Much to be done before achieving reconciliation: US

16 August 2016 04:36 pm Views - 3289

Despite all positive steps by the government to achieve reconciliation, there is still much to be done before Sri Lanka can realize its full potential as a global example of how a post-conflict country can achieve lasting peace, US Ambassador Atul Keshap said.

Speaking at the inauguration of the US Pacific Command’s “Pacific Angel” exercise in Jaffna on Monday, he said the UNHR Chief was due to make a report on the Government’s progress toward implementing its reconciliation and accountability promises made in Geneva last year.

“We support the government’s efforts to meet its commitments made in Geneva and will help. This will be difficult but it is necessary, and it is for the good of all Sri Lankans and for their happiness,” he said.

He said the government has taken positive steps to issue certificates of absence to the families of the missing and to return more lands to internally displaced persons and applauded the establishment of an Office of Missing Persons.

“We know the government has committed to establish truth and reconciliation and judicial mechanisms to investigate war crimes, to replace the PTA, to charge or release the remaining security-related detainees and dismantle the culture of surveillance for a reconciled, united, peaceful, prosperous Sri Lanka,” he said.

Dozens of US military doctors and engineers, who had come from Honolulu, Hawaii, Las Vegas, Nevada, California, and other places, had partnered with Sri Lankan colleagues to repair schools and libraries and provide needed healthcare services at locations around the Northern Province under the Pacific Angel Programme.

Ambassador Keshap said he had the privilege of visiting Idaikadu School and witness Sri Lankan and American military personnel working closely with colleagues from Maldives, Nepal, and Bangladesh to help with civilian doctors and volunteers to assist communities in need, and to provide medical treatment free of charge to people in need.

In his remarks, the Ambassador said the US stood ready to support the people and the Sri Lankan Government in a shared vision for a reconciled, unified country.

“As Sri Lanka seizes on this golden moment of national reconciliation, we will remain your friend and partner. The whole world applauds the vision of a strong, unified, democratic, and prosperous Sri Lanka. We want to join hands with you and your government to help rebuild the economy, advance good governance, and ensure equal rights, equal opportunity, and the full benefits of post-conflict development for all, regardless of ethnicity or religion or gender,” he said.