US rejects Prabhakran's claim of Tamil people having not having a option but that of an independent state
[Wednesday, November 29, 2006 - 9.45 GMT] 

"There is a very clear alternative, which is for the LTTE to renounce terrorism, to give up violence and to join in negotiating a peaceful solution to Sri Lanka's conflict that will satisfy the aspirations of all of the country's people" - Ambassador Blake 

Ambassador Robert O. Blake said the Co-Chairs of the Tokyo Donors' Conference had agreed Sri Lanka was caught in a downward spiral of hostilities and human rights that must be reversed. 

Speaking at the Sujatha Gunawardena memorial at the Bandaranaike Center for International Studies said yesterday (28) "We agreed that the agreement between the Sri Lankan Freedom Party and the United  National Party offers a strong potential to result in a power-sharing proposal that could help form the basis for peace talks between the Government and the LTTE and reverse the downward spiral.  And we agreed that this conflict can only be solved through a process of sustained, substantive negotiations that takes into
account the legitimate interests and aspirations of all communities, whether Sinhalese, Tamil, Muslim or others." 

The US envoy further said the United States also strongly disagreed with LTTE leader Prabakharan's conclusion yesterday that the Tamil people have no
option but an independent state.   "There is a very clear alternative, which is for the LTTE to renounce terrorism, to give up violence and to join in negotiating a peaceful solution to Sri Lanka's conflict that will satisfy the aspirations of all of the country's people", he said.

Ladies and gentlemen, if the spike of violence and hostilities we have seen over the last six months continues, it could have profound negative effects
on your society and economy.  Already thousands of soldiers and innocent civilians have been killed and wounded in the recent hostilities. Many foreign tourists and investors, alarmed by the daily headlines of violence in Sri Lanka, are choosing to take their tourist and investment dollars elsewhere.  More pernicious but equally damaging is the brain drain that results from young Sri Lankans leaving the country to escape the violence and their Sri Lankan counterparts who are now abroad electing to stay abroad.  They represent Sri Lanka's best and brightest.  Their absence is felt everywhere.  Finally many Sri Lankans tell me they are very concerned about the climate of fear that now prevails in Sri Lanka's once active civil society as groups such as the Karuna faction and the LTTE have visited death on critics who dared to speak up.   

Commenting on help provided to Sri Lanka by the US, the envoy noted the US as being among the first countries in the world to declare the LTTE a Foreign Terrorist Organization almost a decade ago.  

"Today we are working productively on the law enforcement side to help Sri Lanka stop the flow of financing and arms to the LTTE.  We demonstrated our
help during the sting operation in August by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation during which 15 suspects were arrested for conspiring to buy surface-to-air missiles in the U.S. and trying to bribe U.S. officials to get the Tamil Tigers removed from the U.S. list of terrorist organizations. The FBI subsequently arrested four additional suspects in September in Guam", said the Ambassador.    

Ambassador Blake elaborated on US aid to Sri Lanka on the military front, and said it was helping to strengthen the Sri Lankan military's ability to defend itself against terrorism through the provision of training and equipment. He however stressed that the purpose of the assistance was for Sri Lanka to defend itself, and that the US did not believe there could be a military solution to the conflict.  

"As a friend, we also speak up when we believe military force is being used against non-combatants, even if such force is in response to LTTEprovocations.  All governments have a solemn responsibility to protect
civilians during armed conflict," said Ambassador Blake.    

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Last Updated Date: November 29, 2006 -9.45 GMT