Lanka Solidarity welcomes the United States' ongoing engagement in Sri Lanka, as that country continues its transition into what we hope will be a period of real reconciliation and political change.
Two staff members of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations recently produced a report with recommendations regarding American foreign policy on Sri Lanka. Media coverage of this report has suggested that the U.S. might shift its policy to focus on its own geopolitical interests to the exclusion of its humanitarian and human rights commitments. Lanka Solidarity believes such a shift would be premature and would hinder the U.S.'s effective engagement with Sri Lanka.
As such, we are glad to note that this is only one of a number of ways in which the U.S. government has chosen to study and engage Sri Lanka. In particular, we welcome the reassurances of the U.S. State Department that human rights concerns remain central to U.S. policy. We also support the 2010 Appropriations bill call for a follow-up to the first State Department report on war crimes in Sri Lanka, as well as the suspension of military assistance until certain conditions are met.
Further, we reiterate that when the U.S. has taken a principled stand on human rights and humanitarian concerns, and applied appropriate pressure to the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL), this pressure has led to substantial progress in protecting human rights, improving humanitarian conditions, and promoting stability in Sri Lanka and the region.
This moment in Sri Lanka's history presents an opportunity to support real political change and reconciliation. However, we suggest that constructive engagement can take a different shape than that recommended by the report.
