WikiLeaks: Sampanthan Told US That He Would Support The Rajapaksas Before Fonseka As The Lesser Of Two Evils
“Segudawood’s comments indicate how complicated the election situation is even before the president announces whether a presidential elections will be held in the spring. (NOTE: the president is scheduled to announce his decision at the November 15 Congress of the SLFP. END NOTE.) The key complicating factor at this point is General Fonseka, who could split the Sinhalese vote and deprive the Rajapaksas of their key issue of winning the war. But Fonseka would be very hard for the Tamil community to support, however much they may dislike the Rajapaksas. TNA leader Sampanthan, for example, told us that he would support the Rajapaksas before Fonseka as the lesser of two evils.” the US Embassy Colombo informed Washington.
The ambassador wrote; “It is such complicating factors, as well as other big issues such as GSP-Plus and the U.S. Incidents Report that may be giving the president pause in deciding whether to call early presidential elections. Some keen observers are starting to believe that the president may wait another two years for the next regularly schedule polls. By then, presumably, the political storms over GSP-Plus and the Incidents Report will likely have passed in one way or another, General Fonseka may have faded from the scene, and the international economic situation will likely have improved with a potentially positive impact on the Sri Lankan economy. The political landscape, therefore, would be very different from the increasingly rocky one the president now faces.”
Related posts to this cable;
“Segudawood discussed a strategy he believed might pull votes from the president’s United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA). He hinted that perhaps two or more UPFA officials were already prepared to switch allegiance to the new coalition. According to Segudawood, there were UPFA members who were very displeased with the Rajapaksa regime and ready to pull the plug on it. If the opposition were able to win over at least two UPFA members, Segudawood believed others would be willing to do the same. The SLMC chairman remarked that the people were tired of hearing the president’s propaganda of ‘winning the war’ as his chief political accomplishment and centerpiece for the upcoming elections. Given the current government’s unpopularity with the Muslims and Tamils, in order for the president to win, Segudawood claimed that the president needed at least 75 percent of Sinhalese votes. He hoped with Fonseka as the coalition candidate, the coalition could cut substantially into the president’s Sinhalese base. At the same time, he claimed the Tamil and Muslim minorities together comprised 1.5 million votes and noted that the coalition’s success depended on them. “the US Embassy Colombo informed Washington.
Basheer Segu Dawood
The Colombo Telegraph found the related leaked cable from the WikiLeaks database. The cable is classified as “Confidential” and recounts a meeting the US Embassy had with the Chairman of Sri Lanka Muslim Congress,Basheer Segu Dawood. The cable was written on November 06, 2009 by the US Ambassador to Colombo, Patricia A. Butenis.
The ambassador wrote; “The SLMC Chairman discussed the signing of the MOU creating the United National Front by the United National Party (UNP), SLMC, Mangala Samaraweera’s Sri Lanka Freedom Party Mahajana (SLFP-M), and Mano Ganeshan’s Western People Front (WPF), as well as 19 other organizations and political parties. Segudawood pointed out that minority parties such as the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), People Liberation Organization of Thamileelam (PlOTE), Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), WPF, SLMC and the Upcountry People’s Front were now willing to work together with this grand coalition.”
“The SLMC chairman indicated there had been back channel talks by opposition party operatives with Fonseka about his role as a possible coalition leader. He remarked that while Fonseka’s Sinhalese nationalistic ideology might be similar to that of the Rajapaksas, Fonseka came from a family that was born-and-bred UNP and would be the only one capable of beating the current government. For Fonseka to be a viable candidate in the eyes of the minority and opposition, however, he first would have to sign an agreement to abolish the Executive Presidency within 90 days of the elections. Fonseka had yet to make a decision on whether he would run, or with which party or group of parties he might ally himself. According to Segudawood, Fonseka would want two issues clarified before considering the coalition offer: his future after the Presidency was dissolved, and concerns for his personal security, implying that the Rajapaksas might stop at nothing to prevent him running against them. Segudawood pointed out that UNP leader Ranil Wickramesinghe personally promised Fonseka that the people would protect him. Janatha Vimukhti Peramuna (JVP) was also putting forth a bill to Parliament that guaranteed former commanders and senior officers, personal security.”
“Segudawood claimed the Tamil Diaspora would be a key player in the upcoming elections. He noted that the Tamil Diaspora was hosting a conference on November 12-13 in London, which 20 Sri Lankan-based minority leaders were planning to attend. Among the possible attendees were Sivanesthurai Chandrakanthan a.k.a. Pilliyan (TMVP), Rauff Hakeem (SLMC), Sampanthan (TNA), and Mano Ganesan (TNA).” the ambassador further wrote.
After Sri Lanka’s Civil War – ABC Radio National’s Rear Vision
March 13, 2013
Many people greeted the end of the civil war in Sri Lanka between government forces and Tamil separatist rebels in 2009 with jubilation but although the fighting stopped, the restoration of the rule of law and the proper investigation of rights abuses and alleged war crimes by both sides has not occurred.
Around 300,000 people were driven from their homes during the final bloody stages of the Sri Lankan Civil War. Most of them ended up in camps controlled by the Sri Lankan military where they were kept against their will, with restricted access to the media and independent aid organisations. Under international pressure for an inquiry into the conduct of the civil war, President Mahinda Rajapaksa appointed a Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) in May 2010 but even its modest recommendations have not been implemented by a government increasingly intolerant of dissent.
Broadcast:Sunday 10 March 2013 12:05PM
Guests
- Jonathan Spencer
- Professor of Anthropology of South Asia
University of Edinburgh
- Bruce Matthews
- Professor Emeritus of comparative religion
Acadia University
Nova Scotia
Canada
- Gibson Bateman
- His commentary on Sri Lanka has appeared in East Asia Forum, Groundviews, and CounterPunch.
- Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena
- Independent lawyer and media columnist
- Dr Laksiri Fernando
- Former professor of political science and public policy at the Faculty of Graduate Studies
University of Colombo, Sri Lanka
Transcript
Journalist [archival]: Residents took the streets near the presidential palace. They came out to celebrate the end of the war against the Tamil Tigers.
Man [archival]: Everyone is very happy, the civilians are very happy for this moment. We were looking for 30 years for this moment. We were looking for freedom and now we have freedom!
Journalist [archival]: Some of the revellers crammed onto the back of trucks, some rode in auto rickshaws, waving the Sri Lankan national flag. Others let off firecrackers in the street.
Keri Phillips: Many people greeted the end of the civil war in Sri Lanka between government forces and Tamil separatist rebels in 2009 with jubilation, yet the number of Sri Lankans seeking refuge in Australia by boat surged last year, according to the Australian Department of Immigration.
This is Rear Vision on RN. I’m Keri Phillips, and today we’ll dip into Sri Lanka’s longer history and also find out what’s been going on since the fighting ended.
The Sri Lankan government crushed the Tamil Tigers in a bloody endgame that caused death and misery to hundreds of thousands of unfortunate civilians. The conflict had begun in 1983 but its roots lie in the decades following independence in 1948 and the nature of the ethnic divisions within the country. Jonathan Spencer is Professor of the Anthropology of South Asia at the University of Edinburgh. Read More
