"We are confident that Mr. Lunstead has not correctly represented US
policy on the peace process. We sincerely hope that Mr. Burns, who
fortunately will be in Sri Lanka during Mr. Solheim’s visit, will
clarify to everyone what US policy is at this critical time, and help
revive the peace track."
Memorandum to Secretary of State, Dr Condoleezza Rice and to Mr Nicholas Burns, the U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political AffairsWe have been very concerned about the speech delivered by Ambassador Lunstead to the American Chamber of Commerce in Colombo on January 9, which was not only heavily partisan in favor of the Government, but also contained an overt US threat directed at only the LTTE if war were to resume.
Amb.
Lunstead singled out the LTTE for the warning: “we want the cost of a
return to war to be high.� He said, “We want it to be clear they [the
LTTE] will face a more capable and more determined Sri Lankan military.�
Regrettably,
these remarks, which are seen by Tamil people as directed equally
against them, are typical of Mr. Lunstead, who has long shown utter and
even dismissive insensitivity to even existential Tamil concerns.
Nothing symbolizes his disdain more than his refusal to express
sympathy about, let alone condemn, the murder of senior Tamil
Parliamentarian Joseph Pararajasingham, committed by the Sri Lankan
security forces (as admitted by President Rajapakse to the other Tamil
Parliamentarians on 18 January 2006, reported in the Sunday Leader of
22 January 2006) or about Tamil civilian victims of continuing serious
human rights violations by the military.
In
the Tamil view, Mr. Lunstead has consistently followed a course which
has set back the peace process, and thereby has also not served US
interests well.
The
partisan content of his speech, its deliberately provocative message to
the LTTE, as well as its timing, raise many serious questions about the
US role in the peace process.
One
central question is why did Mr. Lunstead engage in such a reckless
exercise at a time of great risk to the peace process, and just a few
days before Mr. Erik Solheim’s visit, which everyone was looking to as
the only way of defusing an extremely dangerous situation? As Mr.
Lunstead himself admitted in his speech, an address to the business
elite was not a natural venue for such “ blunt language.�
It
is also a mystery why he made this speech only a few days before the
arrival of Under Secretary Burns to make a first hand assessment of the
situation.
Whatever
his intention or the limits of his authority, Mr. Lunstead has helped
harden the respective positions of the LTTE and of the strong Sinhala
chauvinist elements in the Government, and especially the military
(which is virtually all Sinhala). He has seriously complicated the
difficult and delicate task of Mr. Solheim in getting the two sides to
resume political contact, and also raised serious questions about the
US role in the peace process.
The
clarification of Mr. Lunstead's speech, which he issued on January 17,
does little by way of repairing the damage. He was disingenuous in
explaining his clear threat to the LTTE as just a statement of the
obvious – that “ war will be more costly and unsuccessful.�
We
are confident that Mr. Lunstead has not correctly represented US policy
on the peace process. We sincerely hope that Mr. Burns, who fortunately
will be in Sri Lanka during Mr. Solheim’s visit, will clarify to
everyone what US policy is at this critical time, and help revive the
peace track.
Association of Tamil Americans
Center for Women’s Development and Rehabilitation
USA Tamil Heritage International – USA
Federation of Tamil Association of North America (FeTNA)– USA
Illankai Tamil Sangam – California, USA
Illankai Tamil Sangam – Florida, USA
Illankai Tamil Sangam – USA
Illankai Tamil Sangam – Vancouver – Portland – Washington
Midwest Tamil Sangam - Illinois
Ohio Tamil Association - Ohio
Tamil Refugees Rehabilitation Organization – California
World Tamil Organization – Illinois
World Tamil Women Organization – USA
numerous Tamil American organizations
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