Give up violence and Terrorism Burns to LTTE

[January 24, 2006 - 4.45 GMT]

The United States calls upon the LTTE, especially, to cease and desist from the violence and terrorism that it has afflicted upon the people of this country. The bombing this morning, which cost two lives; the repeated attacks over the past several weeks; and of course the attacks over many, many years upon the political leadership and the average citizens of this country, are reprehensible and they are condemned by the international community, said US Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns when he met the press in Colombo yesterday (23).

He said that negotiations between the Government and LTTE should take place, and for those negotiations to take place, the US hoped the ceasefire can be restored and a final peace can come to Sri Lanka. “The United States wants that very much, and we'll support the government in its effort to protect this country, and its territorial integrity as these negotiations resume.” he stressed.

We hope the LTTE will understand that it will have no relationship with the US government and, indeed, no effective relationship with any country in this world as long as it seeks to redress its own grievances through the barrel of a gun. The US understood the Tamil community in Sri Lanka has legitimate grievances, and legitimate issues that ought to be addressed by the government. There out to be a dialogue, a better dialogue, between the government and the Tamil community, Burns said.

He added that “the responsibility here lies with the LTTE, which has taken up terrorism and violence as its political weapon. So we hope very much that Minister Solheim's visit here will result in a resumption of negotiations on a date certain, and in a place certain. For those negotiations to take place, we hope the ceasefire can be restored and we hope a final peace can come to Sri Lanka. The United States wants that very much, and we'll support the government in its effort to protect this country, and its territorial integrity as these negotiations resume.”

Answering a question whether in his meetings with members of the Government he had addressed the accusations leveled at the military about violence against Tamil civilians, Under secretary Burns said: “Yes, we did. In fact, we raised that with the President, and the Foreign Minister, and the other officials with whom we met. We said for sure that the activities of the paramilitary organizations also ought to be condemned and they ought to be stopped. And if there are allegations of military abuse of Tamil civilians, they ought to be investigated. If there are people found responsible, of course they ought to be dealt with in the justice system here. We raised those issues because they are important issues, and they are important to the Tamil community and we've heard from the Tamil community of how important they are. I must say that the response we received from the government is that the government leaders also believe that those attacks must stop, and they must not be carried out in the future.

On the need for an end to violence Mr. Burns said: “All of us who are friends with this country understand that this long conflict is only going to come to an end when the LTTE and the government sit down and find a way forward to end the violence and convince the LTTE to stop using violence as a political weapon. That has to happen.” He said he did not think any realistic observer of this country's long struggle would say, and agree, that that kind of dialogue has to take place. He was not aware of any government in the world, or any significant NGO in the world, who believed the US ought to be sitting down with Al Qaeda given its agenda.

Questioned whether there was some kind of direct role the U.S. can play in bringing about a final solution to Sri Lanka, Under Secretary Burns said: “We are supporting the core role, the first and foremost role, played by Norway. I had a very good meeting with Minister Eric Solheim this afternoon. I told him that we support his efforts 100 percent and that he can rely on the United States to back him up. We're also part of the Co-chairs group which meets, as you know, regularly to try to provide diplomatic support to those who would want to end this conflict, including the government. I am the American representative to the Co-chairs, and I assume we will be meeting fairly soon to continue the Co-chairs' negotiations.

If there's any weight that America can bring [it is] to try to convince the LTTE to come in and negotiate, and to try to give advice to our friends in the government that they ought to find a way not to respond to the obvious provocations of the last several weeks. I think that is really what America can do best here. We're a friend of this country. We respect its territorial integrity and want to see it preserved. And the people of this country ought not to have to live for another 15 or 20 years with this reprehensible terrorist group keeping this country verged on the edge of war. What is striking about the situation here, in Sri Lanka, is how so many people are concerned about the possible outbreak of conflict, of armed conflict, of a civil war.

It is incumbent upon all the friends of this country to band together, as we have in the Co-chairs group, to send a message that we support peace, and that we'll do whatever we can diplomatically to help prepare the road for peace. At the same time, we are trying to show our support for the government by providing military assistance and training for its officers, military exercises between our troops and the government's troops, so that the government can be strong and the government's forces can deter future attacks against the people of this country.

Asked whether the United States feels the LTTE is genuinely interested in peace, Under Secretary Burns said: “We don't have direct contact with the LTTE, so we have to judge them by their actions. The actions of the last several weeks would indicate that this is an organization bent on provoking violence, as it commits violence, as it kills innocent people. And so, if we see that kind of terrorism anywhere in the world I think all of us, as democratic citizens, need to reject it and need to call upon those who perpetrate it to stand down. So that's what the United States is saying today.

It's also the message of all the other friends of Sri Lanka, all the other governments that are here trying to support a process of peace in this country. We want to avoid a war, and that is the strong wish of the government, as we heard when we spoke to the President and others today. They wish to avoid war, and so all of us need to be here to help peace prevail.

Under Secretary Burs said he had excellent meetings with the President and with the Foreign Minister. He was able to meet the Opposition Leader, to see a number of ministers and representatives of civil society, and fellow ambassadors from friendly countries to Sri Lanka. He also was able to meet Minister Eric Solheim, and compare notes on mutual goal, which is to work with the international community, and certainly work with the government, to try to restore peace and maintain the ceasefire here, and resume negotiations.
 

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Last Updated Date: January 24, 2005 - 4.45 GMT