Letters & Speeches
Ambassador Blake's Remarks at the University of Madras " U.S. Perspectives on Sri Lanka"
Good afternoon. It is wonderful to be back in Chennai and have the opportunity to visit this prestigious University. I visited Chennai several times while I was Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Delhi from 2003 to 2006 and developed a great fondness for your city and its people.
Today I address you in a new hat as the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives. I thought I would use the occasion to talk about the US perspective on Sri Lanka and then give you a chance to ask any questions you might have.
I will talk first about our support for a political solution, the situation in northern Sri Lanka, our policy on terrorism in Sri Lanka, and conclude with our assessment of Sri Lanka’s promise if fighting can be stopped.
Need for a Political Solution
America’s experience in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere has taught us that terrorism cannot be defeated by law enforcement and military measures alone. That is why President Bush has made the promotion of democracy one of the centerpieces of American foreign policy. And that is why the U.S. and other Co-Chair countries have urged the Government of Sri Lanka to adopt now a political solution to the conflict within the framework of a united Sri Lanka that meets the aspirations of all of Sri Lanka’s communities. One way forward is for Sri Lanka to complete the work of the All Parties Representative Committee which has reached agreement on 90% of a blueprint for constitutional reform that most Sri Lankans believe offers great promise. It remains for the country’s two main Sinhalese parties to agree on the document, which has proved a significant hurdle thus far.
One reason for the lack of recent progress on a consensus APRC document, is that some in Sri Lanka believe that the Government should first defeat the LTTE and then proceed with a political solution. The U.S. view is that the Government could further isolate and weaken the LTTE if it articulates now its vision for a political solution. This would help reassure the more than 200,000 IDPs now in the Vanni that they can move south and aspire to a better future. It would also disprove the LTTE’s claim that they are the sole representative of Sri Lanka’s Tamils and the only ones who care about Sri Lanka’s Tamils. Finally it would help to persuade Tamils in Canada, the US and other parts of the diaspora to stop funding the LTTE which in turn would hasten an end to the conflict. The U.S. also believes that an improvement in the human rights situation -- that has disproportionately affected Tamils -- would help to hasten reconciliation and give Tamils a greater sense that they will enjoy a future of hope and dignity within a united Sri Lanka.
US Assistance
To help lay the basis for peace, America has long been a partner in Sri Lanka’s development and its quest to realize its tremendous potential. U.S. assistance has totaled more than $1.63 billion since Sri Lanka's independence in 1948. Through the U.S. Agency for International Development, the United States has contributed to Sri Lanka's economic growth with projects designed to reduce unemployment, improve housing, develop the Colombo Stock Exchange, modernize the judicial system, and improve competitiveness.
US assistance now is focused on helping to stabilize and develop eastern Sri Lanka and on providing humanitarian assistance to those displaced in northern Sri Lanka by fighting. Let me first discuss our efforts in the east. Following the Government of Sri Lanka’s successful efforts to defeat and expel the LTTE from eastern Sri Lanka in 2007, the U.S. believes there is now an important opportunity to stabilize the east by encouraging democratic, multi-ethnic governance, and development and growth that will benefit equally the Tamil, Muslim and Sinhalese communities. We have emphasized the imperative of establishing security and demobilizing paramilitaries to help lay the basis for private sector-led investment and growth. A successful and participatory stabilization and reconstruction effort in the east could serve as a powerful template and confidence builder for a future solution in the north.
To support development and growth, the US has initiated two programs. First, our regional governance program aims to: 1) develop capacity for increased citizen participation and engagement in regional and local government, 2) strengthen inter-community reconciliation; and 3) support the development of civil society in East, including human rights organizations, independent media to improve reporting on regional news
Our economic growth program seeks to establish growth and livelihoods to reduce the chance of the East sliding back to terrorism and violence. This program will support establishment of small businesses that can participate in value-chain development activities, thereby improving access to new markets. It will strengthen local private sector organizations that can help establish and strengthen marketing and development links between the eastern and western province. It will also facilitate access to finance, strengthen financial service providers, provide business and agricultural services, promote access to capital equipment and small infrastructure, and enhance utilization of information and communications technology.
Already we have made progress in spearheading important new private sector projects. To promote the dairy industry, USAID partnered with the international NGO World Concern and Milco Private Ltd. USAID constructed 40 cattle sheds, a milk chilling center, and five milk collection points, provided 300 milk cans and trained 160 farmers in feeding technologies, animal health and business planning. In all, nearly 2,000 households in the area have benefited.
To promote agricultural exports, we partnered with an indigenous Sri Lankan company, Hayley’s Sunfrost, on a pilot project with 170 farmers in eastern and Uva provinces to increase production of high value pineapple, jalapeno peppers and gherkins through training, agricultural inputs and buy-back agreements. And we hope to do much more by establishing a private sector challenge fund to develop new public-private partnerships and private investment.
Humanitarian Assistance
The United States also is playing a leading role in providing food, and other humanitarian assistance to the more than 200,000 people displaced by fighting in northern Sri Lanka. Already this year, the U.S. has contributed $21.7 million worth of food and other commodities through our Food for Peace program. Another $11 million worth of commodities are on the seas bound for Sri Lanka to help these same needy people.
The U.S. shares the concern of India and other countries about the plight of civilians who are caught in the middle of hostilities in the Vanni. We have urged both sides in the conflict to allow the UN and ICRC continued access so they can continue to deliver the food, shelter and other supplies in a secure manner to those IDPs need, particularly now that the monsoon rains have started. We have also urged both sides to exercise maximum restraint to ensure civilians are not injured in the fighting. We have also urged the LTTE to allow freedom of movement so the IDPs can move away from the fighting, including into areas controlled by the Government should the IDPs wish to do so.
The Fight Against Terrorism
One of the great threats facing the world today is the threat of terrorism. The United States is committed to helping Sri Lanka fight terrorism and we have demonstrated this in a number of ways. We were among the first to declare the LTTE a Foreign Terrorist Organization in 1997. Since then, it has been a felony under U.S. law to provide material support or resources to the LTTE.
In August 2006 and April 2007, the FBI arrested a total of 9 people who the U.S. Department of Justice subsequently charged with various crimes, including conspiracy to provide material support and resources to the LTTE.
Those arrests also led to discovery of operational and financial links between the Tamils Rehabilitation Organization and the LTTE. The TRO is a charitable organization with offices in Sri Lanka and in a number of countries abroad.
In November 2007, the U.S. Government concluded that, in the United States, the TRO had raised funds on behalf of the LTTE through a network of individual representatives. The TRO also facilitated LTTE procurement operations in the United States. Those operations included the purchase of munitions, equipment, communication devices, and other technology for the LTTE.
It was on the basis of these links that the U.S. Department of the Treasury in Washington DC last year designated the TRO under Executive Order 13224, thereby freezing the TRO’s assets in the US and prohibiting Americans from dealing with them.
In addition to law enforcement measures, the US has taken several steps to help the Sri Lankan military defend itself against terrorism. The most important was our decision to provide maritime radar system and 10 rigid hull inflatable boats to help the Sri Lankan navy detect and interdict LTTE vessels carrying arms and other illegal cargo for the LTTE.
Sri Lanka’s Promise
I’d like to conclude with some brief thoughts on Sri Lanka’s future. The Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu once said: “Those who have knowledge, don’t predict. Those who predict, don’t have knowledge.” So I will not show my ignorance by attempting any predictions.
I do believe, however, that Sri Lanka’s is a country of great promise and opportunity if the fighting can stop and a political solution can be agreed on that satisfies Tamil, Sinhalese and Muslim aspirations. Sri Lanka is a country blessed with a well educated population; a diversified economy; plentiful water, and other resources; and good opportunities to expand food production and reduce dependence on foreign energy. The country also has a President with many political gifts who enjoys the trust and support of the Sinhalese majority that he can use to gain their support for a political solution and national reconciliation.
An end to the fighting would bring a quick end to the humanitarian challenges the country now faces, and would significantly diminish human rights problems. It would also allow the Government to reduce defense spending, bring down inflation, and raise spending for infrastructure, education and development. Perhaps most important it would help reverse Sri Lanka’s brain drain. The World Bank has estimated that more than one million Sri Lankan professionals live and work overseas. Just as the return of Indian-Americans to India has had a major impact in India, the return of these Sri Lankan professionals would have an equally positive result.
Let me take this opportunity to thank the University of Madras for this opportunity to join you today. I would be pleased to take your questions.