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US will play its part for peace in Sri Lanka - Armitage

Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage attended the Sri Lanka Donors' Conference in Oslo, Norway and pledged that the United States "stands ready to play its part" towards implementing the peace agreement between the Sri Lankan Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), states a US Embassy press release.

In his November 25 remarks, Armitage assured the Sri Lankan people that their agony "has not passed unnoticed in America." Over the past two years, he said, the United States gave more than $ 16 million to the country for basic development, and economic and humanitarian assistance. Those and other projects are "only a beginning," he said.

"My presence here today at this conference is a clear signal that my country stands ready to increase that aid - to be an active participant in the reconstruction of Sri Lanka," he said.

The deputy secretary praised Norway for showing "Sri Lanka the path to peace."

"Now it is upto Sri Lanka to walk down that path. The potential rewards are overwhelming," Armitage said.

To both sides, he said that while a peaceful resolution will be "neither easy nor quick," they had shown that "they have a patience to approach these negotiations in a series of steps, each taken in turn; and the wisdom to know that political agreements must be coupled with practical measures."

Following are excerpts of Armitage's remarks to the Sri Lanka Donors' Conference.

Only a few months ago, I had an opportunity to travel to Sri Lanka - and while I was there, I went to visit the Jaffna Peninsula. We first flew over the area in a helicopter, and saw below us a blasted landscape - pockmarked like some and moonscape with thousands of bomb craters, the testament in territory to twenty years of devastating war. But we also witnessed the costs up close. We saw a city destroyed; and a front line, with soldiers on either side standing close enough to see each other's faces. We spoke with young Tamils - and the mixture of hope and wariness in their words was an unmistakable reminder that in Jaffna; and across Sri Lanka - a whole generation has now grown up knowing little other than war.

It was clear to me that the solution had to start there - in the shattered people and the bombed - out villages, in the universal longing for a better life. Because it will take a firm decision from the parties to this fight to be partners - and to act in the interests of peace - but it will also take an unshakeable commitment from all the people of Sri Lanka - Muslims, Sinhalese and Tamils alike - if an agreement made around the negotiating table is to take hold on the ground.

But reaching prosperity and stability will require a strong and sustained commitment from the Government of Sri Lanka. And we should all give credit to President Kumaratunga - she knew this was the only answer for her country long ago. And her peace plan of 1995 was an important precursor to the progress we see now. Of course today, we owe much of that progress to the Government of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe - who continues to take bold steps in the direction of peace. In July, President Bush had the opportunity to personally congratulate the Prime Minister in Washington - to commend him for his courage and his leadership.

But it is clear that if Sri Lanka is to continue moving forward, the Government must move together as one. No individual or single political party can carry this burden alone. This must be a concerted effort by the President, the Prime Minister and their parties.

Of course, peace also requires the full and frank participation of the LTTE. And let me leave no doubt: my nation stands firm in the resolve that the tactics of terror can never achieve legitimate aspirations. So the United States is greatly encouraged that the LTTE has made a commitment to the political solution; it has agreed to settle this conflict through peaceful means. We urge the LTTE to go one step further and add to this commitment a public renunciation of terrorism and of violence - to make it clear to the people of Sri Lanka and indeed to the international community - that the LTTE has abandoned its armed struggle for a separate state; and instead accepts the sovereignty of a Sri Lankan government that respects and protects the rights of all its people. In turn, the LTTE should affirm the fundamental human rights of all Sri Lankans - not just the right to life - but to free speech - to participate in governance - to associate freely - and to enjoy the full protection of the rule of law.

And while the needs are most critical in the North and East, there is no question that the entire country has paid the price of this war; and that we must help bind all of Sri Lanka's wounds. So while the United States will continue to support de-mining in the Jaffna Peninsula - and in the last year alone, we helped clear mines and unexploded ordnance from more than 120,000 square meters of land - we will also continue to provide humanitarian assistance to all those in need across the country, including emergency aid to refugees and internally displaced persons; counselling to children and vocational training to their parents; and medical assistance to the disabled.

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