The United States said it is focused on supporting “accountability and reconciliation” in Sri Lanka, following a visit from the Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka Mangala Samaraweera, who was in Washington on Thursday.
“The United States, our focus and the focus of our partners in the international community is supporting accountability and reconciliation in Sri Lanka,” said US State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki, speaking at the daily press briefing on Friday.
“We’re determining the best way forward to address these issues,” said Ms Psaki, confirming that the United Nations investigation into mass atrocities against Tamils was discussed at Mr Samaraweera’s meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry.
However, she added that conversations around delaying the report would be kept “private”, stating that “this is a matter for the UN High Commissioner (Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein) to determine”.
“We have absolute confidence in [the High Commissioner] and in this process,” she added.
Mr Kerry had “underscored the United States and international commitment to accountability and reconciliation after nearly 30 years of war,” said Ms Psaki, adding that he had also “expressed ongoing support for a Sri Lanka that is peaceful, democratic, prosperous, inclusive, and unified”.
She also stated that though Mr Samaraweera had invited Mr Kerry to visit Sri Lanka, the trip would only take place “at an appropriate time”.
See our earlier post: US calls for ‘greater accountability’ in Sri Lanka (13 Feb 2015)
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