Political reconciliation in Sri Lanka and freedom of movement of its Internally Displaced Persons, or IDPs, is of vital importance to that country's future, said Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert Blake.
Assistant Secretary Blake met in Washington, D.C., October 9 with 16 representatives of the Sri Lankan community in the United States from diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds to discuss the humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka and prospects for political reconciliation there. The Assistant Secretary welcomed the opportunity to listen to the concerns and perspectives of Sri Lankan-Americans and to share the steps the United States is taking to help address the humanitarian crisis and promote national reconciliation. [continued on VoA News]
Voice of America Editorial, published on the 100th day of the Washington DC Tamil Awareness Rally:
Sri Lanka IDPs Are Waiting
18 August 2009
Nearly 3 months have passed since fighting ended in Sri Lanka between government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam insurgents. After 26 years of conflict, hopes were high that violence and hatred would at last give way to reconciliation, justice, and economic development for all to share. But for some 300,000 ethnic Tamils displaced by the fighting, hope is giving way to frustration.
Many internally displaced persons, or IDPs, continue to be held in government-run camps in northern Sri Lanka. Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake says that some progress has been made. About 10,000 have been allowed to leave the camps and approximately 75,000 others are to be released this month. "But most are not allowed to leave," he said, "and it's important for them to have this freedom of movement."
Assistant Secretary Blake and U.S. Chargé d'Affaires in Sri Lanka James Moore recently met with 16 representatives of U.S.-based organizations representing members of the Tamil diaspora to discuss the humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka and prospects for political reconciliation.
A Malaysian Tamil signs on a banner in support of Sri Lanka's Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam during a demonstration outside Batu Caves Temple near Kuala Lumpur May 24, 2009. In a nation scarred and divided after one of the world's longest-running and bloody civil wars, with extremists on both sides often calling the shots, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, now faces what maybe Sri Lanka's greatest post-independence challenge. Picture taken May 24, 2009.
Tamils from Sri Lanka call on President Barack Obama to intervene on behalf of civilians being held in displacement camps in the wake of the Sri Lankan government's recent offensive against the Tamil Tiger rebels, at the White House in Washington, Saturday, June 13, 2009
Sri Lanka attacked western embasies in Colombo, but hired lobby firm "Patton Boggs" in the USA.
Protesters burn placards during a demonstration outside the main gate of the British High Commission in central Colombo May 18, 2009. More than 1,000 Sri Lankan protesters chanted outside the British High Commission on Monday, with some throwing rocks and breaking two windows. Some protesters set fire to an effigy of British Foreign Secretary David Miliband and threw it over the compound's wall, which were then spray-painted with political statements. Miliband has been critical of the Sri Lankan government's prosecution of the war, and Britain has backed calls for a war crimes probe.
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