VZCZCXRO1891
PP RUEHAG
DE RUEHHE #0816 2281327
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 161327Z AUG 06
FM AMEMBASSY HELSINKI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2317
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 0080
RUEHNY/AMEMBASSY OSLO PRIORITY 4633
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 0337
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L HELSINKI 000816 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/15/2016 
TAGS: PREL PHUM CE EUN FI
SUBJECT: FINLAND: PRESIDENCY UPPING SRI LANKA INVOLVEMENT 
 
REF: A. STATE 128399 
     ¶B. OTALLAH CO-CHAIRS READOUT EMAIL 
 
Classified By: Polchief Gregory D. Thome, for reasons 1.4 (B) and (D). 
 
(C) MFA Asia Department Deputy Director Rauli Suikkanen and 
desk officer Marita Meranto told Emboff Aug. 16 that the 
Finnish EU Presidency is seeking to become more involved in 
helping to resolve the conflict in Sri Lanka. Following an EU 
meeting on the situation in Brussels among EU COPS 
representatives today, Meranto predicted that an EU 
Presidency statement would be issued.  Finland welcomes the 
opportunity to participate in Co-Chair activities in its 
Presidency capacity and would like to attend the Co-Chairs 
meeting in Brussels in early September.  Helsinki also plans 
a visit to Sri Lanka--where it is represented by Germany--in 
the fall to make the Presidency more visible, and would use 
the September 10-11 Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM summit) and the 
EU-India summit in October to raise Sri Lanka. 
 
(C) Meranto and Suikkanen remained pessimistic about the 
continuation of hostilities in Sri Lanka, and noted that an 
EU demarche to the SL Foreign Minister August 15 had produced 
scant response. The SL DCM had told Meranto earlier that day 
that the GOSL hoped that the peace process could continue and 
that the cease fire would not be "null and void;" however, he 
added that the GOSL "needs to defend itself." In response to 
EU approaches to the GOSL on the need for NGOs to have free 
access to internally displaced persons in the north and east 
of the country, the Foreign Minister proposed a conference on 
the role of NGOs.  Suikkanen reported that NGOs had received 
limited access to disputed areas to investigate the recent 
deaths of aid workers.  Finland would like to raise Sri Lanka 
in the Human Rights Council when it reconvenes September 18 
to obtain a stronger investigative mandate for the HRC 
representative in Colombo, thereby signalling to all parties 
that human rights could not be violated with impunity. 
WARE