[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 6713]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           7TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE END OF THE WAR IN SRI LANKA

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                          HON. DANNY K. DAVIS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 18, 2016

  Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 
commemorate the 7th anniversary of the end of the war in Sri Lanka. The 
Government of Sri Lanka won the war to keep the Sinhalese and Tamil 
communities within one country, but has not yet won the peace. A new 
president and a new government in 2015 have led to hopes that a 
different path will be trod towards a plural state in which all 
religions and ethnicities may live with dignity and security.
  The leaders of the new government have made many ambitious promises 
to advance toward the goal of a stable and prosperous future for all. 
Now is the time to turn those promises into concrete action. The US, 
must assist and support in any way we can, but we must also keep 
incentives in place such as conditions on military and other aid until 
the government has accomplished real reform.
  The government of Sri Lanka has made commitments on transitional 
justice and accountability, a political settlement of the ethnic 
problem, security sector reform, the return of land, the release of 
Tamil political prisoners, actions to end human rights violations and 
other ambitious reforms. Unfortunately, not enough improvement has yet 
been seen by the Tamils, Christians and Muslims who feel marginalized 
and discriminated against. Courageous leadership is needed to gain 
trust if reconciliation is the goal, not just promises. Now is the time 
for real action.

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