[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 14663-14664]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  ENCOURAGING PEACE TALKS IN SRI LANKA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to encourage a new 
round

[[Page 14664]]

of peace talks between the Sri Lankan Government and the Liberation 
Tigers of Tamil Eelam, LTTE, also known as the Tamil Tigers. Recent 
conciliatory actions by the Sri Lankan Government, as well as strong 
international support for peace, offers progress in finding a 
resolution to this conflict. However, the Tamil Tigers need to be 
encouraged to return to the negotiating table in order to continue this 
momentum towards peace.

                              {time}  1930

  Sri Lanka, Mr. Speaker, is a nation that has suffered a tremendous 
loss of nearly 65,000 lives due to a long-standing conflict between Sri 
Lankans and the Tamil Tigers. Finally, on February 22nd of last year, 
the Norwegian Government brokered a cease-fire signed by both groups, 
but the peace process remains far from complete.
  Excluded from a preliminary conference held in Washington this April, 
the Tamil Tigers then withdrew from participating in the Tokyo Donor 
Conference that is currently taking place. However, recent developments 
on the part of the Sri Lankan Government and the international 
community offer some progress. On Monday, the Prime Minister of Sri 
Lanka offered a provisional administrative structure for the Tamil 
majority region of the island, a step toward meeting a central demand 
of the Tamil Tigers for resuming peace talks.
  The Tigers have said they would return to the negotiating table only 
if an interim administration in the Tamil-majority north and east was 
established, and the Prime Minister's proposal does just that. Having 
taken this important step, the Prime Minister must further lay out a 
more specific outline for addressing the Tamil Tigers' concerns.
  The movement towards peace in Sri Lanka is further solidified by the 
vast influx of international support for peace on the island. At the 
Donor meeting in Tokyo, host Japan has already pledged $1 billion in 
assistance. Another $1 billion has been offered by the Asian 
Development Bank, and a spokesman for the European Union said it will 
contribute $290 million over the next 3 years. The U.S. has committed 
to $54 million in aid, and the World Bank recently announced before the 
conference that it would provide Sri Lanka with $200 million a year for 
4 years.
  Mr. Speaker, these donations show an enormous interest by the 
international community in rebuilding postconflict Sri Lanka and 
finding a peaceful resolution. Any aid will come with strict conditions 
in an effort to provide the international community with the ability to 
compel the Sri Lankan Government and the Tamil Tigers to move quickly 
toward resolving their conflict.
  Mr. Speaker, I have to say the atmosphere for peace in Sri Lanka, I 
think, is right. Strong international financial and moral support for 
peace, and recent Sri Lankan compromises to the Tamil Tigers will 
hopefully lead to the Tamil Tigers' return to the negotiating table 
and, hopefully, eventually lead to a peaceful resolution in Sri Lanka.

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