Govt restored rights of all Sri Lankans - Ambassador Wickramasuriya

The Ambassador to the United States, Jaliya Wickramasuriya, told an audience at the East-West Center in Hawaii that critics of the country are distorting the facts of Sri Lanka’s 2009 victory over terrorism, and that the resettlement of civilians displaced by the conflict has been continuous since the conflict’s end.

“Peace and freedom from fear and violence are very basic human rights,” Ambassador Wickramasuriya said.

“The Government of Sri Lanka restored those vital human rights to all Sri Lankans - Tamils, Sinhalese, Muslims, Burghers and many others - when it defeated the terrorists once and for all.”

During a working visit to Hawaii, Ambassador Wickramasuriya also met with top officers at the U.S. Pacific Command, including U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Daniel Darnell, who is second in command, as well as U.S. Army Lt. Gen. (retired) Ed Smith and other scholars at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, the mayor of Honolulu, Peter Carlisle, Neil Abercrombie, the Governor of Hawaii and Rep. Karen Awana, chair of the Hawaii Legislature’s International Affairs Committee.

Honourary Consul Kusuma Cooray accompanied the ambassador during his visit, which also included a meeting with the chancellor, dean and faculty members at Kapiolani College “Sri Lanka prides itself as a democracy,” the ambassador told the East-West Center.

“We also pride ourselves for having defeated a terrorist group that the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) called the world’s worst.

And we pride ourselves on freeing our people and helping them to overcome the hardship caused by years of strife.”