Plaudits in US for Lanka’s reconciliation drive

by Manjula FERNANDO

Appreciating the serious and comprehensive plan the Sri Lankan Government has prepared to follow up on the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) recommendations the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said US looked forward to work with Sri Lanka to pursue a better future for all Sri Lankans.

External Affairs Minister Prof.G.L. Peiris who is in Washington since Wednesday held bilateral discussions with the Secretaty of State on Friday. At the meeting the two counterparts discussed wide ranging issues including accountability and reconciliation as well as the possibility of cutting down crude oil imports from Iran.

Minister G.L. Peiris said a great deal has happened in Sri Lanka since the end of the conflict and ‘by any standard those developments represent a substantial accomplishment’ when he addressed the media jointly with the Secretary of State before bilateral discussions began indoors.

The Secretary of State welcoming the Minister said ‘We were encouraged to see the end of a very long, bloody, terrible conflict, and look forward to working with Sri Lanka as they pursue their commitment to a better future for all the people’.

She emphasized that the “United States wants to be a supportive partner in those efforts”.

The State Department spokesperson told reporters in Washington at the daily press briefing late Friday the Secretary of State had underscored the importance of making the comprehensive LLRC implementation plan public, winning the confidence of masses in the process and speeding up the overall healing process.

Minister Peiris speaking to the reporters prior to the meeting added, the most striking development during the past two years had been in the Northern province with a 22 per cent economic growth as against the average 8% in the rest of the country.He said the development in this sector was given top priority due to his Government’s deep conviction that there was an intimate connection between economic growth and reconciliation. However the other key issues concerning, land, language and constitutional reforms are also being addressed by the government to ensure a complete reconciliation.

He met Assistant Secretary Robert Blake, the Special Assistant to President Obama on National Security Samantha Power and several other senior officials of the National Security Council, Trade representatives and a number of senators and briefed them on post-conflict development’s in Sri Lanka separately.

Prof. Peiris was accompanied by Minister Anura Piyadharshana Yapa, Monitoring MP Sajin de Vass Gunawardena, President’s Secretary Lalith Weeratunga and Sri Lankan Ambassador to the U.S. Jaliya Wickramasuriya.

The U.S. was the largest single buyer of Sri Lankan goods in 2011, taking nearly 22% of total exports worth US $2.15 billion.