“Finally, the president said that the GSL’s fight against terrorism was not over and that extremist networks continued working abroad and even now had no problem raising money. He noted that Tamil activist Rudrakumaran was still in the U.S. and claimed he was still working to support the LTTE. On the rest of the Tamil diaspora, the president complained that while they were quick with their criticisms of the GSL, most of them had not set foot in Sri Lanka in years.” the US Embassy Colombo informed Washington.
Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran - Prime Minister TGTE
A Leaked ‘Confidential’ US diplomatic cable, dated September 18, 2009, updated the Secretary of State regarding Ambassador Patricia Butenis’s credentialing ceremony and a private meeting she had with the President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The Colombo Telegraph found the related leaked cable from the WikiLeaks database. The cable is signed by the US Ambassador to Colombo Patricia Butenis.
Ambassador Butenis wrote; ”Turning to the NGOs engaged in relief efforts, the president said that after the 2004 tsunami, 3,000 NGOs came to Sri Lanka, but some of them began working with the LTTE. Nevertheless, the GSL was now allowing over 50 NGOs to work in the IDP camps along with the UN. Rajapaksa then criticized the UN for — against GSL advice — building poor temporary shelters for the IDPs, who were now suffering. (NOTE: This is a standard GSL criticism. In fact, the UN from the start had warned the GSL of the dangers of flooding in the camps and had refused to build the permanent structures to house IDPs that the GSL wanted because the UN did not want to assist in building internment camps. END NOTE.)”
“Ambassador underscored the value of the larger bilateral relationship and noted the great potential that existed for expanding our cooperation in many areas. She stressed, however, that the IDP issue had to be resolved and that until it was, U.S.-Sri Lankan relations would be affected.” Butenis further wrote.
Placing a comment she wrote; “ President Rajapaksa had little new to say on GSL policies, but his initial meeting with ambassador was cordial. The FM and others said several times that the speed of the scheduling of ambassador’s credentialing was meant as a signal of the GSL’s desire to put the bilateral relationship on a new footing. There is, indeed, great potential for expanding and improving the relationship, but as ambassador noted to the president, lack of movement by the GSL on IDP freedom of movement and other issues could seriously hamper progress.”
Read the cable below for further details;
Related stories to this cable;
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000893 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INSB E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/21/2019 TAGS: PGOV PREL PREF PHUM PTER EAID MOPS CE SUBJECT: PRESIDENT BEWILDERED, FRUSTRATED WITH U.S. SRI LANKA POLICY COLOMBO 00000893 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: AMBASSADOR PATRICIA BUTENIS. REASONS: 1.4 (B, D). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: In a private meeting following ambassador's credentialing ceremony, President Rajapaksa expressed bewilderment and frustration at U.S. policy for encouraging him to fight terrorism and then criticizing him when he did. Rajapaksa claimed that 70 percent of the IDPs locked in camps would be returned by the end of January and complained that the UN was at fault for the poor condition of IDP camps now because they had refused to build the kind of permanent structures the GSL originally wanted. Ambassador underscored the value of the larger bilateral relationship and its great potential for expansion but stressed that the IDP issue will not go away and needs to be resolved. END SUMMARY. AMBASSADOR CREDENTIALED ----------------------- ¶2. (C) On September 17, Ambassador Patricia Butenis presented her credentials to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa in a ceremony with six other ambassadors. Foreign Minister (FM) Bogollagama made the point that ambassador had been credentialed very quickly after her arrival in country, hinting that this signaled the importance the GSL placed on the relationship with the U.S. and their desire to get it back on track. After the ceremony, the U.S. and Egyptian ambassadors were asked to stay behind for private meetings. Following a few minutes with the Egyptian, President Rajapaksa invited ambassador to speak with him, the FM, and Presidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunga PRESIDENT: TERROR FIGHT CONTINUES --------------------------------- ¶3. (C) Expressing a combination of bewilderment and frustration, the president pointed out that while President Bush personally had encouraged him to pursue defeat of the LTTE, we were now criticizing Sri Lanka for the conduct of its fight against terrorism. The president raised the issue of the war crimes report, which is being prepared by Department. Ambassador explained the origins of the report as congressionally mandated, noted that Assistant Secretary Blake had discussed the report with FM Bogollagama and with the Sri Lankan ambassador in Washington, and informed the president that its release to Congress had been delayed by a month. On the question of freedom of movement for IDPs, the president held to his standard paternalistic line that the GSL could not release them from the camps until de-mining was finished and infrastructure was restored. He promised that 70 percent of the IDPs would be returned by the end of January. Asked to clarify whether they would be allowed to return to their own homes or resettled in new closed camps, FM Bogollagama interjected that they would go to their own homes. ¶4. (C) Turning to the NGOs engaged in relief efforts, the president said that after the 2004 tsunami, 3,000 NGOs came to Sri Lanka, but some of them began working with the LTTE. Nevertheless, the GSL was now allowing over 50 NGOs to work in the IDP camps along with the UN. Rajapaksa then criticized the UN for -- against GSL advice -- building poor temporary shelters for the IDPs, who were now suffering. (NOTE: This is a standard GSL criticism. In fact, the UN from the start had warned the GSL of the dangers of flooding in the camps and had refused to build the permanent structures to house IDPs that the GSL wanted because the UN did not want to assist in building internment camps. END NOTE.) Finally, the president said that the GSL's fight against terrorism was not over and that extremist networks continued working abroad and even now had no problem raising COLOMBO 00000893 002.2 OF 002 money. He noted that Tamil activist Rudrakumaran was still in the U.S. and claimed he was still working to support the LTTE. On the rest of the Tamil diaspora, the president complained that while they were quick with their criticisms of the GSL, most of them had not set foot in Sri Lanka in years. ¶5. (C) Ambassador underscored the value of the larger bilateral relationship and noted the great potential that existed for expanding our cooperation in many areas. She stressed, however, that the IDP issue had to be resolved and that until it was, U.S.-Sri Lankan relations would be affected. COMMENT ------- ¶6. (C) President Rajapaksa had little new to say on GSL policies, but his initial meeting with ambassador was cordial. The FM and others said several times that the speed of the scheduling of ambassador's credentialing was meant as a signal of the GSL's desire to put the bilateral relationship on a new footing. There is, indeed, great potential for expanding and improving the relationship, but as ambassador noted to the president, lack of movement by the GSL on IDP freedom of movement and other issues could seriously hamper progress. BUTENIS
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