Clinton praises SL’s plans to implement LLRC recommendations
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday praised Sri Lanka’s
plan to implement post-conflict recommendations made by an independent
commission recently, during a meeting with External Affairs Minister
Prof G L Peiris. During their 45-minute meeting, Minister Peiris
outlined the mechanism adopted by the Presidential Secretariat that will
be used to implement recommendations made by the Lessons Learnt and
Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), which examined Sri Lanka’s successful
conflict against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
The commission issued its final report, and 285 recommendations, late
last year.
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External Affairs Minister Prof G L Peiris with US Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton on Friday. |
The government at that time announced its intention to adopt many of
the recommendations, and several have already been put in place.During
Friday’s meeting, Clinton called the Presidential Secretariat’s
programme an, excellent mechanism for implementing the LLRC
recommendations.
That sentiment was later repeated in the State Department’s daily
press briefing, where spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Prof Peiris
presented a very serious and comprehensive approach to the Lesson Learnt
and Reconciliation Commission’s implementation and the plan the
government has, including plans to make it more public and accessible
both to Sri Lankans and to those outside Sri Lanka.
Prior to the meeting, Clinton said: “The United States strongly
supports the process of reconciliation and reconstruction in Sri Lanka.
We have very strong and important ties between our two countries. 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.
The United States wants to be a supportive partner in those efforts.”
On the fourth and final day of his official Washington visit,
Minister Peiris noted that he last met with Clinton in 2010, and that,
During the intervening period of two years, a great deal has happened in
Sri Lanka, and by any standard, those developments represent a
substantial accomplishment.
“We have been able to complete 90 percent of the work connected with
the resettlement of the people who were displaced by the conflict, and
there is also a very moving story in human terms with regard to the
ex-combatants who have all been rehabilitated. This includes 595 child
soldiers who they have all been reintegrated into society.”
The minister said the most striking developments have really been in
the northern province where the economy is growing by as much as 22
percent in comparison with the average for the rest of the island, which
is about eight percent.
“We are, at the same time, addressing other aspects of reconciliation
including land, language, which is a key to the understanding of other
cultures, and it is also, as I am sure you would agree, a very powerful
instrument for preventing the stratification of society. We are also
addressing, in earnest, constitutional reforms which are appropriate at
this stage of the country’s political and social development.”
The talk with Clinton capped a day of constructive meetings within
the State Department for Minister Peiris. Stops there included sessions
with assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian Affairs
and a former US ambassador to Sri Lanka Robert Blake, assistant
secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labour Michael Posnerr and
ambassador-at-large for Global Criminal Justice Stephen Rapp.
Minister Peiris also held constructive discussions with senior
advisor to the Office of the Special Advisor for Non Proliferation and
Arms Control Ambassador William Wood and deputy assistant secretary of
the Bureau of Energy Resources, in charge of Iran Sanctions Issues Amos
Hochstein.
Also present were Environment Minister Anura Priyadhashana Yapa,
Monitoring MP of External Affairs Ministry Sajin de Vass Gunawardena,
Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga, Sri Lankas ambassador to
US Jaliya Wickramasuriya, Additional Secretary /External Affairs
Ministry Kshenuka Seneviratne, and Deputy Chief of Mission Esala
Weerakoon of the Sri Lankan embassy in the US. |
