Remarks by Ambassador Robert O. Blake at his Final Press Conference as U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives
May 20, 2009
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Ambassador Blake:
Thank you all so much for coming.
I invited you all here because today marks my last day as U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives. I wanted to have one last opportunity, as Ambassador, to take your questions and to share my country’s perspectives on the situation here in Sri Lanka, particularly at such an important moment in Sri Lanka’s history.
My wife, my three daughters and I have greatly enjoyed our time here in this beautiful country. We have traveled to all parts of the island, met people from all kinds of backgrounds and walks of life, and, from the people we have met, we learned a tremendous amount about Sri Lanka’s rich culture, history, and, of course, all of the people’s perspectives on the current situation.
Looking back on Sri Lanka’s history, I don’t know if I could have chosen a more eventful or defining three years to serve as Ambassador. I arrived in September of 2006, shortly after the Government began its campaign in the East to capture LTTE-controlled territory. Now I depart one day after President Mahinda Rajapaksa announced to the nation the end of the country’s decades-long battle against the LTTE and his call to all Sri Lankans to “get together and build up this nation.”
For your country, this moment marks more of a beginning than an end. For now begins the critical process of national reconciliation. The wounds of 26 years of conflict will take time to heal. The Tamils who lived in the LTTE-controlled areas of northern Sri Lanka have endured great hardships and suffered the loss of thousands of their family members in fighting over the last two years.
After getting to know countless Sri Lankans, I am convinced there is a national desire, from Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims and others, to make this national reconciliation happen and to build a united, tolerant, and prosperous Sri Lanka.
Of immediate importance in beginning this process of reconciliation is ensuring that the needs of the nearly 300,000 internally displaced persons are met. We hope the Government will work hand in hand with the United Nations, the ICRC and non-governmental organizations to allow humanitarian access so that all of those organizations can help meet the needs of the IDPs.
The United States Government also is committed to help. We have already provided $21 million dollars in assistance to help meet the urgent needs of the internally displaced persons and we are assessing how we might help more.
To help these IDPs re-start their lives, one of our highest priorities will be providing assistance that enables IDPs to return to their homes as quickly as safely possible. We are encouraged that the Government has pledged to return the majority of IDPs to their homes by the end of the year. We stand ready to help the Government in those efforts.
To achieve the promise of this new beginning and to ensure a lasting end to terrorism, bold actions are needed now to share power and to assure all of Sri Lanka's communities a future of hope, respect and dignity. Through such actions, a truly united Sri Lanka can emerge---a Sri Lanka that is rooted in democracy and tolerance, where human rights are respected, where media can operate freely and independently, and where all Sri Lankans can participate freely in an open dialogue on the way forward for your country.
A successful reconciliation and healing process will help ensure a lasting end to terrorism in Sri Lanka and open the way for a future of prosperity, opportunity and hope for all Sri Lankans. The United States will remain engaged to help your country and your Government achieve this.
Once again let me thank you for coming. I would be pleased to take a few questions.
Q: The United States has said that it will block the IMF loan for the moment. What is the progress on that one?
Ambassador Blake: I don’t think we’ve said that we will block it, but let me say that remains under review so I don’t really have anything new to say to you on that.
Q: Now, as you said, there’s a will of reconciliation in Sri Lanka and everyone wants to be reconciled. In such a movement, do you think it’s wise to block or throw some kind of disturbance by the international community to Sri Lanka’s efforts? I mean blocking the IMF loan or any other war crimes tribunals. Would you think it would help the situation?
Ambassador Blake: I’ve already addressed the IMF loan, but on the wider question of international community assistance, I would say the international community is very engaged, particularly the United States. As I said, we have given $21 million in assistance this year, just for the IDPs. Last year we gave $37 million and we will continue to do what we can to help future efforts this year. We are the largest food aid donor as well. So I think the United States is very closely engaged in trying to help the people of Sri Lanka.
Does the US support a war crimes investigation?
Ambassador Blake: On the question of war crimes, we think it is important for the international community to have more information about what happened on both sides during the recent offensive in Northern Sri Lanka. That is one of the reasons that we press for access for the ICRC and for the UN, so they can better understand the facts on the ground and review the situation.
Q: Ambassador, what is your view on the situation of the IDP camps. The UN is asking for access there saying that it doesn’t have as much as it would like. What is your view on this?
Ambassador Blake: Well, we support the UN. We think it is very important that both the UN and the ICRC have access. We provide much of our assistance through the UN to the IDPs and it is a subject of regular dialogue between us and the Government. Right now of course there is a very serious problem of overcrowding in the camps as a result of the large influx of IDPs that have come down from the north. But I think that the Government and the UN are both working to try to provide shelter and food and water and sanitation for those people. Our view is that the IDPs should be given care that is up to international standards and that they should be resettled as quickly and safely as possible. That means mostly as soon as demining can be completed. So we are looking at ways that we might help to expedite the demining process and thereby expedite the resettlement process.
Q: Do you have concerns about their freedom of movement?
Ambassador Blake: Yes, freedom of movement is definitely one of the issues on our agenda. It is important that freedom of movement be allowed. We have discussed on many occasions with our friends in the Government the need for the Government to expedite the process of issuing ID cards to the internally displaced people. Once they have those ID cards they will be able to move more freely from the camps. I think the Government is committed to doing that but it is important that they expedite this process so that freedom of movement can be assured.
Q: Ambassador, what is your message for the Tamil diaspora?
Ambassador Blake: My message to the Tamil diaspora is that they have a very important role to play. We, the United States Government, have been in touch with the Tamil diaspora through frequent email contact. In addition, both Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Richard Boucher, and I recently had a dialogue with all of the major Tamil organizations in the United States so that we could better understand their concerns and so that we could also explain what we are doing to address the situation here. I think that was a very productive dialogue--one that both sides appreciated and we will continue to talk to them. We have also urged the Government to undertake its own dialogue with the Tamil diaspora. They have started some efforts, as all of you know. But I think that it is important for them to do more to talk to the diaspora in major countries like Canada, the United States, Australia and some of the European countries because the Tamil diaspora has a very important role to play and they can play an extremely important role in mobilizing funds to assist in the reconstruction of the North. It will be important for the Government to persuade the Tamil diaspora that it is truly committed to pursuing a credible reconciliation process and I think the Government is focused on that now. As I said, dialogue will be very important to move forward between the Government, between the major donors and the Tamil diaspora.
Q: (inaudible) (question about the Government’s execution of the war in the final days)
Ambassador Blake: It is difficult for me to answer that question because nobody has really had access to the safe zone to really understand the final days of the campaign. The United States on repeated occasions expressed its concern for the welfare of the civilians who were trapped in the safe zone. As you all know they were trapped by the LTTE and were effectively used as human shields. But we also called on the Government to abide by its own commitment not to use heavy weapons in the safe zone, and I think there were some violations there. I come back to what I said earlier, it is important to have better access to the region to understand exactly what happened.
Q: (inaudible) Don’t you think you should commend the Government for evacuating the civilians even at the later stages when a ruthless terrorist organization was blocking… What do you think about that? Why are you not commenting on that?
Ambassador Blake: Well, I think we have commented on it extensively. We said repeatedly that we called on the LTTE to release the civilians, to allow them freedom of movement, to stop using them as human shields. You can go back to any of our statements and you will see very clearly that we made those statements. But at the same time we also felt that the Government needed to abide by its own commitments and for us and for all of the members of the international community the utmost interest and concern was for the safety of the civilians who were trapped. I will take one more question.
Q: (Inaudible)
Ambassador Blake: Sorry, I did not understand, the co-chairs have pledged what?
Q: (Inaudible—question about $4.5 billion pledge from Co-Chairs)
A: Well, that was in 2003. So much of that money has already been released. There have not been new pledges. Each of the co-chairs individually has been providing quite considerable assistance. I’ve already outlined for you the assistance that the United States has provided. I am afraid I have got to run. I have to go off and pack and get ready to catch my plane tonight. Again, let me thank you all for your friendship and the cooperation we have had with the members of the press here. As you know I have been nominated to be Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia in the new administration. My appointment has not been confirmed by the Senate but if it is confirmed I look forward to continuing to work with our friends in Sri Lanka and with all of you. Thank you again.