![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/malinda.jpg\" "\\"Malinda")
<\/a>Malinda<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cAmbassador and DCM were unsuccessful in hand-delivering the report to Ministry of Foreign Affairs or other GSL officials, per reftel instructions. Despite many repeated calls to the MFA, no official was found available to accept the report. EU Commissioner Bernard Savage told Ambassador that he received the same treatment when he tried to deliver the GSP- Plus report to the GSL on October 19.\u201d the US Ambassador wrote to Washington.<\/p>\n
A leaked US diplomatic cable details the situation just after the release of the S\/WCI report to Congress on incidents. \u00a0The Colombo Telegraph found the cable from WikiLeaks database. The cable written on 26th October 2009, classified as \u201cCONFIDENTIAL\u201d by the US Ambassador Patricia A. Butenis.
\nThe ambassador Butenis wrote \u201c Weekend newspapers saw more in-depth coverage and analysis. Department Spokesman Ian Kelly\u2019s comments during the October 22 press briefing were carried widely. Analytical pieces were very critical. Emblematic of the articles, the well-known and widely-published freelance opinion columnist Malinda Seneviratne criticized both the basis of the document and the sources that the State Department used in preparing the report, noting \u2018 the country with the worst human rights record over the past 100 years and especially during its post-9\/11 adventures in Afghanistan and Iraq\u2019 was now asking the GSL to investigate claims of atrocities\u201d
\n\u201cDespite some negative op-ed press, the Sri Lanka response to the report has been relatively subdued. Thus far, there have been no demonstrations against the embassy nor other mass expressions of protest.\u201d Butenis wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are guardedly encouraged by Human Rights Minister Samarasinghe\u2019s announcement that an \u2018independent\u2019 commission would be formed to look in to the substance of the report. Sri Lanka has a long history of supposedly independent commissions that ultimately proved ineffective. Thus, we will look for every opportunity to hold them to their word,\u201d the ambassador further wrote.<\/p>\n
Read Manlinda Seneviratne\u2019s critical writings on the West here; www.malindawords.blogspot.com<\/a><\/p>\n Read the full cable for further details.<\/p>\n Malinda on WikiLeaks.[youtube=http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=G7nkiwCQ8Kg&feature=player_embedded#!]<\/p>\n Read the full cable for further details.<\/p>\n […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":1224,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[53,1,8,65,26,27],"tags":[1143,1139,1161,1134,1185,1298,1172,1263,6983],"class_list":["post-898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-global-politics","category-news","category-editorial","category-press-freedom","category-war-crimes","category-wikileaks","tag-authoritarianism","tag-democracy","tag-foreign-affairs","tag-human-rights","tag-patricia-a-butenis","tag-sri-lankans-in-wikileaks","tag-us-embassy-cables","tag-us-embassy-cables-on-sri-lanka","tag-war-crimes"],"yoast_head":"\nVZCZCXRO9983\nOO RUEHBI\nDE RUEHLM #0988\/01 2991137\nZNY CCCCC ZZH\nO 261137Z OCT 09\nFM AMEMBASSY COLOMBO\nTO RUEHC\/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0683\nINFO RUEHKA\/AMEMBASSY DHAKA PRIORITY 1989\nRUEHIL\/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 9025\nRUEHKT\/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU PRIORITY 7263\nRUEHLO\/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 5183\nRUEHNE\/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 3410\nRUEHNY\/AMEMBASSY OSLO PRIORITY 5138\nRUEHOT\/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA PRIORITY 0012\nRUEHSM\/AMEMBASSY STOCKHOLM PRIORITY 0673\nRUEHKO\/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 4249\nRUEHCG\/AMCONSUL CHENNAI PRIORITY 9585\nRUEHBI\/AMCONSUL MUMBAI PRIORITY 6882\nRUEHON\/AMCONSUL TORONTO PRIORITY 1344\nRHEFDIA\/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY\nRUEHGV\/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 3796\nRHHMUNA\/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY\nRUEHBS\/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY\nRHEHAAA\/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY\nRUEKJCS\/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY\nC O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000988\n\nSIPDIS\n\nDEPARTMENT FOR SCA\/INSB\n\nE.O. 12958: DECL: 10\/26\/2019\nTAGS: PGOV<\/a> PREL<\/a> PREF<\/a> PHUM<\/a> PTER<\/a> EAID<\/a> MOPS<\/a> CE<\/a>\nSUBJECT: GSL RESPONSE TO REPORT MEASURED -- THUS FAR\n\nREF: SECSTATE 109032\n\nClassified By: Ambassador Patricia A. Butenis. REASONS: 1.4 (B, D).\n\n\u00b6<\/a>1. (C) SUMMARY: The response of the Sri Lankan government\n(GSL) to release of the S\/WCI report to Congress on incidents\nduring the recent conflict thus far has been measured. Human\nRights Minister Samarasinghe told Ambassador an \"independent\"\ncommittee of eminent persons would be announced next week to\nlook into the substance of the report. Op-eds over the\nweekend were very critical of the report, calling into\nquestion both the U.S. right to issue such a document and its\nmotivation. END SUMMARY.\n\nMINISTER CALLS AMBASSADOR\n-------------------------\n\n\u00b6<\/a>2. (C) Ambassador and DCM were unsuccessful in\nhand-delivering the report to MFA or other GSL officials, per\nreftel instructions. Despite many repeated calls to the MFA,\nno official was found available to accept the report. (NOTE:\nEU Commissioner Bernard Savage told Ambassador that he\nreceived the same treatment when he tried to deliver the\nGSP-Plus report to the GSL on October 19. END NOTE.)\nNevertheless, early on October 26, Minister of Disaster\nRelief and Human Rights Samarasinghe called Ambassador to\ninform her of a meeting he had just had with President\nRajapaksa, at which the latter had ordered formation of a\ngroup of \"eminent persons\" to review the report and decide on\nthe GSL response. In remarks to the press later in the day,\nSamarasinghe said the group would be an \"independent\ncommittee\" and that its members would be announced next week.\n\nPRESS ON REPORT MORE PREDICTABLE\n--------------------------------\n\n\u00b6<\/a>3. (SBU) Initial news stories of the report's release to\nCongress focused on the SL Foreign Ministry's and U.S.\nEmbassy press statements. Weekend newspapers saw more\nin-depth coverage and analysis. Department Spokesman Ian\nKelly's comments during the October 22 press briefing were\ncarried widely. Analytical pieces were very critical.\nEmblematic of the articles, the well-known and\nwidely-published freelance opinion columnist Malinda\nSeneviratne criticized both the basis of the document and the\nsources that the State Department used in preparing the\nreport, noting \"the country with the worst human rights\nrecord over the past 100 years and especially during its\npost-9\/11 adventures in Afghanistan and Iraq\" was now asking\nthe GSL to investigate claims of atrocities.\n\n\u00b6<\/a>4. (C) The GSL was relatively tight-lipped in public about\nthe report apart from the October 22 Ministry of Foreign\nAffairs press release. But Lucien Rajakarunanayake, head of\nthe president's media unit, wrote a biting piece in the\nOctober 24 edition of the \"Daily News\". Rajakarunanayake\nclaimed the report was biased and motivated by pro-LTTE\ngroups in the United States. He wrote, \"With Raj Rajaratnam\nalready exposed, and the connections he had with the \"Tamils\nfor Clinton\" and later with the \"Tamils for Obama\" now well\nknown, there can (sic) be the least doubt the U.S. State\nDepartment is today leaning more in favor of the pro-LTTE\nTamil groups in New York and Washington, who are no doubt\ngood donors for campaigns and also possibly good foot\nsoldiers for political work too.\" He ended by calling on\nother countries, especially of the third world, to establish\ntheir own tribunals for crimes against humanity, especially\nwhere the U.S. had a hand.\n\n\u00b6<\/a>5. (C) COMMENT: Despite some negative op-ed press, the Sri\nLankan response to the report has been relatively subdued.\nThus far, there have been no demonstrations against the\n\nCOLOMBO 00000988 002 OF 002\n\nembassy nor other mass expressions of protest. Ambassador\nalso heard very little about the report during her visit over\nthe weekend to the provincial town of Kandy, location of Sri\nLanka's major Buddhist shrines. We are guardedly encouraged\nby Human Rights Minister Samarasinghe's announcement that an\n\"independent\" commission would be formed to look into the\nsubstance of the report. Sri Lanka has a long history of\nsupposedly independent commissions that ultimately proved\nineffective. Thus, we will look for every opportunity to\nhold them to their word.\nBUTENIS<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"