Ethnic Tamils in Boston protested yesterday in front of Senator John F. Kerry’s office against a report that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee released earlier this month that calls for friendlier relations between the United States and Sri LankaSix months after the Sri Lankan army defeated a Tamil rebel army that had controlled the northern part of the island for decades, many Boston-area Tamils complain that the Sri Lankan government is still keeping more than 100,000 Tamils in camps for internally displaced people and not allowing them to leave. (The Sri Lankan government has pledged to close the camps next month.)
The Boston-area Tamils association has been urging Kerry and other US officials to open a war crimes investigation, charging that the Sri Lankan army shelled hospitals and killed civilians.
But two Senate Foreign Relations staffers who traveled to Sri Lanka in November say that the United States must improve its relations with the tiny island nation, which is crucial to protecting shipping lanes in the region.
The report recommends resuming military training for Sri Lankan officials, reinstating the Peace Corps, and giving humanitarian assistance to all areas of the country, not just to Tamil areas in the north.
“The United States cannot afford to ‘lose’ Sri Lanka,’’ the staffers wrote in their report, which noted that Sri Lanka is beginning to cultivate closer ties with some nondemocratic countries, including China, Iran, and Libya.
Yesterday, members of the Boston Tamil group gathered outside Kerry’s office in Bowdoin Square and handed over about 45 letters of complaint to one of Kerry’s aides. The protesters claimed that the report was biased toward the Sinhalese ethnic majority that rules Sri Lanka, and against the Tamil minority that has been fighting for a separate homeland for decades.
“The report falls short on presenting the Tamils’ grievances,’’ said Siva Sivalogan, the association’s secretary.
But Frederick Jones, Kerry’s spokesman, said the bipartisan report “does not take sides between the different ethnic groups.’’ - -FARAH STOCKMAN
Obama denies he’s not doing enough for blacks
WASHINGTON - President Obama yesterday rebutted critics who say he isn’t showing enough compassion toward black America, citing his health care effort as one example he says “will be hugely important’’ for blacks.
Obama said another example is the billions of dollars in aid to states included in the economic stimulus bill that was used to save the jobs of thousands of teachers, firefighters, and police officers.
“So this notion, somehow, that because there wasn’t a transformation overnight that we’ve been neglectful is just simply, factually not accurate,’’ Obama said in an Oval Office interview with April Ryan of American Urban Radio Networks.
But the president added, “I cannot pass laws that say ‘I’m just helping black folks.’ I’m the president of the entire United States. What I can do is make sure that I am passing laws that help all people, particularly those who are most vulnerable and most in need. That in turn is going to help lift up the African-American community.’’
Black members of Congress have begun pressing their demands that the nation’s first African-American president do more for minorities hit hard by the recession.
Nationally, unemployment stands at 10 percent while 15.6 percent of blacks are jobless. -- ASSOCIATED PRESS
President credits efforts to save money on contracts
WASHINGTON - President Obama yesterday touted the federal government’s efforts to become more efficient, highlighting a new report that shows billions of dollars in savings on contract costs.
The report by the Office of Management and Budget shows that agencies have identified more than $19 billion in contract savings for fiscal year 2010, which began Oct. 1. Obama said that puts the government on track to meet its goal of saving $40 billion annually by fiscal year 2011.
“After years of irresponsibility, we are once again taking responsibility for every dollar we spend the same way families do,’’ Obama said at the White House.
In a contest among federal employees, more than 38,000 money-saving suggestions were submitted.
The first winner, Nancy Fichtner, a Veterans Affairs Department employee in Colorado, suggested that veterans leaving VA hospitals be able to take the medicine they’ve been using home instead of it being thrown away when they’re discharged. -- ASSOCIATED PRESS
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