US will continue helping Lanka to fight terror - Boucher

Manjula Fernando

COLOMBO: Visiting US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Richard Boucher said the US would continue to help Sri Lanka to fight LTTE terrorism.

Hosting a press conference at the Cinnamon Grand, Colombo, to wrap up his three-day tour of Sri Lanka from May 8, Boucher said: “We recognise that people of Sri Lanka continue to face the threat of terrorism. There is a threat from the Tigers, the organisation continues to be a terrorist group that recruits child soldiers, extorts money, kills people, blows up buses...”

The US envoy who toured Jaffna yesterday prior to his meeting with President Mahinda Rajapaksa and diplomatic heads of the Co-Chairs yesterday, urged the Government to push for a political solution to the North-East issue.

He observed the supplies to Jaffna have become regular and better since his last visit but emphasised the need for improving the human rights situation where the people have expressed fear of abductions and killings. He welcomed the appointment of an International Eminent Persons Group to assist the human rights probes.

Underscoring the need for involvement of political parties in the All Party Representative Committee effort, Boucher said: “There is a variety of proposals. It is very important.

“Very important to work for consensus and all the parties need to be involved, to pledge themselves for the APRC.”

“Different countries will react differently to situations,” Boucher said when questioned of a British assistance freeze but assured that there will be no immediate change of US policy on help towards Sri Lanka.

Boucher met military forces, civil society leaders and Jaffna Government officials including the Jaffna Government Agent during his tour of Jaffna. He was flown to Jaffna in an Air Force craft on Wednesday morning.

During his visit he also met Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe.