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“ENCOURAGING THE PEACE PROCESS IN SRI LANKA” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Senate section on pages S8025 on Aug. 1, 2002.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
ENCOURAGING THE PEACE PROCESS IN SRI LANKA
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 516, S. Res. 300.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
A resolution (S. Res. 300) encouraging the peace process in Sri Lanka.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the resolution, which had been reported by the Committee on Foreign Relations with an amendment and amendments to the preamble, as follows:
[Omit the part enclosed by boldface brackets and insert the part printed in italic.]
Whereas the United States has enjoyed a long and cordial friendship with Sri Lanka;
[Whereas the people of Sri Lanka have long valued political pluralism, religious freedom, democracy, and a respect for human rights;
[Whereas the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have waged a protracted and costly war for the past 19 years;
Whereas for the past 19 years, the Government of Sri Landa has fought a protracted and costly war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a group labeled as a foreign terrorist organization by the Department of State;
Whereas an estimated 65,000 people have died in Sri Lanka as a result of these hostilities;
Whereas the war has created an estimated 1,000,000 displaced persons over the course of the conflict;
Whereas 19 years of war have crippled the economy of the north and east of Sri Lanka and resulted in low growth rates and economic instability in the south of Sri Lanka;
Whereas the economic impact of the conflict is felt most severely by the poor in both the north and the south of Sri Lanka;
Whereas efforts to solve the conflict through military means have failed and neither side appears able to impose its will on the other by force of arms;
Whereas the Government of Norway has offered and been accepted by the parties of the conflict to play the role of international facilitator;
Whereas an agreement on a cease-fire between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was signed by both parties and went into effect February 23, 2002; and
Whereas both the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam [have agreed] are now in the process of agreeing to meet for peace talks in Thailand: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) notes with great satisfaction the warm and friendly relations that have existed between the people of the United States and Sri Lanka;
(2) recognizes that the costly military stalemate that has existed between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam [can only] should be resolved at the negotiating table;
(3) believes that a political solution, including appropriate constitutional structures and adequate protection of minority rights and cessation of violence, is the path to a comprehensive and lasting peace in Sri Lanka;
(4) calls on all parties to negotiate in good faith with a view to finding a just and lasting political settlement to Sri Lanka's ethnic conflict while respecting the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka;
(5) denounces all political violence and acts of terrorism in Sri Lanka, and calls upon those who espouse or use such methods to reject these methods and to embrace dialogue, democratic norms, and the peaceful resolution of disputes;
(6) applauds the important role played by Norway in facilitating the peace process between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam;
(7) applauds the cooperation of the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in lifting the cumbersome travel restrictions that for the last 19 years have hampered the movement of goods, services, and people in the war-affected areas;
(8) applauds the agreement of the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in implementing the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission;
(9) calls on all parties to recognize that adherence to internationally recognized human rights facilitates the building of trust necessary for an equitable, sustainable peace;
(10) further encourages both parties to develop a comprehensive and effective process for human rights monitoring;
(11) states its willingness in principle to see the United States lend its good offices to play a constructive role in supporting the peace process, if so desired by all parties to the conflict;
(12) calls on members of the international community to use their good offices to support the peace process and, as appropriate, lend assistance to the reconstruction of war-damaged areas of Sri Lanka and to reconciliation among all parties to the conflict; and
(13) calls on members of the international community to ensure that any assistance to Sri Lanka will be framed in the context of supporting the ongoing peace process and will avoid exacerbating existing ethnic tensions.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the committee amendment to the resolution be agreed to; that the resolution, as amended, be agreed to; that the amendments to the preamble be agreed to; that the preamble, as amended, be agreed to; that the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, en bloc, with no further intervening action or debate; and that any statement relating to the resolution be printed in the Record.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The committee amendment was agreed to.
The resolution (S. Res. 300), as amended, was agreed to.
The amendments to the preamble were agreed to.
The preamble, as amended, was agreed to.
(The resolution, as amended, with its preamble, as amended, will be printed in a future edition of the Record.)
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