The US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert O. Blake met President Mahinda Rajapaksa today. Among the topics discussed was the progress made by the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC).
External Affairs Ministry sources said that the President has given a firm assurance on transparency when Blake inquired about the LLRC report. The President has assured him that the report would be out by mid-November and that the government would thereafter decide on its next course of action. He had further called on the international community to not prejudge the report but to view it objectively and dispassionately.
Earlier in the day, Blake met TNA Parliamentary Group leader R. Sambandan, along with the US Ambassador in Sri Lanka Patricia Butenis. Matters relating to the North-East land issue, a political solution, rehabilitation, and humanitarian situation had been discussed.