Letters & Speeches
Remarks by Charge d’Affaires James R. Moore at the Food for Peace Handover Ceremony
July 14, 2009, Presidential Secretariat, Colombo
• Honorable Basil Rajapaksa
• Secretary Kumarasiri
• Mr. Kumarasiri
• Mr. Khan
• Guests, friends, and members of the media
On behalf of the United States Government, I would like to thank the organizers of this event. The U.S. Government is pleased to work with the Government of Sri Lanka and the World Food Program to provide emergency food relief to help displaced people in the North rebuild their lives in safety and prosperity. The United States is the largest donor to WFP in Sri Lanka, demonstrating our government’s commitment to work with the Government of Sri Lanka to rebuild the country.
Today, the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID, is officially handing over our most recent donation of food relief. This food donation will provide temporary relief to approximately 300,000 displaced persons in the camps and will support their return to their homes as safely and quickly as possible. In 2008 and 2009, USG has donated approximately $43 million worth of emergency food aid to benefit people in the North and the East.
I would like to thank the Ministry of Resettlement and Disaster Relief Services and the Ministry of Nation Building for their efforts to reach citizens in need and provide required services. And I especially want to thank the Presidential Secretariat for hosting us today and for making the safety and wellbeing of Sri Lankans in the North a priority for your government.
Looking to the future, the U.S. Government supports your desire to return those displaced by the conflict to their homes safely and rapidly so they can rebuild their communities. By returning people quickly to their homes with resources so that they can become self-sufficient, the need for food aid will ultimately be significantly reduced. My government is also committed to providing significant assistance in the critically important area of demining. Important though they are, demining and early returns of the IDPs are only part of the process. Following this long and violent conflict, the initiation of specific measures to achieve reconciliation and greater power sharing with – and increased political participation by -- minority communities is also critically important.
Finally, I want to thank World Food Program for its outstanding work, ensuring that the most vulnerable in Sri Lanka receive the food aid they need to rebuild their lives. The U.S. Government is pleased to support your efforts.
Thank you for inviting me here today.