09/11/2011
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United States Embassy
Good afternoon. Thank you for joining us today, which marks the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the United States.
04/30/2011
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Daily Mirror
Diplomats, representatives of diplomatic missions and Non-Governmental Organization representatives in Colombo met at the United States Ambassador’s residence to discuss the United Nations Secretary General’s Panel Report.
03/04/2011
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State Department
We recently traveled to Jaffna with Ambassador Patricia Butenis, USAID Director Jim Bednar, and other Embassy staff for the opening of our new American Corner on January 24. We flew up in a 17-seat turbo-prop plane at a low altitude, giving us an aerial view of the island and of the recent flooding.
12/21/2010
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AFP
Sri Lanka on Tuesday warned the United States to exercise "circumspection" in diplomatic cables after a message released by WikilLeaks suggested Colombo had colluded with murderous paramilitary groups.
12/03/2010
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Colombo Page
Sri Lanka : U.S. Ambassador clarifies position on Sri Lanka\'s accountability issue (Sri Lanka - latest news stories and top headlines)
12/01/2010
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Foreign Policy
Are we surprised to learn, via WikiLeaks, that American diplomats in Colombo blame Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his top officials for the massacre of tens of thousands (by most estimates) of Tamil civilians during the final months of Sri Lanka's bloody civil war? The goods are in a Jan. 15 cable sent by U.S. Amb. Patricia A. Butenis on the eve of Sri Lanka's presidential elections (which Rajapaksa won handily). Butenis was assessing the country's ability to come to terms with the atrocities committed in the protracted conflict between the government and the Tamil Tigers rebel group, which was defeated in May 2009 after nearly three decades of fighting.
12/01/2010
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The Guardian (UK)
Tamil activists in Britain - where Mahinda Rajapaksa is currently visiting - are seeking an arrest warrant for alleged war crimes
12/01/2010
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WikiLeaks
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his family are responsible for alleged war crimes against the Tamil, according to a cable sent by US ambassador to Sri Lanka Patricia Butenis.
09/12/2010
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American Embassy, Daily News
Letter to Editor of the Daily News
On Tuesday and Wednesday(September 7th and 8th) of this week, The Daily News ran a two-part article by Dr. T.C. Rajaratnam in defense of the 18th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution. The first part of that article contained many references to American history, implying that the experience of the U.S. somehow supports this recent increase in Presidential power in Sri Lanka. It does not. Only one American President has ever served more than two terms, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He did so during two great national and global crises--the Depression of the 1930's and the Second World War. When those exceptional circumstances passed, Congress soon ratified the Twenty-Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which prevents any President from serving more than two terms. At that time, the American people recognized that although extraordinary powers may have been necessary in an emergency, they would only harm democracy in the long run. Presidential term limits play a vital role in democracies. They limit the power that can accrue to one person or one party and help more citizens and stakeholders to participate in governing.
Ambassador Patricia A. Butenis
Posted by US Embassy Colombo at 7:39 PM