Cablegate: Sri Lankan President Defends Emergency Measures To

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DE RUEHLM #2033 3420955
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O 080955Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY COLOMBO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4880
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UNCLAS COLOMBO 002033

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PTER PHUM PREL CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKAN PRESIDENT DEFENDS EMERGENCY MEASURES TO
WESTERN AMBASSADORS

REF: A) COLOMBO 2021 B) COLOMBO 2030

1. (SBU) In a December 7 address to the nation on the new
emergency measures (in Sinhala, translation e-mailed to
SCA/INS), President Mahinda Rajapaksa offered brief thanks to
the members of international community that have rejected the
LTTE's call for "Eelam," or a separate state. He singled out
the U.S., which, he said, along with allies, has supported
Sri Lankan unity and independence over several decades. He
said all of Sri Lanka's foreign friends should behave
similarly in protecting the country. He sought to elicit
international pressure to convince the LTTE that violence
will not bring about liberation. He noted that many
countries, specifically the U.S., also face the challenge of
terrorism, which is inherently undemocratic.

2. (SBU) President Mahinda Rajapaksa briefed Western
Ambassadors on the new emergency regulations on December 8,
explaining that Sri Lanka is a democracy, but that LTTE
actions had made stronger anti-terrorism measures necessary.
Ambassador asked what measures were in place to safeguard
civil liberties and human rights under the new provisions.
Solicitor General Citta Ranjan DeSilva responded that the
police could only arrest individuals suspected of an actual
offense, that appeals were possible, and that the Supreme
Court could set aside any arrest (and the law or regulation
authorizing it) that is "obnoxious to the law."

3. (SBU) In response to a question from the Italian
Ambassador about the impact of the new measures on the peace
process, Peace Secretariat chair Palitha Kohona and MFA Legal
Advisor Rohan Perera confirmed that the emergency regulation
did not affect Section 2.12 of the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA).
There was therefore no reason for the LTTE to seize on this
or any other part of the new regulations as a pretext to walk
away from negotiations, they maintained.

4. (SBU) Deputy Solicitor General Yasantha Kodagoda, who
wrote the ordinance containing the new regulations, explained
to Pol Chief on December 7 that in fact, the President had
used existing authority under the Public Security Ordinance
to impose emergency measures by promulgating a regulation.
The GSL had carefully studied U.S. and UK models for this.
This was in order to fulfill his responsibility to protect
national security, maintain public order, and maintain
essential supplies and services. Although this measure
borrowed from the language of the suspended Prevention of
Terrorism (PTA), it was not technically correct that the
government had re-imposed the PTA. The new regulation was
effective immediately, but Parliament would have to debate it
and could then extend it in thirty-day increments, as it does
for the existing emergency legislation.

5. (SBU) Kodagoda placed great emphasis on the fact that the
Sri Lankan government had for the first time developed a
national definition of terrorism (as opposed to terrorist
activities). Their new measures were embedded in the
international legal framework established by UN Security
Council Resolution 1373, he said. He asked whether we could
arrange an appointment for him and his colleagues to discuss
these issues with international lawyers and antiterrorism
experts on the margins of the EXBS-organized Senior Level
Exchange in Washington on December 11-14.

6. COMMENT: The new emergency measures essentially make it a
crime to offer political or other material support to
terrorist groups. The only group specifically targeted,
although not mentioned by name, is the LTTE. We are less
concerned about formal arrests than about detentions under
the new regulation, and will watch carefully how the measures
are implemented. On the question of the definition of
terrorism and the implications for international law, we
agree it might be useful for Department attorneies from L
and/or antiterrorism experts from S/CT to meet separately
with DeSilva and Kodagoda on the margins of the Senior Policy
Exchange if the opportunity arises.
BLAKE

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