{"id":683,"date":"2011-10-13T06:20:10","date_gmt":"2011-10-13T06:20:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/colombotelegraph.com\/?p=683"},"modified":"2012-10-19T15:20:58","modified_gmt":"2012-10-19T15:20:58","slug":"wikileks-fonseka-tried-to-escape-the-country","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wikileks-fonseka-tried-to-escape-the-country\/","title":{"rendered":"WikiLeaks: Fonseka Tried To Escape The Country"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Colombo Telegraph –<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cFonseka told the Ambassador that he wanted to travel to Singapore with his family, but that the government had placed him on a blacklist banning him from international travel, and that he understood his family was also on the list.\u201d \u00a0the US ambassador wrote to Washington.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

I want to fly<\/p><\/div>\n

A leaked US diplomatic cable details the situation just after the 2010 Presidential election. The cable classified as \u201cCONFIDENTIAL\u201d and written by the US ambassador Patricia A. Butenis on 28th<\/sup> January 2010.<\/p>\n

US ambassador spoke to Gen. Sarath Fonseka on January 28 and she wrote to Washington \u201cFonseka said that if were to get Singapore, he planned to stay there for awhile to assess the situation, while his family was likely to travel on to the United States. The Ambassador raised the issue of Fonseka\u2019s travel with Pereis, who said that Fonseka would not have immunity from criminal prosecution if he faced any formal charges, noting that he had no knowledge of any such charges.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fonseka spoke several times with the Ambassador on the evening of January 27, expressing deep concerns about his personal security, noting his government \u2013 provided security details was to end at midnight. The Ambassador attempted to contact Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa to urge the details be extended, but could not reach him. Fonseka also called the State Department Operation Center twice, trying to reach the Secretary on the same subject. On January 28, Ranil Wickremasinghe told Poloff that President Rajapaksa had informed him that morning that Fonseka would be provided with security at the level of a former Army Commander. Also on January 28, Minister GL Pereis told the Ambassador that a 65 person details had been provided to Fonseka by Supreme Court order as long as he was a candidate.<\/p>\n

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

VZCZCXRO0332\r\nOO RUEHAG RUEHROV RUEHSL RUEHSR\r\nDE RUEHLM #\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a00065\/01 0281244\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\r\nZNY CCCCC ZZH\r\nO 281244Z JAN 10\r\nFM AMEMBASSY COLOMBO\r\nTO RUEHC\/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1178\r\nINFO RUCNMEM\/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY\r\nRUEHKA\/AMEMBASSY DHAKA PRIORITY 2312\r\nRUEHIL\/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 9334\r\nRUEHKT\/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU PRIORITY 7589\r\nRUEHLO\/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 5411\r\nRUEHNE\/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 3749\r\nRUEHNY\/AMEMBASSY OSLO PRIORITY 5336\r\nRUEHOT\/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA PRIORITY 0197\r\nRUEHMD\/AMEMBASSY MADRID PRIORITY 0151\r\nRUEHKO\/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 4458\r\nRUEHCG\/AMCONSUL CHENNAI PRIORITY 9897\r\nRUEHBI\/AMCONSUL MUMBAI PRIORITY 7184\r\nRUEHON\/AMCONSUL TORONTO PRIORITY 0192\r\nRHEFDIA\/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY\r\nRUEHGV\/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 0039\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\r\nC O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 COLOMBO 000065\r\n\r\nSIPDIS\r\n\r\nDEPARTMENT FOR SCA\/INSB\r\n\r\nE.O. 12958: DECL: 01\/27\/2020\r\nTAGS: PGOV<\/a> PREL<\/a> PREF<\/a> PHUM<\/a> PTER<\/a> EAID<\/a> MOPS<\/a> CE<\/a>\r\nSUBJECT: SRI LANKA: ELECTIONS UPDATE NO. 15\r\n\r\nREF: A. COLOMBO 62\r\n     \u00b6<\/a>B. COLOMBO 61\r\n     \u00b6<\/a>C. COLOMBO 59\r\n     \u00b6<\/a>D. COLOMBO 57\r\n     \u00b6<\/a>E. COLOMBO 53\r\n     \u00b6<\/a>F. COLOMBO 51\r\n     \u00b6<\/a>G. COLOMBO 48\r\n     \u00b6<\/a>H. COLOMBO 47\r\n     \u00b6<\/a>I. COLOMBO 46\r\n     \u00b6<\/a>J. COLOMBO 45\r\n     \u00b6<\/a>K. COLOMBO 40\r\n     \u00b6<\/a>L. COLOMBO 36\r\n\r\nCOLOMBO 00000065  001.2 OF 004\r\n\r\n     \u00b6<\/a>M. COLOMBO 27\r\n     \u00b6<\/a>N. COLOMBO 21\r\n     \u00b6<\/a>O. COLOMBO 11\r\n     \u00b6<\/a>P. COLOMBO 7\r\n     \u00b6<\/a>Q. COLOMBO 2\r\n     \u00b6<\/a>R. 09 COLOMBO 1152\r\n     \u00b6<\/a>S. 09 COLOMBO 1145\r\n     \u00b6<\/a>T. 09 COLOMBO 1139\r\n\r\nClassified By: AMBASSADOR PATRICIA A. BUTENIS.  REASONS: 1.4 (B, D)\r\n\r\nELECTIONS COMMISSIONER\r\nCONFIRMS RAJAPAKSA'S VICTORY\r\n----------------------------\r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>1. (C) (Rel to UK, CAN, AUS, SWITZ.) Despite earlier\r\nconfusion, Elections Commissioner Dissanayake confirmed in a\r\nmeeting with PolOff on January 28 that he had indeed\r\ncertified President Rajapaksa's victory in the January 26\r\npresidential election.  He said the official gazette\r\nnotification was being printed and would be released to the\r\nmedia later in the afternoon on January 28.  The confusion\r\nhad arisen late on January 27 when he had not stated in his\r\nresults-announcement speech that he was certifying the final\r\nresults being listed on the Elections Commissioner's website.\r\n In that speech, he cited a number of problems he had faced\r\nduring the campaign and on election day itself.  In the later\r\nmeeting with PolOff, he reiterated those complaints but\r\nclearly stated that the voting had been \"free and fair.\"\r\nUpon this personal confirmation, Post issued a public\r\nstatement congratulating the people of Sri Lanka on their\r\nfirst post-war election and Rajapaksa on his victory.  Post\r\nnoted the claims of elections law violations and urged that\r\nthey be dealt with according to Sri Lankan law, and that the\r\ngovernment ensure the safety of all candidates and election\r\nworkers.  The full statement is on the embassy website.\r\n\r\nRESULTS SHOW REMARKABLE\r\nWIN FOR RAJAPAKSA\r\n-----------------------\r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>2. (C) (Rel to UK, CAN, AUS, SWITZ.) Rajapaksa's wide margin\r\nof victory (18 percent) was not predicted by anyone except a\r\nfew hard-core Rajapaksa supporters and defied both the\r\npresident's own internal polling figures and those of the\r\nopposition, all of which showed the race as neck-and-neck\r\njust a few days before the balloting (ref H).  Rajapaksa's\r\nmargin also was unprecedented in Sri Lanka apart from the\r\nelection of Chandrika Kumaratunge in 1994 under extraordinary\r\ncircumstances.  Chandrika won by 26 percent in tumultuous\r\ntimes after the incumbent president had been assassinated in\r\n1993 two weeks before the election and was replaced by his\r\nwife as a last-ditch candidate.  Chandrika was re-elected by\r\neight percentage points in 1999.  Most recently, Rajapaksa\r\nwon over UNP candidate Ranil Wickremesinghe by less than two\r\npercentage points in 2005.\r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>3. (C) (Rel to UK, CAN, AUS, SWITZ.) Rajapaksa,s numbers\r\nhovered fairly consistently around 60 percent in each\r\n\r\nCOLOMBO 00000065  002.2 OF 004\r\n\r\ndistrict, except Colombo, Kandy and Badulla where he won with\r\n53 to 54 percent, and the Northern and Eastern Provinces\r\nwhere Fonseka won with strong support.  Rajapaksa exceeded\r\nexpectations in some normally UNP strongholds.  In Colombo,\r\ndespite recent buzz about Fonseka and the UNP's 51-percent\r\nwin in 2005, Rajapaksa carried the vote with 53 percent.  He\r\nalso did unusually well in the Central Province.  In Kandy,\r\nthe fourth largest voter pool nationwide, Rajapaksa won 54\r\npercent of votes, having lost with 44 percent in 2005.  In\r\nMatale, he won with 60 percent, up from 48 percent in 2005.\r\nNuwara-Eliya remained loyal to the opposition, but less so\r\nthan in 2005 )- Rajapaksa collected 43 percent of the vote\r\ncompared to just 28 percent previously.  Rajapaksa also did\r\nsurprisingly well in the North-West Province.  In Puttalam,\r\nhe garnered 59 percent compared to 48 percent in 2005.  He\r\nincreased his support in Karunegala from 52 percent in 2005\r\nto 63 percent in 2010.  Matale and Karunegala were two of the\r\nlocations cited by the Center for Monitoring Election\r\nViolence (CMEV) as having had disruptions of the counting\r\nprocess.  The other districts flagged by CMEV, Anuradhapura\r\nand Polonnaruwa, also went to Rajapaksa.\r\n\r\nPROCESS IN NORTH BETTER THAN\r\nIN PAST BUT FAR FROM PERFECT\r\n----------------------------\r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>4. (C) (Rel to UK, CAN, AUS, SWITZ.) As expected, Fonseka\r\ncarried the Eastern and Northern Provinces but by smaller\r\nmargins than the UNP had in 2005.  Voter turnout in Jaffna\r\n(26 percent) was significantly less than the 74 percent\r\nnationwide average but a marked improvement from the one\r\npercent who cast ballots during the conflict in 2005.  In the\r\nVanni, 40 percent voted, up from 34 percent in 2005.  Turnout\r\nwas particularly low (14 percent) in Mullaitivu where\r\ntransport was largely unavailable.  Internally displaced\r\npersons who voted through special procedures strongly\r\nsupported Fonseka.  Many IDPs who relied on government\r\ntransportation to polling booths were reportedly unable to\r\nvote due to a lack of buses (ref B).\r\n\r\nOPPOSITION SAYS IT WILL MOUNT\r\nLEGAL CHALLENGE TO RESULTS\r\n------------------------------\r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>5. (C) (Rel to UK, CAN, AUS, SWITZ.) Shortly after the\r\nElection Commissioner's announcement of the final results,\r\nthe opposition declared it did not accept them and would\r\nmount a legal challenge.  On the evening of the announcement,\r\nJanuary 27, the opposition leaders were distracted by the\r\ndeveloping standoff between Fonseka and government troops\r\nstationed outside his hotel (see paragraph below).  By the\r\nmorning of January 28 the opposition was still deciding what\r\nits next steps would be.  UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe\r\ntold PolOff the opposition leaders would be meeting later in\r\nthe day to decide their course of action, but he admitted to\r\nPolOff that the legal challenge option would take a month\r\njust to prepare and would then be subject to decision by a\r\nSupreme Court seen by many as friendly to President\r\nRajapaksa.  Ranil already seemed to be moving on to the\r\nparliamentary elections as he spoke.  We have had little\r\ncontact with the usually stand-offish JVP, the other main\r\nmember of the Fonseka coalition, so it is unclear what they\r\nare thinking next steps should be.\r\n\r\nFONSEKA STILL FOCUSED ON\r\nHIS SECURITY\r\n-------------------------\r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>6. (C) (Rel to UK, CAN, AUS, SWITZ.) General Fonseka spent\r\nmost of January 27 holed up in the Cinnamon Lakeside hotel\r\nwith members of his family, his advisors, and key opposition\r\n\r\nCOLOMBO 00000065  003.4 OF 004\r\n\r\nofficials, while the government kept the hotel surrounded by\r\nhundreds of armed troops and police.  Fonseka claimed he was\r\nnot being allowed to leave and feared he would either be\r\narrested or assassinated.  The government gave conflicting\r\nstories on why the troops were deployed there, alternately\r\nciting concerns for Fonseka's safety, concerns he would stage\r\na coup, or the need to hunt down insurgents and military\r\ndeserters in the hotel (and presumably part of Fonseka's\r\npersonally-hired  security detail of 30, described by\r\nopposition leaders as retired Army officers).  As the evening\r\nprogressed, the government began ordering Fonseka's\r\ngovernment-provided security detail of 65 personnel to\r\nwithdraw, ostensibly because he was no longer a candidate and\r\ntherefore no longer was entitled to protection at government\r\nexpense.  Fonseka began appealing for international\r\nassistance, including safe harbor in a neighboring country.\r\nThere were reports swirling that he was asking for safe\r\nharbor at the U.S. Embassy, or guarantees of safe passage to\r\nthe U.S., but neither Fonseka nor his coalition partners\r\nasked Embassy directly for such assistance.\r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>7. (C) (Rel to UK, CAN, AUS, SWITZ.) Foreign Minister\r\nBogollagama summoned the diplomatic corps for a 6:00 PM\r\nmeeting on January 27, where he saluted the service of the\r\nElections Commissioner, cited the Centre for Monitoring of\r\nElection Violence's (CMEV) allegedly \"incident-free\"\r\ncharacterization of the voting process (with no mention of\r\nthe later CMEV letter citing irregularities) and appealed\r\nthat Fonseka's situation not be allowed to tarnish the\r\nelection.  The Foreign Minister was then challenged robustly\r\nbut politely by the diplomatic corps, beginning with\r\nAmbassador Butenis, on Fonseka's situation and the\r\ngovernment's response.  By late evening, Fonseka appeared to\r\nhave worked out a deal with the government and left the hotel\r\nwith his family and some of his remaining security, traveling\r\nto his home.\r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>8. (C) (Rel to UK, CAN, AUS, SWITZ.) Fonseka spoke several\r\ntimes with the Ambassador on the evening of January 27,\r\nexpressing deep concerns about his personal security, noting\r\nhis government-provided security detail was to end at\r\nmidnight.  The Ambassador attempted to contact Defense\r\nSecretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa to urge the detail be extended,\r\nbut could not reach him.  Fonseka also called the State\r\nDepartment Operations Center twice, trying to reach the\r\nSecretary on the same subject.  On January 28, Ranil\r\nWickremesinghe told PolOff that President Rajapaksa had\r\ninformed him that morning that Fonseka would be provided with\r\nsecurity at the level of a former Army Commander.  Also on\r\nJanuary 28, Minister GL Pereis told the Ambassador that a\r\n65-person detail had been provided to Fonseka by Supreme\r\nCourt order as long as he was a candidate.\r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>9. (C) (Rel to UK, CAN, AUS, SWITZ.) Later on January 28,\r\nFonseka's assistant asked for a meeting at the Embassy, where\r\nshe explained to PolOff that Fonseka was still at his home\r\nbut had no security personnel at all.  She reported that over\r\na dozen armed men with ski masks on motorbikes were stationed\r\noutside of the house and said Fonseka was requesting that\r\nforeign governments again raise the issue of his security\r\nwith the government.  She said he would only try to leave the\r\ncountry if he did not have any security.  When PolOff\r\nreconnoitered Fonseka's house, he saw three men with ski\r\nmasks in fatigues hanging around, but it was unclear whether\r\nthey might have been part of any smaller security contingent\r\npromised by President Rajapaksa.  (When the Ambassador spoke\r\nwith Fonseka this morning, he said that while his detail was\r\ngone, there were soldiers deployed on his street, which he\r\nviewed as a threat.)\r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>10. (C) (Rel to UK, CAN, AUS, SWITZ.) Fonseka told the\r\n\r\nCOLOMBO 00000065  004.2 OF 004\r\n\r\nAmbassador that he wanted to travel to Singapore with his\r\nfamily, but that the government had placed him on a blacklist\r\nbanning him from international travel, and that he understood\r\nhis family was also on the list.  Fonseka said that if he\r\nwere to get to Singapore, he planned to stay there for awhile\r\nto assess the situation, while his family was likely to\r\ntravel on to the United States.  The Ambassador raised the\r\nissue of Fonseka's travel with Pereis, who said that Fonseka\r\nwould not have immunity from criminal prosecution if he faced\r\nany formal charges, noting that he had no knowledge of any\r\nsuch charges.\r\n\r\nELECTIONS COMMISSIONER RETIRES,\r\nCOMPLICATES PARLIAMENTARY POLLS\r\n-------------------------------\r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>11. (C) (Rel to UK, CAN, AUS, SWITZ.)  While speaking to\r\nPolOff on January 28, the Elections Commissioner confirmed\r\nthat he would retire effective on January 29, and would not\r\nshow up for work on February 1.  As in his formal speech a\r\nday earlier, he cited tremendous pressure from all sides in\r\nthis presidential election and the inability of his office to\r\nobtain compliance with elections rules by the candidates and\r\ntheir campaigns, particularly on the government side.  He\r\nalso stated that his retirement would precipitate a\r\nconstitutional crisis, because no election could be held\r\nwithout an Elections Commissioner, and no replacement\r\nElections Commissioner could be named without implementing\r\nthe 17th amendment to the Constitution.\r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>12. (C) (Rel to UK, CAN, AUS, SWITZ.) There are reports that\r\nthe president plans to dissolve parliament very soon and call\r\nfor general elections.   While the term of the current\r\nparliament ends in April, some observers had thought\r\nRajapaksa might try to avoid holding a general election by\r\nextending the current parliament's term through a referendum\r\nor some other means.  Other reports were claiming that the\r\npresident likely would delay taking the oath of office for\r\nhis second term to enable him to complete more of his first\r\nterm and extend his total time in office.\r\n\r\nNEXT STEPS FOR RAJAPAKSA\r\n------------------------\r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>13. (C) (Rel to UK, CAN, AUS, SWITZ.)  It is too early to\r\ntell what direction the reinvigorated Rajapaksa regime will\r\ntake.  The major issues facing him include economic\r\ndevelopment and the closely related issue of the possible\r\nremoval of GSP-plus preferential trade tariffs, political\r\nreconciliation with ethnic Tamils, and the question of\r\naccountability for past human rights violations.  Discussion\r\namong the political class of Colombo, and the opposition in\r\nparticular, on what Rajapaksa will do next has not yet gotten\r\ninto full swing.  One of his inner circle told the Ambassador\r\nthat with a parliamentary majority of his own (and not from a\r\ncoalition), Rajapaksa would have the freedom to pursue\r\nreconciliation and reform, initiatives his reliance on\r\nnationalistic allies would have stymied.  We are likely to\r\nsee more in-depth analysis by both sides on what the results\r\nof the election mean over the next several days.  Post will\r\ncontinue to monitor these discussions and report our views on\r\nthe likely way ahead.\r\nBUTENIS<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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