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Heartened to see the progress and development in North - Blake
The Assistant Secretary for Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs of the U.S. State Department Robert O. Blake said he was heartened to see the progress and development that has occurred in the areas that were under LTTE rule during his tenure as Ambassador, and the results of some U.S. assistance programs.
Issuing a statement at the end of his three-day visit to Sri Lanka yesterday, the former U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka expressed his government's support for Sri Lanka's post-war reconciliation efforts.
Blake commended the Sri Lankan government for making progress in reconciliation and rehabilitation in the North during the two years after the end of the long-drawn armed conflict.
The United States is committed to a strong long-term partnership with Sri Lanka, and the reports of alleged support for "regime change" have no basis whatsoever, the Assistant Secretary said.
Blake commended the Sri Lankan government for making progress in reconciliation and rehabilitation in the North during the two years after the end of the long-drawn armed conflict.
During his visit Blake, for the first time, had visited Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi, to observe the progress made on the U .S. Agency for International Development (USAID) funded projects.
The Assistant Secretary also met with the Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and External Affairs Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris, members of the opposition, and representatives of civil society.
He has said that the President-appointed Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) is playing an important role in the reconciliation process, as it has provided a forum for individuals to bring injustices to light and to express the personal tragedy and hardship created by the war.
"We hope that the LLRC will also address accountability and will offer recommendations on how to redress wrongs committed by both sides during the conflict," Blake has said in his statement.
The former U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka has noted that nearly all of the 300,000 IDPs have been resettled from the camps and the remaining are scheduled to be resettled by the end of 2011 upon completion of demining in Mullaitivu.
Blake has observed that the Sri Lankan government has reduced the number of high security zones facilitating the return of the conflict-affected to their homes and livelihoods.
He cited the talks between the government and the major Tamil party, Tamil National Alliance as a positive progress.
Courtesy : President's media