We are supporting what Sri Lanka is doing" - U.S.

Washington, D.C.: Confirming that Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa is visiting the United States on a private visit and he has no plans to meet with any U.S. officials, the State Department said Friday that the U.S. is supporting Sri Lanka's own process of handling the accountability issue.


Responding to a question at the daily press briefing, Assistant Secretary Philip J. Crowley told the reporters in Washington yesterday that there is no meeting between a U.S. Government official and President Rajapaksa.
There were speculations that President Rajapaksa and Assistant Secretary Robert O. Blake, Jr. may have met in Texas as Blake, who was the Ambassador to Sri Lanka during the war, was in Houston to deliver a speech at the Rice University on Wednesday.
"There is no meeting that I'm aware of with the president during his visit. ..... I think Assistant Secretary Blake gave a speech at Rice University, but we specifically asked, and there's no meeting between a U.S. Government official and President Rajapaksa," Crowley stressed.
When asked about calls to investigate President Rajapaksa for alleged violations of humanitarian laws the Spokesman said the U.S. is supporting Sri Lanka's process on the issue.
"'We have made strong public statements and are supporting what Sri Lanka is doing. It's a process that is still ongoing," he said.
While emphasizing that accountability for alleged crimes is an essential component of national reconciliation in Sri Lanka, Assistant Secretary Crowley expressed hope that Sri Lanka's own commission probing the events during the war would take advantage of the expertise from the United Nations Panel of Experts.
"We clearly believe that those who have violated international humanitarian law must be held accountable, and we believe that accountability for alleged crimes is an essential component of national reconciliation in Sri Lanka," he said.
Crowley said the Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission appointed by President Rajapaksa has been receiving testimony from hundreds of people and the Commission is to present its report to the President in June.
"We would hope that Sri Lanka would continue this effort and take advantage of expertise that exists, for example, within the United Nations and the Secretary General's Panel for Experts that has volunteered to provide assistance to Sri Lanka as it continues this effort," Assistant Secretary stated.
When asked why the U. S. would not seize the opportunity while the President is in the country to meet with him on the issue, the spokesman said the process is still ongoing and will speak if necessary.
"We've had no trouble communicating our views to the Government of Sri Lanka," Crowley said.
"We're going to wait and see how this process unfolds, and if it falls short, we will not hesitate to say so," he said.
"We will continue to encourage Sri Lanka to have a full accounting of what happened at the end of the - during and at the end of this conflict. We think it's very, very important to Sri Lanka's future, and we will not hesitate to speak out as this process continues," he stressed.