US Ambassador in Colombo Patricia Butenis in her cable January 22, 2010 said that if then Opposition Leader Sarath Fonseka won the election ‘US could expect that his new government would be interested in moving forward more quickly than the Rajapaksa government’, the WikiLeaks revealed.

“It also is important to note that the upcoming presidential election -- particularly if it were to result in an opposition victory -- could radically alter the political context of our assessment of GSL progress on key issues. Opposition candidate General Fonseka has made many significant promises in each of these issue areas, and we could expect that his new government would be interested in moving forward more quickly than the Rajapaksa government. Nevertheless, the key issue areas of concern remain the same notwithstanding the election, and we would expect any Sri Lankan government to continue to make progress. Please note that our lists of “Next Steps” are not in any order of priority or importance,” the cable stated.

Related link
Progress' on human rights in Sri Lanka -http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/us-embassy-cables-documents/244835