Post-war resettlement, rehabilitation and reconstruction:

LOUD APPLAUSE FROM US REP

* Not an easy task to rebuild country devastated by war

* Country has achieved tremendous growth

Bandara Athapattu

A member of the US House of Representatives, member of the House of Foreign Affairs and member of the Sub Committee on Asia and the Pacific Rep Fa’aua’a Hunkin Faleomavaega, Jr. (D-American Samoa) commended the Sri Lankan government for the significant progress it has made in resettlement, rehabilitation and reconstruction process.

“It is not an easy task to rebuild a country devastated by 30 years of war,” he said addressing the media at Kingsbury Hotel on Thursday.

Explaining post war reconstruction efforts of Sri Lanka, he said the Army demined over 2,000 hectares of land and resettled over 290,000 Internally Displaced Persons.

“Sri Lanka has been able to complete the demining process after the eradication of terrorism in such a short period while the US is still struggling with the demining process, particularly in countries like Cambodia and Laos,” he said.

“In the resettlement process, over 70,000 new houses have been built and more are under construction. The Sri Lankan government has completed a number of infrastructure development projects, rehabilitated former LTTE cadres, providing employment opportunities and reduced military presence significantly, in the North and Eastern regions,” he said.

“The challenges faced by the Sri Lankan government are enormous. Sri Lanka must be commended for achieving tremendous growth in the post war reconstruction process. I invite the Western media and foreign representatives to visit Sri Lanka, visit former war affected areas and see for themselves the dividends of peace being enjoyed by the people in the past three years.

"I held several discussions with all political leaders and TNA representatives during my stay in the country and I recommend that Sri Lanka should bring about efforts to showcase the the true situation in Sri lanka which is very positive.

"I will try to explain the true situation in Sri Lanka when I return to Washington DC, he said. " I think we need to showcase the challenges faced by the Sri Lankan people and its leaders in terms of reviewing the post war progress of Sri Lanka. Since my first visit in 2004, as a representative of US Congress and to date , I was so impressed with the amount of development what Sri lanka has achieved within this period. "Its very interesting to witness the efforts of the Sri Lankan government and its leaders to rebuild the country ravaged by a prolonged war.

The US House Rep praised President Mahinda Rajapaksa's steadfastness and leadership qualities during crisis situations, in looking after Sri Lanka's interests in the face of various pressures brought by the international community .

"The President's leadership helped defeat one of most dangerous rebel leaders of the world. On the other hand, we should not forget that Sri Lankan government fought with terrorist organization which had been banned in 30 countries, including America.