[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 20]
[Senate]
[Page 27351]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR PEOPLE OF SRI LANKA

  Mr. McCONNELL. I now ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to 
the consideration of S. Res. 324, which was submitted earlier today.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 324) expressing support for the 
     people of Sri Lanka in the wake of the tsunami and the 
     assassination of the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister and urging 
     support and respect for free and fair elections in Sri Lanka.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed 
to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid 
upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 324) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 324

       Whereas, on December 26, 2004, Sri Lanka was struck by a 
     tsunami that left some 30,000 dead and hundreds of thousands 
     of people homeless;
       Whereas the United States and the world community 
     recognized the global importance of preventing that tragedy 
     from spiraling into an uncontrolled disaster and sent aid to 
     Sri Lanka to provide immediate relief;
       Whereas the massive tsunami reconstruction effort in Sri 
     Lanka creates significant challenges for the country;
       Whereas the democratic process in Sri Lanka is further 
     challenged by the refusal of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil 
     Eelam, a group that the Secretary of State has designated as 
     a Foreign Terrorist Organization, to renounce violence as a 
     means of effecting political change;
       Whereas, on August 12, 2005, the Sri Lankan Foreign 
     Minister Lakhsman Kadirgamar was assassinated at his home in 
     Colombo in a brutal terrorist act that has been widely 
     attributed to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam by 
     officials in Sri Lanka, the United States, and other 
     countries;
       Whereas democratic elections are scheduled to be held in 
     Sri Lanka on November 17, 2005; and
       Whereas the United States has an interest in a free and 
     fair democratic process in Sri Lanka, and the peaceful 
     resolution of the insurgency that has afflicted Sri Lanka for 
     more than two decades: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) expresses its support for the people of Sri Lanka as 
     they recover from the devastating tsunami that occurred on 
     December 26, 2004, and the assassination of the Sri Lankan 
     Foreign Minister Lakhsman Kadirgamar on August 12, 2005;
       (2) expresses its support for the courageous decision by 
     the democratically-elected Government of Sri Lanka, following 
     the assassination of Foreign Minister Kadirgamar, to remain 
     in discussions with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 
     an attempt to resolve peacefully the issues facing the people 
     of Sri Lanka; and
       (3) urges all parties in Sri Lanka to remain committed to 
     the negotiating process and to make every possible attempt at 
     national reconciliation.

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