WikiLeaks: For Sri Lankans It’s The First Time Since The Conflict Began City Looking So Festive – US
December 25, 2013
“Colombo is lit up this holiday season, with electric lights draped all over the city. The GSL is sponsoring the effort in a bid to increase the city’s attractiveness. For Sri Lankans, it is the first time since the conflict began almost 20 years ago that they remember the city looking so festive. Amid all the discussions focusing on the ceasefire, federalism, and other dry subjects, it is illustrative that Sri Lanka’s experience of the peace process also involves something as simple–and evocative–as bright lights.” the US Embassy Colombo informed Washington.
While the vast majority of Sri Lankans are Buddhist or Hindu, there is a long tradition in the country of respecting holidays of other religions, especially Christmas | Photo courtesy AFP
The Colombo Telegraph found the related leaked cable from the WikiLeaksdatabase. The cable was written on December 11, 2002 by the US Ambassador to Colombo E. Ashley Wills.
The ambassador wrote; “Colombo is newly lit up this holiday season. Multi- colored electric lights hang over streets, and bedeck buildings and trees. The government is sponsoring the effort in a bid to increase the city’s attractiveness to locals and tourists after years of war-enforced austerity. Seeking a ripple effect that could help restore ethnic harmony, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe has even taken a personal interest, urging businesses to put up lights wherever possible. In response, the private sector is actively participating in a committee formed by the Mayor’s office, and beginning in late November, many hotels and privately-owned buildings strung up lights at their own expense. This, despite the surging price of electricity and frequent power outages that mean that expensive generators have to be used to keep the lights on. (Note: While the vast majority of coverage has been highly positive, there have been a couple of articles in the press grousing about the financial cost to the country of the lighting campaign.)Read More
WikiLeaks: ‘Just Do Nothing’ Is What Ranil Learned From His Christmas Vacation Reading On Roosevelt ! – US
December 26, 2013 |
“The Ambassador was called in to see Prime Minister Wickremesinghe on the afternoon of Saturday, January 10. Milinda Moragoda was also present. The meeting began with the participants exchanging thoughts on the books they had read over the Christmas/New Year’s lull, with the PM noting in particular a biography of Franklin Roosevelt.” the US Embassy Colombo informed Washington.
The Colombo Telegraph found the related leaked cable from the WikiLeaks database. The “Confidential” cable was signed by the US Ambassador to Colombo Jeffrey J. Lunstead on January 12, 2004.
The US Embassy wrote; “As the Ambassador left, the PM commented again on his vacation reading. He said that one thing he had learned from the Franklin Roosevelt biography was that for a lot of the time ‘Roosevelt just did nothing.’ That might be the wrong inspiration to take from that book.”
