No Military Solution in Sri Lanka: Outgoing US Ambassador
by AFP, July 5, 2006
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Lunstead, who is leaving the country after three years, also said in a statement released Wednesday that a solution to Sri Lanka's civil strife would require "radical changes in the way the entire nation is governed." These changes must "empower all the people of Sri Lanka: Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims and others, and give them a greater say in how they are governed in the areas where they live", he said in an American Independence Day address.
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COLOMBO - There is no military solution to Sri Lanka's separatist conflict, outgoing US Ambassador Jeffrey Lunstead said, as daily bloodshed has raised fears of renewed war.
Lunstead, who is leaving the country after three years, also said in a statement released Wednesday that a solution to Sri Lanka's civil strife would require "radical changes in the way the entire nation is governed."
These changes must "empower all the people of Sri Lanka: Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims and others, and give them a greater say in how they are governed in the areas where they live", he said in an American Independence Day address.
Spiralling violence has claimed the lives of more than 830 people and displaced tens of thousands more since December as a ceasefire agreement between Colombo and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) crumbles.
The tit-for-tat killings and military operations have sparked fears of an all-out war, with political sniping between the government and rebels effectively crippling truce monitoring efforts.
"I have to confess ... that I leave with some disappointment," Lunstead said.
"Peace talks have not resumed, the ceasefire is under constant pressure. Violence has increased," he said.
"Barricades which had been dismantled are being once again thrown up. And not just physical barricades, but also the barricades which divide one citizen from another, as fear and mistrust grow."
Some 60,000 people have died since a Tamil separatist conflict erupted in 1972 after years of persecution at the hands of the Sinhalese majority.
Lunstead urged Colombo to address "legitimate" Tamil grievances and rein in its security forces, which have been accused of recent killings and disappearances.
"The government of Sri Lanka must ... ensure that the conduct of its security forces in impeccable, even in the face of severe provocation," he said.
But he also said the Tigers must "renounce terrorism and violence and enter the political path".
The United States is one of the key backers of Sri Lanka's peace process.
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