Thank you your message to Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton regarding the
situation in Sri Lanka. We share your concern.
The United States has been at the forefront of efforts calling for a political
solution to this conflict, an end to human rights abuses, and protection of the
internally displaced persons trapped by fighting in the north. The United
States also has been the leading donor of food and other emergency humanitarian
assistance to the people in northern Sri Lanka, providing over $35 million in
humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka in the last 15 months.
The United States has urged both sides in the conflict - publicly and in
meetings with the Sri Lankan government - to protect civilians and allow the
United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and international
non-governmental organizations continued access to the conflict region in order
to deliver food, shelter and other supplies in a secure manner to the internally
displaced persons and other conflict victims in the North. We also have called
on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to allow those trapped in the
conflict area freedom of movement to escape the fighting. We have repeatedly
urged both sides to exercise maximum restraint to ensure civilians are not
caught in crossfire.
On February 3, the Tokyo Co-Chairs, Norway, Japan, United States, and European
Union issued a statement calling on the LTTE to “discuss with the Government of
Sri Lanka the modalities for ending hostilities, including the laying down of
arms, renunciation of violence, acceptance of the Government of Sri Lanka’s
offer of amnesty, and participating as a political party in a process to achieve
a just and lasting political solution.” The statement also called on the
Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE to “declare a temporary no-fire period to
allow for evacuation of sick and wounded, and provision of aid to civilians.”
Secretary of State Clinton and UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband issued a
joint statement reiterating their support for the Co-Chairs’ statement.
Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Richard A. Boucher has spoken with
high levels of the Sri Lankan government regarding our concerns. He has urged
the Sri Lankan government not to shell into the safe zone and to allow critical
medical supplies to reach civilians who are trapped.
On March 13, 2009, Secretary Clinton called Sri Lankan President Mahinda
Rajapaksa to express the United States’ deep concern over the deteriorating
conditions and increasing loss of life occurring in the Government of Sri
Lanka-designated “safe zone” in northern Sri Lanka. Secretary Clinton stated
that the Sri Lankan Army should not fire into the civilian areas of the conflict
zone. The United States also condemned the actions of the LTTE who are reported
to be holding civilians as human shields, and to have shot at civilians leaving
LTTE areas of control.
Please be assured that the United States Government will continue to remain
engaged to help resolve this humanitarian crisis. You may wish to visit the
website of the US Embassy in Colombo (http://srilanka.usembassy.gov/) to view
the many interviews and statements made by Ambassador Robert Blake, as well as
officials at the State Department.
Thank you for contacting the U.S. Department of State.
Welcome to Our Website
This website is about Sri-Lankan Americans, who are naturalized citizens of the US, or those born to them in the US Sri-Lankans are a multi-ethnic, diverse group of people-Singhalese, Tamils, Moors (Muslims), Burghers, and other of various religious denominations- Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, Christians living together for many centuries.
Vision Statement:
The Unifying voice between President Obama, Sri-Lankan Americans, and the people of Sri- Lanka.
Mission Statement:
The Sri-Lankan Americans for President Obama seeks to foster a spirit of cooperation and harmony among all the people of the United States and the people of Sri-Lanka. We embrace the ideals of love, brotherhood, and non-violence to benefit the US and to free our brothers and sisters in Sri-Lanka from the vicious cycle of hate, bigotry, and extremism. We enlist educational and religious leaders to propagate social justice and peace. Finally, we a factual resource for accurate, unbiased information on the current situation in Sri-Lanka, and dedicated to the principles of the Rule of Law, Transparency, and Accountability.
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