U.S. Ambassador Lunstead’s July 4th Address
Celebrating 230 years of liberty and 58 years of friendship
Colombo, July 4, 2006—Ambassador Jeffrey J. Lunstead hosted an assemblage of Sri Lankan dignitaries and members of the diplomatic community at Jefferson House, his official residence, to commemorate the 230th anniversary of the United States’ declaration of independence from England. The text of his address is as follows:
Today we celebrate the lasting legacy of the United States, which dates its birth from the day when our founders ratified the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776. It was several more years and a failed experiment in confederation before our constitution, the other bedrock of our nation, was written. Those men who wrote the declaration of independence could only have dreamed of the democratic republic which the U.S. would become. We celebrate those who founded our nation and the sacrifices they made to secure liberty and freedom for their compatriots and us, their descendents; and we celebrate the progress we have made and the growth we have achieved in these 230 years of independence.
We also celebrate our enduring friendships with other countries. It is a different world which our forefathers could not have dreamed of. Those of us gathered here today are pleased to recognize our lasting partnership with the people of Sri Lanka, with whom we have collaborated since Sri Lanka became independent 58 years ago.
The United States has changed tremendously since its birth, and so, too, has Sri Lanka. In its 58 years, Sri Lanka has achieved much. Today’s Sri Lanka sets a high standard in terms of its commitment to democracy, respect for human rights, economic growth, and ethnic and religious tolerance. Generations of Sri Lankans worked hard to establish these values, and the United States has always committed itself to supporting their efforts.
We might ask what the United States looked like in 1834, 58 years after its independence. At that time the U.S. was still struggling to embody those core values enshrined in the declaration of independence and the constitution. We were grappling with the balance of power between our states and the federal government. At that time American women had no political voice, and African-Americans were still held in slavery. And it is only in my lifetime that African-Americans have been allowed their basic human dignity. It was only through long years of slow change that our country accepted these changes. And that change was sometimes violent--it took a brutal civil war to answer the question posed by President Lincoln--whether a nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are equal could survive, half-slave and half-free. The answer, of course, was a resounding "no."
Our history often leaves others to ask the question: “How can the United States, one of the oldest republics on the planet, ask countries around the world to embrace democratic rule, human rights, and free enterprise in decades instead of the centuries that it itself required?”
One answer might be that the speed of global interaction has increased dramatically since 1776. Instead of long and hard sea journeys taking months at a time, we have the ability to travel to the other side of the world in just one day. And it is possible now to send ideas and information across the globe instantaneously. These revelations have allowed countries like Sri Lanka to make tremendous technological and social strides in a remarkably short time.
Throughout its 230 years, the American nation has learned all too well the hardships that gradualism breeds when human liberties and freedoms are concerned. In putting off our full acceptance of tolerance and democratic values, millions of Americans were denied the same free and prosperous America that their descendents would experience. For example, had Thomas Jefferson and his colleagues truly embraced the belief that “all men are created equal,” we would not have needed a women’s rights movement or a civil rights movement at all. This courage and commitment could have made the early United States an entirely different country. But instead, making excuses for not embracing change pushed our ideal America – the America that Americans deserved – ever further into the future.
I am leaving now after three years in Sri Lanka -- years filled with wonderful memories of a beautiful island and beautiful people. I have to confess, however, that I leave with some disappointment. When I arrived three years ago, there was a tremendous sense of hope and optimism in the country. The cease fire and the rounds of peace talks had given hope that the island's ethnic issue would be resolved and that the entire country would move towards a peaceful resolution. No one expected that this would be easy, or that it would be accomplished quickly. But most people hoped there would be steady progress. That hope has been largely belied. Peace talks have not resumed, the ceasefire is under constant pressure. Violence has increased. 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.
We have made our views well-known on this issue, but let me repeat them one more time. We believe that:
- There is no military solution to Sri Lanka's ethnic problem.
- The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam must renounce terrorism and violence and enter the political path.
- The government of Sri Lanka must work to address legitimate Tamil grievances and ensure that the conduct of its security forces in impeccable, even in the face of severe provocation.
- A solution will require radical changes in the way the entire nation is governed--changes which will 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.
Last year when I made my 4th of July remarks, I quoted from Lincoln's remarkable second inaugural address. When I began preparing for this year's event, I asked my staff to think of some other memorable quotation from American history which I could use. No one was able to find one. As I reflected I thought that this speech of Lincoln's was ever more appropriate this year than last year, so I hope you will forgive me if I quote from it once more. After three years of terrible warfare, with the outcome not yet assured, Lincoln wrote:
"with malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as god gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan--to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations."
And now Sri Lanka is going through its own trying times, struggling to define itself and its system of government, struggling to decide how its citizens will relate to each other--indeed, struggling to define what it means to be "Sri Lankan." I hope that Sri Lankans will be able, as Lincoln said, "To do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace." as Debbie and I prepare to leave, our hearts and thoughts are with you.