{"id":55001,"date":"2012-09-24T19:51:47","date_gmt":"2012-09-24T19:51:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=55001"},"modified":"2012-10-03T17:02:26","modified_gmt":"2012-10-03T17:02:26","slug":"wikileaksbasil-discloses-plan-to-decongest-manik-farm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wikileaksbasil-discloses-plan-to-decongest-manik-farm\/","title":{"rendered":"WikiLeaks:Basil Discloses Plan To Decongest Manik Farm"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Colombo Telegraph<\/a><\/span> \u2013<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cSenior Advisor to the President Basil Rajapaksa<\/a><\/span> told Charge and A\/DCM that the GSL planned to move forward with significant IDP<\/a><\/span> resettlement before the monsoon season begins in October. When pressed, Rajapaksa said as many as 100,000 would be released, including students, religious leaders, the elderly, and others. It remained unclear, however, how the GSL would deal with the looming catastrophe of the those remaining in the camps. In response to Charge’s recent letter to the GSL noting that four de-mining partners receiving U.S. funding were not working to capacity, Rajapaksa claimed they had not finished the tasks assigned.\u201d the US Embassy Colombo informed Washington.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Basil Rajapaksa<\/p><\/div>\n

A Leaked \u201cCONFIDENTIAL\u201d US diplomatic cable, dated August 24, 20o9, recounts the details of a meeting the US officials in Colombo has had with\u00a0Senior Advisor to the President Basil Rajapaksa.\u00a0The\u00a0Colombo Telegraph<\/a>\u00a0found the related leaked cable from the\u00a0WikiLeaks<\/a><\/span>\u00a0database which is written by Charge D\u2019Affaires James R. Moore<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

Under the subheading \u201cThe Blame Game\u201d Moore wrote \u201cOn August 21, Charge and A\/DCM met with Senior Presidential Advisor, Member of Parliament, and President’s brother Basil Rajapaksa to discuss Government of Sri Lanka (GSL) plans to deal with the potentially disastrous situation in the IDP camps at Manik Farm when monsoon rains arrive in early October. His initial response was to blame the UN for not installing the proper tents or toilets and claimed the UN had not reimbursed the GSL for its work in land clearing and road construction in Manik Farm. Mentioning A\/S Blake’s<\/a><\/span> interview that same day with CNN, he stated that the GSL had not received one cent from the international community for IDPs, only in-kind materials and it was not fair to blame the GSL for the situation in the camps.\u201d<\/p>\n

Placing a comment he wrote \u201cOnce again Rajapaksa seemed eager to convey the impression that the GSL was on top of the situation and now had in its hands the registration and other data needed for a resettlement plan. It remains clear, however, that the GSL is holding its plans very close to its chest and is not engaging the UN or international donors in its plans. In addition, by tightly controlling the tasks released to the demining organizations while continuing to state that demining is key, brings into question what the GSL’s real plans are and what the true rationale is for not releasing the IDPs. Post’s assessment is that it is possible up to 100,000 IDPs will be released before the end of September but highly unlikely that the GSL will allow freedom of movement for those remaining. While the GSL and the UN<\/a><\/span> will strive to improve the conditions for those remaining in Manik Farm, it is not clear that a humanitarian catastrophe will be averted by those actions\u201d.<\/p>\n

Read the cable below for further details;<\/p>\n

VZCZCXRO9576\r\nOO RUEHBI\r\nDE RUEHLM #0827\/01 2361224\r\nZNY CCCCC ZZH\r\nO 241224Z AUG 09\r\nFM AMEMBASSY COLOMBO\r\nTO RUEHC\/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0425\r\nINFO RUEHKA\/AMEMBASSY DHAKA PRIORITY 1861\r\nRUEHIL\/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 8881\r\nRUEHKT\/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU PRIORITY 7120\r\nRUEHLO\/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 5097\r\nRUEHNE\/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 3254\r\nRUEHNY\/AMEMBASSY OSLO PRIORITY 5054\r\nRUEHOT\/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA PRIORITY 1333\r\nRUEHSM\/AMEMBASSY STOCKHOLM PRIORITY 0591\r\nRUEHKO\/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 4164\r\nRUEHCG\/AMCONSUL CHENNAI PRIORITY 9460\r\nRUEHBI\/AMCONSUL MUMBAI PRIORITY 6761\r\nRUEHON\/AMCONSUL TORONTO PRIORITY 1260\r\nRHEFDIA\/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY\r\nRUEHGV\/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 3692\r\nRHHMUNA\/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY\r\nRUEHBS\/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY\r\nRHEHAAA\/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY\r\nRUEKJCS\/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY<\/pre>\n
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000827 \r\n\r\nSIPDIS \r\n\r\nDEPARTMENT FOR SCA\/INSB \r\n\r\nE.O. 12958: DECL: 08\/25\/2019\r\nTAGS: PGOV PREL PREF PHUM PTER EAID MOPS CE\r\nSUBJECT: BASIL RAJAPAKSA DISCLOSES PLAN TO DECONGEST MANIK\r\nFARM \r\n\r\nClassified By: CHARGE D'AFFAIRES JAMES R. MOORE.  REASONS: 1.4 (B, D) \r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>1. (C)  SUMMARY:  Senior Advisor to the President Basil\r\nRajapaksa told Charge and A\/DCM that the GSL planned to move\r\nforward with significant IDP resettlement before the monsoon\r\nseason begins in October.  When pressed, Rajapaksa said as\r\nmany as 100,000 would be released, including students,\r\nreligious leaders, the elderly, and others.  It remained\r\nunclear, however, how the GSL would deal with the looming\r\ncatastrophe of the those remaining in the camps.  In response\r\nto Charge's recent letter to the GSL noting that four\r\nde-mining partners receiving U.S. funding were not working to\r\ncapacity, Rajapaksa claimed they had not finished the tasks\r\nassigned.  END SUMMARY. \r\n\r\nThe Blame Game\r\n-------------- \r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>2. (C)  On August 21, Charge and A\/DCM met with Senior\r\nPresidential Advisor, Member of Parliament, and President's\r\nbrother Basil Rajapaksa to discuss Government of Sri Lanka\r\n(GSL) plans to deal with the potentially disastrous situation\r\nin the IDP camps at Manik Farm when monsoon rains arrive in\r\nearly October.  His initial response was to blame the UN for\r\nnot installing the proper tents or toilets and claimed the UN\r\nhad not reimbursed the GSL for its work in land clearing and\r\nroad construction in Manik Farm.  Mentioning A\/S Blake's\r\ninterview that same day with CNN, he stated that the GSL had\r\nnot received one cent from the international community for\r\nIDPs, only in-kind materials and it was not fair to blame the\r\nGSL for the situation in the camps. \r\n\r\nClaims to Have a Plan\r\n--------------------- \r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>3. (C)  Rajapaksa said the solution to the problems in the\r\nIDP camps was to resettle the people.  Two times he said, \"we\r\nhave a plan.\"  Charge stated that it would be very helpful if\r\nthe GSL could release a one-page plan, even an executive\r\nsummary as there had not been adequate sharing of the GSL\r\nplans with the international community.  Rajapaksa said that\r\nthe demining and resettlement plan would be presented to the\r\nCabinet the week of August 25, and following that, he would\r\nrelease the plan. \r\n\r\nTaking Issue with Embassy Over Demining\r\n--------------------------------------- \r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>4. (C)  Rajapaksa took issue with a recent letter from the\r\nA\/DCM stating that the four mine-action partners recently\r\nfunded by PM\/WRA had excess demining capacity, countering\r\nthat they had not completed their current taskings.  A\/DCM\r\ncommitted to providing precise information outlining the\r\nunutilized survey and demining capacity of the four partners.\r\n Rajapaksa raised again the GSL's urgent requirement for\r\nflail machines for demining.  He stated that the GSL was\r\nairlifting five flail machines from the Czech Republic at a\r\ncost of USD 2 million.  He also said that Australia through\r\nIOM was providing handheld equipment that would be used by\r\nthe GSL's humanitarian demining unit.  He asked for U.S. help\r\nwith the purchase of demining equipment and Charge stated\r\nthat we would convey this message. \r\n\r\nGSL Plans to Decongest Manik Farm\r\n--------------------------------- \r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>5. (C)  Rajapaksa detailed the status of registration of\r\nIDPs, noting that there were 145,011 registered and 105,000\r\nwith identification cards.  He said that with the cards, the\r\npeople would be able to move and to obtain rations when they\r\nwere resettled.  He stated that 1,036 orphans had been \r\n\r\nCOLOMBO 00000827  002 OF 002 \r\n\r\nregistered and that their disposition was subject to court\r\norder.  Approximately 300 cases were still with the courts.\r\nThe others would be released to orphanages in Vavuniya,\r\nMannar, and an SOS village.  The Social Services Ministry had\r\nregistered elders numbering 16,423.  As of August 19, of the\r\nelderly, 9,426 have been approved for discharge from the\r\ncamps; 6,003 have left, and 1,318 were awaiting approval.  As\r\nof August 19, there also had been 8,558 families unified.\r\nWith the 2,520 IDPs resettled in Musali in July and the 4,158\r\nreleased to Jaffna and the East on August 5, Rajapaksa stated\r\nthat approximately 13,000 IDPs had been resettled.  (NOTE: It\r\nwas not clear that all came from Manik Farm.  END NOTE.) \r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>6. (C)  Rajapaksa described other categories of persons who\r\nwould be released.  Hindu and Catholic priests would be\r\nreleased under the auspices of the Ministry of Religious\r\nAffairs.  The Catholic priests would be released to the\r\nArchbishop.  The disabled would be released under the\r\nauthority of the Ministry of Social Services.  University\r\naspirants who had been accepted would be handed over to the\r\nvice-chancellor under the auspices of the University Grants\r\nCommission.  IDPs not originating from the Vanni area had\r\nbeen separated into those recommended for resettlement and\r\nthose who were not by the security services and their names\r\nforwarded to the relevant Government Agent.  He had made a\r\nproposal to the Security Council for clearance to advertise\r\nfor host family releases.  This would enable relatives of\r\nIDPs to apply for and accept responsibility for, IDPs after\r\nthey had prepared and had an affidavit approved by the\r\nGovernment Agent and received a clean police report.\r\nRajapaksa stated, when pressed, that their target was to have\r\nbetween 100,000-150,000 persons remaining in Manik Farm when\r\nthe monsoons began.   He stated that the people remaining\r\nwould be the poorest ones and that no one would pay attention\r\nto them. \r\n\r\nComment\r\n------- \r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>7. (C)  Once again Rajapaksa seemed eager to convey the\r\nimpression that the GSL was on top of the situation and now\r\nhad in its hands the registration and other data needed for a\r\nresettlement plan.  It remains clear, however, that the GSL\r\nis holding its plans very close to its chest and is not\r\nengaging the UN or international donors in its plans.  In\r\naddition, by tightly controlling the tasks released to the\r\ndemining organizations while continuing to state that\r\ndemining is key, brings into question what the GSL's real\r\nplans are and what the true rationale is for not releasing\r\nthe IDPs.  Post's assessment is that it is possible up to\r\n100,000 IDPs will be released before the end of September but\r\nhighly unlikely  that the GSL will allow freedom of movement\r\nfor those remaining.  While the GSL and the UN will strive to\r\nimprove the conditions for those remaining in Manik Farm, it\r\nis not clear that a humanitarian catastrophe will be averted\r\nby those actions.\r\nMOORE<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":803,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,2187,1,2375,27],"tags":[5051,5056,5055,5058,5053,5052,5060,5059,5057,5054],"class_list":["post-55001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombotelegraph","category-most-popular","category-news","category-stories","category-wikileaks","tag-basil-rajapaksa-wikileaks","tag-demining-in-sri-lanka","tag-gsl-plans-with-the-international-community","tag-how-many-idps-were-in-sri-lanka","tag-idp-camps-at-manik-farm","tag-idp-resettlement-in-sri-lanka","tag-idp-situation-in-sri-lanka","tag-idps-in-sri-lanka-after-the-war","tag-idps-in-wikileaks","tag-robert-o-blake-cnn-on-sri-lanka"],"yoast_head":"\nWikiLeaks:Basil Discloses Plan To Decongest Manik Farm - 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\/wikileaksbasil-discloses-plan-to-decongest-manik-farm\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"WikiLeaks:Basil Discloses Plan To Decongest Manik Farm - 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