U.S.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MEMBER'S STATEMENT
THE
HONORABLE FRANK PALLONE, JR (D-NJ)
HUMAN RIGHTS DEVELOPMENTS IN SRI
LANKA
March
2, 1999 |
I
would like to thank the Congressional
Human Rights Caucus for holding this
hearing on human rights developments in
Sri Lanka.
My interest in Sri Lanka stems from the
constituents of Sri Lankan origin that
live in my district in New Jersey. As a
result of my contact with the Sri Lankan
community in the U.S., and my interest in
Sri Lanka, I, along with 10 of my
colleagues, established in October 1998,
the Congressional Caucus on Sri Lanka and
Sri Lankan Americans.
I have been carefully following Sri
Lanka's political and economic
developments, and I find that Sri Lanka
holds high standards of democratic
traditions and a liberal economic system.
Interestingly, Sri Lanka also has a
remarkable literacy rate of 90%.
The U.S. and Sri Lanka have a history of
excellent bilateral relations, and
currently, U.S.-Sri Lanka relations are
strong. I hope that these ties will grow
even stronger and that more Congressional
visits between the U.S. and Sri Lanka
take place.
When Sri Lanka gained independence in
1948 from the British, it was considered
an international model of democracy, in
terms of its high health and education
standards. In 1983, an ethnic civil war
began between the Sinhalese majority, and
a select group of Tamils who formed the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE).
This armed conflict has caused over
55,000 deaths, and I am disturbed by the
terrorist campaign of the LTTE.
Full Story |
Clinton administration
and US congress slam LTTE
from Aziz Haniffa in Washington, D.C.
|
March 3 - The Clinton
Administration and members of Congress on
Tuesday slammed the Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for its continuing
wanton violence against innocent
civilians and conscription of child
soldiers in its war against the Sri
Lankan Security Forces.
George Pickart, a senior Administration
official in the State Department's South
Asia Bureau, said, "While we have
seen improvements in the Government's
record, regrettably, we have seen no
signs that the LTTE wants to improve its
human rights record or abandon
terrorism."
Testifying at a hearing convened by the
Congressional Human Rights Caucus,
Pickart noted, "The LTTE apparently
took no prisoners on the battlefield
again," in 1998, "and
systematically intimidated and undermined
the civil administration of Jaffna."
He said 1998, "brought additional
confirmation that the LTTE uses children
as front line troops."
Full Story |
|
| FOSUS Report on the
House Human Rights Caucus Hearing on Sri
Lanka on March 2, 1999 |
| As you are probably
aware FOSUS took an active interest in
the hearing on Sri Lanka held by the
Human Rights (HR) Caucus of the House of
Representatives of the United States
Congress on Tuesday, March 2 afternoon.
As is well known, after the end of the
cold war human rights have emerged as a
major factor in US foreign policy in
general, and foreign assistance in
particular. This is especially true for
countries such as Sri Lanka that are not
viewed as countries of great strategic or
economic importance to the US. For such
countries human rights play a critical
role in deciding US policy. The depth of
interest in the subject that prevails in
the House can be gauged by the fact that
the HR caucus has over 180 members. For
Sri Lanka the hearings were important for
two principal reasons. First, as the
statement of the Sri Lanka Embassy in
Washington (see attachment) notes, groups
sympathetic to the LTTE had lobbied for
the hearings. The intention would have
been to damage the image of the country
and also paint the LTTE as a respectable
organization that should be legitimized
in the US when its ban comes up for
review next year.
Full Story
|
| ATTEMPT BY PRO-LTTE
LOBBYISTS TO EMBARRASS SRI LANKA THROUGH
US CONGRESSIONAL CAUCUS FAILS |
A hearing by the
Congressional Human Rights Caucus in the
US engineered by pro-LTTE lobbyists with
the intention of trying to embarrass the
Sri Lankan Government has become a
miserable flop. A Washington datelined
news report said, while the two members
of the House of Representativse who are
the co-chairs of the human rights caucus
and had called the hearing held on
Tuesday did not even attend the meeting.
Congressmen, representatives of the State
Department and representatives of NGOs,
including Amnesty International, who did
attend the hearing, appreciated the
forward movement made by Sri Lanka in the
human rights arena and condemned the LTTE
for its continuing wanton violence
against innocent civilians and
conscription of child soldiers.
Representative Frank Pallone, Democrat,
said he was "very disturbed by the
terrorist campaign of the LTTE".
Pallone, who counts among his
constituents a fair number of Sri Lankan
Americans, both Tamils and Sinhalese,
addressing the caucus said "the U.S.
and Canada have designated the LTTE as a
foreign terrorist organization. This
upcoming October, we expect Congress and
the Administration to again designate the
LTTE as a terrorist group." He said,
"recent reports on action taken by
the present Sri Lankan Government to
improve the human rights situation in the
country should be taken note of,"
and enumerated specific efforts taken by
the Kumaratunga administration to
alleviate specific human rights issues.
Full Story
|
|
Human Rights
in
Sri
Lanka
A
Factual Perspective
Compiled by
Friends
of Sri Lanka in the US (FOSUS)
P.O.
Box 2479
Kensington,
MD 20891-2479
March
01, 1999
Human
Rights
The
Shared Goals of US and Sri Lanka
- Both nations are
democracies with long traditions
of governments elected by the
people.
- Both countries
share a constitutionally
enshrined commitment to
fundamental rights.
- The Sri Lankan
judiciary, like its counterpart
in the US, is an independent
branch of government. The Supreme
Court acts as the final arbiter
on human rights enshrined in the
constitution.
- Both countries are
firmly committed to the promotion
and protection of human rights
globally.
What
Sri Lanka Has Done to Protect Human
Rights
- Established an
independent Human Rights
Commission that investigates all
complaints of human rights
violations.
- Has an independent
media that is quick to highlight
infringements of human rights.
- The armed forces
are now trained and instructed to
respect the human rights of all
civilians, and those of armed
combatants under the Geneva
Convention.
- Punitive action
taken against members of the
security forces for violating
human rights: in the case of rape
and killing of Krishanthy (18)
and three others in Jaffna, the
accused were sentenced to death
in a trial-at bar.
- The alleged
Chemmani mass grave in Jaffna
– the independent Human
Rights Commission and the
judiciary are proceeding with a
full and transparent
investigation.
- Based on the
findings of the
"Disappearance
Commissions" over 100
security personnel have been
indicted for human rights
violations. The cases are
proceeding
- Embilipitiya case:
Six security personnel and one
school principal were recently
convicted and sentenced to 10
years in prison for the
disappearance of 24 school
children in 1989.
Full Story
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