US Ambassador pays farewell call on Foreign Minister

(May 18, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The outgoing US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Robert O. Blake paid a farewell call on Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama at the Ministry today (18 May 2009). Ambassador Blake informed the Minister that he had arrived in Sri Lanka at a time when the security forces had commenced their operations against the LTTE following the closure of the Mavil Aru sluice gates in July 2006. He noted that he was completing his assignment in the country at a historic moment, when the LTTE has been militarily defeated.

He said that the US will continue to support Sri Lanka’s humanitarian relief efforts for the large number of civilians who have been displaced by the conflict in the North. He hoped that these people would be provided with the best possible care in the IDP centres and welfare villages, until their resettlement in their original places of habitation.

Ambassador Blake underlined the importance of a process of reconciliation and healing in the aftermath of the military defeat of the LTTE. He said that there is a great opportunity now for the Tamil people in the North to freely choose their leaders and if the Government takes effective measures to empower the people in a meaningful manner, such action would erode overseas Tamil support for terrorism.

The outgoing US Ambassador who has been nominated as the new Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia in the State Department observed that Sri Lanka has the potential to be a leader in the region, given the high level of education of the people, as well as its linkages within the region, such as the Free Trade Agreements with India and Pakistan. He hoped that Sri Lanka would seize this historic opportunity to realize its full potential and stated that the US would be keen to be part of this process.

Minister Bogollagama responding to Ambassador Blake’s remarks, thanked him for his excellent contribution to strengthen bilateral relations between the US and Sri Lanka during his tenure. At this historic juncture in Sri Lanka’s history, when the scourge of LTTE terrorism has been eliminated, the Minister cautioned the international community of the LTTE’s international terror network going into high gear. This has been manifested in recent days and weeks with a rash of attacks being perpetrated against Sri Lankan diplomatic missions as well as Sri Lankan Buddhist centres abroad.

The Foreign Minister also briefed the US Ambassador on his discussion with Senator John Kerry, Chairman of the US Foreign Relations Committee on the sidelines of the recently concluded World Economic Forum on the Middle East in Jordan. The Minister stated that he was looking forward to a wider engagement with the United States through Ambassador Blake in his new position in the State Department.

-Sri Lanka Guardian