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Wednesday, April 06, 2011 - 04.57 GMT |
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SL, an
important contributor to global peacekeeping
operations - Blake |
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Sri Lanka is an important contributor to global peacekeeping operations, US Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert Blake said.
An important contributor to global peacekeeping operations, Sri Lanka stands poised to be a capable and willing partner to effectively combat violent extremism, trafficking and piracy, and thereby help to ensure the maritime security of the region,” he said during his testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Subcommittee's on the Middle East and South Asia.
Positioned directly on the shipping routes that carry petroleum products and other trade from the Gulf to East Asia, Sri Lanka remains of strategic interest to the U.S, the US Assistant Secretary said.
“The Administration believes – and Congressional Appropriations language specifies – that our security cooperation, in many forms, should remain limited until progress has been made on fundamental human rights, democracy and governance issues, and the concrete steps necessary for a true and lasting national reconciliation,” he said.
The United States welcomed Sri Lanka’s establishment of their Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission and its implementing body – the Inter Agency Advisory Committee.
Sri Lanka also has taken some steps forward on reconciliation such as resettling the vast majority of the nearly 300,000 internally displaced persons at the end of the conflict, demining 5 million square meters, reducing the reach of High Security Zones, and hiring 335 Tamil-speaking police, and beginning a dialogue with the Tamil National Alliance but more needs to be done, he said.
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