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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 000108 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INSB 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/09/2020 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PREF PHUM PTER EAID MOPS CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA HOT TOPICS: FONSEKA, BUDDHIST CRITICISM 
OF GSL, ACCOUNTABILITY, PARLIAMENT DISSOLUTION 
 
COLOMBO 00000108  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
Classified By: CHARGE D'AFFAIRES VALERIE C. FOWLER.  REASONS: 1.4 (B, D 
) 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY: On February 10, Charge met with the Foreign 
Secretary, who said that the Government of Sri Lanka (GSL) 
had acted with complete transparency when detaining Sarath 
Fonseka and that the U.S. statement of "concern" by the State 
Department spokesman was premature.  He left the door open 
for an undetermined length of detention for Fonseka while an 
investigation continued and promised that other opposition 
leaders had nothing to fear.  In other news, Parliament was 
dissolved, with the general election expected to take place 
on April 8.  The head of the oldest and largest Buddhist sect 
in Sri Lanka -- and a hitherto staunch defender of President 
Rajapaksa -- shocked the country by saying on February 9 that 
it was a "grave crime" to imprison a war hero and that voters 
should throw out the responsible politicians at the next 
poll.  The government announced that copies of vote tally 
sheets from the presidential election would not be released, 
and tear gas was reportedly used by police to break up a 
clash between government supporters and protesters calling 
for Fonseka's release.  The Defense Secretary meanwhile 
appeared to soften his tone on war crimes investigations in a 
newspaper interview.  END SUMMARY. 
 
FOREIGN SECRETARY SAYS 
NO CAUSE FOR CONCERN 
---------------------- 
 
¶2. (C) On February 10, Charge met with Foreign Secretary 
Romesh Jayasinghe to continue the conversation begun by A/S 
Blake on February 8 with the Sri Lankan Ambassador to the 
U.S., regarding the detention of Sarath Fonseka.  Jayasinghe 
insisted that the government had undertaken this action in a 
completely transparent manner and according to long-standing 
Sri Lankan military regulations.  He did not use the term 
"arrest" when describing Fonseka's detention but said that 
Fonseka was under investigation for alleged charges violating 
clause 57 (1) of the Army Act and had been taken into 
detention to further that investigation.  Jayasinghe declined 
to detail how long the investigation or any subsequent court 
action could be expected to last or how long Fonseka might be 
detained, responding simply that the Sri Lankan military 
system was very transparent and well-established and that the 
case would be handled within the parameters set up by the 
Army Act.  When asked whether an appearance by someone 
serving in the military at a political campaign rally would 
be punishable under the Army Act, Jayasinghe hedged, saying 
the seriousness of the matter would be subject to a legal 
interpretation.  (NOTE: Opposition supporters have complained 
that active duty uniformed military officers and personnel 
loyal to President Rajapaksa, including one of Rajapaksa's 
sons who is serving in the Navy, participated in campaign 
events with no apparent legal repercussions.  END NOTE.) 
 
¶3. (C) Jayasinghe maintained that other opposition leaders 
were not under threat by this investigation, and that 
civilians could never be the subject of a military justice 
investigation, which only applied to military and former 
military personnel.  He also went on to clarify that any 
decision against a defendant in a military court martial 
could be appealed within the civil justice system, initially 
to the Appeals Court and even to the Supreme Court. 
Jayasinghe said he believed that A/S Crowley's February 8 
statement to the media that the U.S. was concerned about 
Fonseka's detention was premature.  (NOTE: Crowley expressed 
"concerns that any action be in accord with Sri Lankan law.") 
 Jayasinghe contended that details were not usually available 
in the hours immediately after such a development and that it 
was now clear to all that the detention had been done in a 
 
COLOMBO 00000108  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
completely transparent and open manner in accordance with Sri 
Lankan law. 
 
ALL DETAINED FONSEKA 
LOYALISTS ACCOUNTED FOR 
----------------------- 
 
¶4. (C) Post contacts outside of the government confirmed that 
all Fonseka loyalists who had been detained since the end of 
the presidential election had been accounted for, and most 
had received visits from independent monitors on February 9. 
Ministry of Defense Spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella stated on 
February 9 that the detainees had all been transferred to the 
Criminal Investigative Division (CID) for further inquiries. 
 
 
PARLIAMENT DISSOLVED, 
VOTE LIKELY ON APRIL 8 
---------------------- 
 
¶5. (C) As expected, the President dissolved parliament on the 
evening of February 9.  The nomination period is expected to 
begin in about ten days and last for one week, with the 
election campaign period following.  The election itself is 
likely to be held on April 8, just prior to the celebration 
of the Sri Lankan New Year the following week. 
 
KEY BUDDHIST CLERIC DECRIES FONSEKA ARREST, 
ACCUSES GOVERNMENT OF DECEIVING THE PEOPLE 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (C) The Mahanayaka of the Malawatte Chapter (essentially 
the head of the oldest and largest Buddhist sect in Sri 
Lanka), Tibbotuwawe Sri Siddhartha Sumangala, shocked the 
country by saying on February 9 that it was a "grave crime" 
to imprison a war hero and by coming out strongly in defense 
of freedom of the press.  Expressing his views during a 
meeting with the wife and children of missing journalist 
Pradeep Ekneligoda, the Buddhist prelate -- who had been a 
staunch defender of President Rajapaksa -- said the people's 
right to know the truth should be safeguarded and that 
"depriving that right is not democracy."  On Fonseka, he said 
that if the general had made some mistake, his service to the 
nation in defeating terrorism entitled him to be pardoned. 
He noted that the present political leaders came to visit him 
for advice but don't listen to what he says.  The prelate 
said he had a pile of letters from poor people living in fear 
or even fleeing into the jungle because they had voted for 
Fonseka.  He added, "What is the need of a leader who 
harasses poor people?  When casting their vote, people should 
know not to send this sort of people to such positions." 
 
NO COPIES OF 
VOTE TALLY SHEETS 
----------------- 
 
¶7. (C) After public complaints by the election monitoring 
group Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) that their 
repeated requests to see the carbon copies of the vote 
counting tally sheets from the January 26 election went 
unanswered, the government responded on February 10 that 
these copies would not be released to the public because 
there was "no need for that." 
 
OPPOSITION PROTESTS 
------------------- 
 
¶8. (C) Opposition supporters assembled at the Supreme Court 
Complex on February 10 to protest the arrest of General 
Fonseka.  Government supporters also held a counter rally at 
 
COLOMBO 00000108  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
the same location.  The opposition supporters demanded 
Fonseka's release and burned life-sized posters of President 
Rajapaksa.  A clash erupted when the two groups threw rocks 
at each other, at which point the police intervened and 
reportedly used tear gas twice to control the crowd.  There 
were an estimated 3,000 total demonstrators, including both 
sides.  Several were injured and taken to local hospitals. 
Late reports said police had also used tear gas on protesters 
in Galle, Ampara, and Matara. 
 
DEFENSE SECRETARY SOFTENS 
TONE ON ACCOUNTABILITY 
------------------------- 
 
¶9. (C) Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa seemed to soften 
his tone on calls for accountability over possible violations 
of international human rights.  In an earlier interview with 
the BBC, the Defense Secretary had vigorously opposed any 
international investigation into possible violations.  In a 
February 8 interview with the local Island newspaper, 
however, Rajapaksa said "no one would oppose a genuine 
investigation initiated by the international community" and 
that the Defense Ministry would take punitive action against 
any military personnel guilty of war crimes or criminal 
activity. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶10. (C) The Foreign Secretary's clarification that Fonseka 
was under detention to further the investigation appears to 
reflect the government's consolidation of its position on his 
case, making sure they do not box themselves in with any 
procedural complexities.  His arguments about the 
government's handling of the case with "complete 
transparency" resembled the government's response to the EU's 
report on the removal of GSP-plus preferential tariffs.  In 
both instances, a strong statement was made that Sri Lankan 
laws did not allow for any misdeeds, and therefore nothing 
questionable could have happened. 
 
¶11. (C) The Buddhist Mahanayaka's comments on Fonseka and the 
Rajapaksas came as a bombshell to Sri Lankans, already 
reeling from the news of the general's arrest.  The prelate 
has been very pro-government, insisting to Ambassador during 
her visit to Kandy last October that we work with the 
president and denying there were any problems between 
Sinhalese and Tamils lingering after the war.  The Rajapaksas 
took steps to try to suppress news of his latest remarks, 
warning MTV not to do a breaking report, though the station 
went ahead and televised the Mahanayaka's remarks in their 
entirety during a regularly scheduled newscast.  Roman 
Catholic Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith, who made very supportive 
remarks regarding the president during the campaign, also 
told us yesterday he was seeking a meeting with the president 
to warn him against further moves against Fonseka, which 
"could damage his presidency."  Rajapaksa worked hard to 
court the favor of Sri Lankan religious leaders.  We will be 
watching, together with Sri Lankans, whether the religious 
leaders' warnings now will help moderate the government's 
actions. 
FOWLER