David Miliband focused on Sri Lankan war ‘to win votes’ - Wikileaks

The former UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband’s campaign to champion international aid and human rights during last year’s humanitarian rights crisis in Sri Lanka was driven largely by the need to win the votes of the UK’s large Sri Lankan Tamil population, according to the latest Wikileaks releases.

 

Richard Mills, a political officer at the US embassy, reported: “He said that with UK elections on the horizon and many Tamils living in Labour constituencies with slim majorities, the government is paying particular attention to Sri Lanka.”

 

The diplomatic campaign by former foreign secretary David Miliband to champion aid and human rights during the Sri Lankan humanitarian crisis last year was largely driven by domestic political calculations, according to a Foreign Office official.

 

A leaked May 2009 cable from the US embassy in London quotes the official, Tim Waite, a Foreign Office team leader on Sri Lanka, explaining Miliband’s intense focus on the plight of the country’s Tamils in terms of UK electoral geography.

 

“Waite said that much of [Her Majesty’s government] and ministerial attention to Sri Lanka is due to the ‘very vocal’ Tamil diaspora in the UK, numbering over 300,000, who have been protesting in front of parliament since 6 April,” Richard Mills, a political officer at the US embassy, reported.

 

“He said that with UK elections on the horizon and many Tamils living in Labour constituencies with slim majorities, the government is paying particular attention to Sri Lanka, with Miliband recently remarking to Waite that he was spending 60% of his time at the moment on Sri Lanka.”

 

The Foreign Office said tonight there was nothing wrong or unusual in explaining to a foreign diplomat the political context for UK foreign policy, and a former prime ministerial envoy on Sri Lanka said that the British involvement was motivated firstly by the scale of the humanitarian crisis.

 

The comments quoted in the US cable were made in the midst of a flurry of activity on Sri Lanka by Miliband, as the long civil war between the government and the Tamil Tigers was reaching a bloody conclusion. At the end, some local doctors estimated that as many as a thousand people, mostly Tamils, were dying each day.

 

The foreign secretary had just visited Sri Lanka with his French counterpart, Bernard Kouchner on 29 April.

 

Miliband told parliament two days later that the joint trip had been “to highlight the need to bring the conflict to an end in a way that minimises further civilian casualties; to press the case for the humanitarian relief effort to be ratcheted up, as the UN and EU have been calling for; and to make clear the need for a long-term political settlement that meets the aspirations of all communities in Sri Lanka.”

 

 

 

 

 

The Full Cable:

 

 

Thursday, 07 May 2009, 14:08
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LONDON 001082
NOFORN
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS (BINDI PATEL)
DEPARTMENT ALSO FOR EEB/IFD/OMA (MARLENE SAKAUE)
EO 12958 DECL: 05/07/2019
TAGS PREL, PGOV,EAID, CE,UK
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: UPDATE ON UKACTION AND THINKING
REF: A. COLOMBO 479 B. LONDON DAILY - 30 APRIL 2009 C. LONDON DAILY - 13 FEBRUARY 2009 D. STATE 41959 E. LONDON 1041
Classified By: Political Counselor Richard Mills, reasons 1.4 (b/d).

1. (C/NF) Summary. After giving a brief overview of UK Foreign Secretary Miliband’s and a British Parliamentary Group’s separate visits to Sri Lanka, Foreign Office Sri Lanka team leader Tim Waite and Desk Officer Sharon Diaz said May 7 that the UK plans to continue its “concerted drive to achieve a fully inclusive political settlement.” Turning to next steps, Waite said the EU Troika is visiting Sri Lanka next week, and the UKhopes this will maintain “sustained pressure” on the Sri Lankan Government. Miliband and Kouchner plan to jointly host an “informal” meeting on the margins of the Middle East meetings taking place on May 11 in New York. Miliband also plans to raise Sri Lanka with USG officials during his May 12 visit to Washington. Additionally, Waite said the UK supports a special Human Rights Council session on Sri Lanka, and, according to Waite, HMT has decided to support the USG position delaying Sri Lanka’s proposed Stand-By Arrangement with the IMF. Waite said that with UK elections on the horizon and many Tamils living in Labour constituencies with slim majorities, the UKGovernment is paying particular attention to Sri Lanka, with Miliband recently remarking to Waite that he was spending 60 percent of his time at the moment on Sri Lanka. End summary.

2. (C) FCO Sri Lanka team leader Tim Waite and Desk Officer Sharon Diaz told Poloff May 7 that the civilians caught in the conflict zone remain the UK’s primary concern in Sri Lanka, followed by humanitarian access and addressing IDP needs. The UKGovernment has provided GBP 7.5 million (USD 11.25 million) since October 2008, including Prime Minister Brown’s recent pledge of GBP 2.5 million (USD 3.75 million) in additional support.

Miliband and Kouchner Visit

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3. (C) Waite described Miliband and French Foreign Secretary Kouchner’s April 29 visit as “good,” though Miliband was “disappointed” that the Sri Lankan Government did not permit Swedish Foreign Secretary Bilt to join the visit. Waite said Miliband’s May 1 statement to Parliament highlighted the threefold purpose of his visit: “to highlight the need to bring the conflict to an end in a way that minimizes further civilian casualties; to press the case for the humanitarian relief effort to be ratcheted up, as the UN and EU have been calling for; and to make clear the need for a long-term political settlement that meets the aspirations of all communities in Sri Lanka.” These remain the UK’s primary objectives and were reflected in Miliband and Kouchner’s joint article following the visit (reftel B).

4. (SBU) The UK continues to press on five specific humanitarian points: the need for visas to be issued swiftly to international humanitarian staff; the subject of travel permits for staff working on approved projects inside Sri Lanka; the need for full access to IDPs as soon as they have crossed the front line and the monitoring of all stages of screening; the need for a proper resettlement program with specific deadlines to fulfill the Government’s commitment to have 80 percent of IDPs resettled by the year’s end; and, to allow the distribution of sufficient food and medicine to meet the needs of civilians trapped in the conflict zone (reftel A).

LONDON 00001082 002 OF 002

Special Envoy Des Browne Finally Makes It to Sri Lanka

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5. (C) Waite said a cross party group of MPs visited Sri Lanka May 4-5 at the Sri Lanka Government’s invitation, including the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for Sri Lanka Des Browne, the February 2009 appointment of whom the Sri Lankan Government has rejected (reftel C). Browne’s visit was allowed by the Sri Lankan Government on condition that Browne was visiting in his capacity as an MP sitting on the cross party parliamentary group, which the UK agreed to. In their May 6 statement, the parliamentarians echoed the same themes as Miliband. Waite said they had found the situation in the IDP camps to be a “little bit better,” but “not nearly as good as it should.” Waite also reiterated that the UKGovernment still acknowledges Browne as the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy, noting that Browne had been doing a lot of outreach to the Diaspora community resident in the UK.

India

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6. (C) Browne is currently in India, where Waite confessed he was having trouble getting meetings with the Indian Government’s political level, presumably because of the elections underway. Waite characterized the Indians as “ambivalent” and unwilling to undertake any heavy lifting on Sri Lanka because it was “too sensitive” an issue during the elections.

Next Steps

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7. (C) The UK plans to continue its “concerted drive to achieve a fully inclusive political settlement,” Waite said. The EU Troika is visiting Sri Lanka next week, and the UK hopes this will maintain “sustained pressure” on the Sri Lankan Government. Miliband and Kouchner plan to jointly host an “informal” meeting in New York on the margins of the Middle East meetings on May 11 (NFI). Miliband also plans to raise Sri Lanka with USG officials during his May 12 visit to Washington. The UK also supports a special Human Rights Council session on Sri Lanka, and, according to Waite, HMT has decided to support the USG position on delaying Sri Lanka’s proposed Stand-By Arrangement with the IMF (reftels D, E).

Comment

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8. (C/NF) Waite said that much of HMG and ministerial attention to Sri Lanka is due to the “very vocal” Tamil Diaspora in the UK, numbering over 300,000 and who have been protesting in front of Parliament since April 6. He said that with UK elections on the horizon and many Tamils living in Labour constituencies with slim majorities, the Government is paying particular attention to Sri Lanka, with Miliband recently remarking to Waite that he was spending 60 percent of his time at the moment on Sri Lanka.

independent.co.uk