Sri Lanka has no record of inflicting misery on fellow human beings for the purpose of empire building, commercial advantage or religious righteousness, said Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to the US, Jaliya Wickramasuriya, during a speech sponsored by Georgie State University’s Center for Human Rights and Democracy in Atlanta, on Monday.

Ambassador Wickramasuriya stressed that Sri Lanka’s recent victory over the LTTE will ensure human rights and prosperity for all Sri Lankans, especially those harmed by a quarter century of conflict. "In fact, Sri Lanka has a strong democratic history. Ours is the oldest democracy in Asia," he further said.

He spoke of how Sri Lanka concluded its conflict with the LTTE by rescuing 145,000 civilian hostages and dismantling the remaining LTTE leadership, states a Media Release from the Embassy of Sri Lanka, Washington D.C.

He explained the government’s plan to rapidly return the displaced civilians, most of whom are Tamil to their homes in northern Sri Lanka and said they have access to food, medical and education services.

But first, the resettlement area must be cleared of landmines laid by the LTTE.

"It would be criminal to send people back to villages and land with mines," said Ambassador Wickramasuriya, adding this threat is also why journalists haven't been welcomed to the conflict area.

The Ambassador said that Sri Lanka has launched an “ambitious” plan to rebuild the north, which was previously under LTTE control. These plans include repairs and new construction of roads, bridges, rail lines, 80,000 homes, as well as water and sewerage facilities. Already the government is working to repair the sources of two primary irrigation systems in the rural north.

Sri Lanka resettled about 180,000 civilians in just eight months in the nation’s Eastern Province after government troop’s wrested control of the region from the LTTE in 2007.

Ambassador Wickramasuriya said the government will move quickly in the north too, resettling most displaced civilians within 180 days.