Lankans deserve peace, says US State Department

The US State Department yesterday urged both the government and the LTTE to find a political solution to the conflict as the Sri Lankan people deserve an opportunity to live in a peaceful and democratic country and one that is not subject to the kind of violence seen today.
Tom Casey, Deputy Spokesman of the US State Department said the parties in Sri Lanka have an obligation to the people to be able to come together and develop a power-sharing arrangement that could gain the support of the majority of the population.
“Richard Boucher was just there and he did talk with government officials and a wide variety of civil society representatives and urged them to develop the kind of power-sharing proposals that would allow them to move the peace process forward,” Mr. Casey said.
His comments follow the bomb explosion in Colombo targeting a military vehicle and the LTTE attack on the Navy in the Delft Islands on Thursday. Contd.on A5
“And we're going to keep working with Sri Lanka Government officials as well as the Norwegians and the other co-chair partners to be able to encourage a peaceful resolution to this conflict. And I know we'll be conveying messages to them again on this subject, but it is a situation that is a difficult one,” Mr. Casey said.
The State Department spokesman said the US was trying to use its good offices as well as those of the other co-chair partners to be able to help foster the kind of dialogue needed and provide the support they can offer.