Sri Lanka: US, other donors reject military solution: Envoy

Friday, 21 September 2007

The United States and other donor countries do not support a military solution to the conflict in Sri Lanka, US Ambassador Robert Blake said just days after Defence Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa was quoted as saying the LTTE would have to be dealt with militarily.

Ambassador Blake expressed these views during a ceremony at Orugodawatte on Wednesday while handing over US Agency for International Development (USAID) food assistance worth US$ 5 million to Sri Lanka. “The US and other donor countries do not support a military solution to the conflict. We believe the solution lies in a negotiated settlement that meets the aspirations of all of communities of Sri Lanka,” the US envoy said.

He said there was still a good opportunity with the All Parties Representatives Committee process to reach a negotiated settlement but added that all other parties needed to work together to achieve a power sharing proposal that would meet the needs of all communities in Sri Lanka.

“We see that as the way forward,” Ambassador Blake said.

At a ceremony held at the Trincomalee Naval Headquarters on Monday, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said the country could achieve permanent peace only through defeating terrorism militarily.

"We cannot establish permanent peace in the country by winning only half or two thirds of the war against terrorism," the Defence Secretary said while adding that the Security Forces were committed to achieve this task without passing the burden of war to the next generation.

Meanwhile LTTE political head S.P. Thamilselvan told the Tamil Net website on Wednesday the LTTE was patient and restricting itself to a “defensive” war and wanted the International Community to realize the futility of achieving peace by dealing with such a government.

"The LTTE requests the International Community not to be carried away by the deceitful programme of the Sri Lankan government and to stop every form of aid, to pressure the government to create an environment for peace efforts," Mr. Thamilselvan said.

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Jay said:

The US Ambassador Robert Blake words that the way forward for the Sri Lankan government lies in a negotiated settlement that will meet the aspirations of all of Sri LankaÃ¢â?¬â?¢s communities: Tamils, Muslims and Sinhalese. We donÃ¢â?¬â?¢t need an US representative to say this. The revival of the CFA, the negotiated settlement and power devolution package and such matters had been said by everyone all the time. It is only the Singhalese governments and their leaderships do not listen or commit to these moves to end the crisis. It must also be mentioned that the US has all along been supporting the government in their atrocities and crimes against the Tamil people. Even recently, the US and the EU were trying to bail out Sri Lanka out of its human rights violations brought about by the UN human rights monitoring commission and every human rights organization around the globe. Now the US representative is singing a different tune. The APRC will never be able to provide any concrete proposals.
Looking at the catastrophic calamity, ruins and destruction the government had brought upon the Tamils and their homeland scotched to the ground, one wonders whether the current leadership (even the former Sri Lankan President does not think so) has any credibility to run the government. The Tamils will never place any trust on such a government to bring an end to the conflict or whether it will come up with a just solution to address the aspirations of the Tamils or for that matter they will be free from threats, intimidation, harassment, death threats and blackmail and be accorded their freedom and the power to determine their lives. Sri Lanka is a failed state and it never had leaders who are statesmen in stature and due to their Singhalese nationalism will never provide a just solution to the ethnic crisis.
If as Mr Blake says that the US as a friend of Sri Lanka and a Co-Chair, stands ready to assist in any way they can then the only way forward is for the international community and the UN to put more pressure, stop all forms of military and other aids and slap sanctions on the government if a just and successful outcome of the conflict is to come by.

2007-09-23 03:11:43

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