the killing of two Tamil\r\nRed Cross employees was designed to discredit him before his\r\nspeech to the International Labor Organization (ILO) in\r\nGeneva on June 15 (ref B) now appears misplaced. The\r\ndecision of his brother, Defense Secretary Gothabaya\r\nRajapaksa, to proceed with the internal deportations has\r\nlikely done far more damage to Sri Lanka's image. Government\r\nclaims that the movements were voluntary are inaccurate based\r\non numerous eyewitness accounts. Inspector General\r\nAbeywardena's comments suggesting that Tamils were removed in\r\nresponse to criticism against the Government for failing to\r\ncontrol abductions seemed particularly tone-deaf just a day\r\nafter opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe accused him,\r\nGothabaya Rajapaksa, and former Air Force squadron leader\r\nNishantha Gajanayake of direct responsibility for numerous\r\ndisappearances in Colombo (septel). Embassy will monitor\r\nclosely over the coming weekend whether the GSL complies with\r\nthe Supreme Court's stay order.\r\nBLAKE<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"