Ayubowan
Vanakkam
Assalamu Alaikum
Good Evening,

First of all, it is my pleasant duty to extend to all of you attending the 59th National Day of Sri Lanka, a most cordial welcome.

As we begin to celebrate the occasion, the people of Sri Lanka having completed their celebrations, are about to begin another year filled with hope and expectations.

Developments in Sri Lanka

If we are to take stock of the situation, we can be proud of the performance of our economy, which despite the continuing armed conflict, has progressed reasonably well with a GDP growth of over 7%. This indeed demonstrates the resilience of our economy, the determination of our people and the strength of the private sector. It is also an indication, of how much more we could have developed if we had only succeeded in putting our house in order.

The worst natural disaster in modern history we experienced in the form of a tsunami two years ago was a serious blow to our economy, particularly to the fisheries and tourism industries. Given the magnitude of the damage caused to the country’s infrastructure, it was estimated that it would take several billion dollars and 3-5 years to recover fully. While the international community, the USA included, came up with resources required to rebuild, it was widely acknowledged that reconstruction was not going to be an easy task. I am pleased to inform you that the work is going ahead at a satisfactory pace.

Sri Lanka would have done much better in 2006, if we had not unfortunately slid back into a situation of renewed armed conflict, which has killed thousands and rendered hundreds of thousands internally displaced. I do not wish to dwell on the causes of that unfortunate development, as in this electronic age, you have access to information as events unfold in Sri Lanka. But what I wish to emphasize here is that His Excellency President Mahinda Rajapaksa has categorically stated that there is no solution to the conflict but a politically negotiated solution and he believes in granting maximum possible devolution to satisfy the needs of all minorities within one country.

US-Sri Lanka Relations

The Embassy has continued in its efforts to ensure the understanding and support of the US, as Sri Lanka faces multifaceted challenges in achieving a negotiated political settlement to the conflict. The US remains closely engaged with the developments in Sri Lanka, which interest has been amply demonstrated by several high level visits to Colombo by officials of the Department of State during 2006. Similarly, visits to the US by several Sri Lankan Cabinet Ministers, Advisors as well as the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army took place during 2006. I would like to inform you that the US is playing a critical role in reactivating the peace process in its capacity as one of the four Co-Chairs of the Tokyo Donor Conference.

Both countries are working hard to complete a compact through the Millennium Challenge Account to provide several hundred million dollars targeting the development of the rural sector in Sri Lanka. This compact is expected to be signed in Washington in the middle of this year.
The two countries also remain engaged in seeking to curb international terrorism in all its manifestations and both countries are collaborating with each other in arresting the menace of money laundering and arms smuggling, as such activities fuel our own conflict, as well as those beyond our shores. Sri Lanka is cooperating with the law enforcement authorities in this regard.

Leveraging the support of the expatriate Sri Lankan Community

As expatriate Sri Lankans, we should ask ourselves what we could do to correct misperceptions about our motherland and to help it in the process of achieving durable peace, where all Sri Lankans, irrespective of their ethnic, religious, and other differences, could live in peace, harmony and prosperity. I recall vividly how Sri Lankan expatriates came forward to help the country when we were confronted by the Tsunami, and more recently some of you bought Treasury bonds to help the country raise funds for infrastructure development. In the very same spirit, you, as individuals and groups, could make important contributions towards achieving peace and development in Sri Lanka.

One year ago, addressing the National Day celebrations from this very rostrum, I called upon “Sri Lankans living in the U.S. - both as organisations as well as individuals, to play an even more active role in pursuing the interests of Sri Lanka in the U.S. with representatives of the administration, members of the federal and state legislatures, international organisations, NGOs and others of influence, to leverage policy in a manner that better serves the interests of Sri Lanka”. We also “sought the help of the Sri Lankan community to connect with the large Sri Lankan diaspora, as well as others, who have an interest in Sri Lanka,” in order to build “a more engaging and sustained relationship between the Embassy and the community that would help enhance the visibility of Sri Lanka in the U.S. capital”.

A high point of the work of the Embassy over the past year has been the success we have achieved in building a sizable network of Sri Lankan expatriates across the USA, through the ‘Reaching Out Programme’ augmented by the Embassy in April 2006. As a result, we have been able to identify Sri Lankan expatriates, who were ready to stand up to be counted in furthering the national interests of Sri Lanka. It is heartening to note that this exercise has generated a momentum of its own, both in the capital as well as in many States, and that the Embassy has effectively been able to play the role of a ‘catalyst’ in an effort to consolidate and enlist the support of existing Sri Lankan associations. The most important development is the establishment of ‘Coalition of Sri Lankan Americans in the US’ (COSLA), which has been formally launched on this auspicious day. The establishment of this body, as an umbrella organization, fulfils a long felt need of bringing those of Sri Lankan origin in this country together, and would no doubt serve as a role model for the Sri Lankan expatriate communities living in others parts of the world as well. As you move forward, it is important that you ensure that COSLA remains non-partisan, secular, united and focused on its broad goals of bringing Sri Lankans together in furthering the identity as Sri Lankan Americans and to promote national interests of Sri Lanka in the US.

Arts & Culture

In the field of promoting arts and culture the Embassy arranged a Sri Lanka film festival last year, after a lapse of over a decade, which was held at the prestigious Freer and Sackler Gallery. Similarly, the Embassy in cooperation with the Smithsonian Institute – Washington National Zoo, was able to celebrate the 5th birthday of ‘Kandula’ the baby elephant, which provided an ideal opportunity for the Embassy to showcase Sri Lanka’s cultural heritage. The Embassy will continue to promote such cultural activities in the future as well.

Community Activities

We recognize that one important responsibility of the Embassy is to serve the Sri Lankan community living in this country. Given the size of this country and the spread of the Sri Lankan community in various parts of the US, we realize that providing an efficient consular service is an essential part of our responsibilities. We are constantly trying to improve our work to give a better service to the Sri Lankan community.
I am happy to inform you that the steps taken by the Embassy since celebrating ‘Wesak’ in May 2005 to recognize the various faiths of our people by celebrating such religious occasions at the Embassy, is continuing. Last month we celebrated ‘Thai Pongal’ observed by the Hindus, mainly of South India and Sri Lanka. In three months time in May, we will be celebrating ‘Wesak,’ followed by Ramazan and Christmas later in the year. The purpose of these events is to remind ourselves that Sri Lanka is a multi ethnic, multi lingual, multi religious and a multi cultural society. That is how the island has been for over twenty centuries and it is how Sri Lanka is going to be long after we have given way to future generations. We have to remind ourselves that our diversity is not only a fact of life, but also the source of our strength.
The unity we have among ourselves in this country is also a source of great strength. We are very pleased that our efforts are supported by many religious, cultural and other organizations. The cultural programme that will follow, is a demonstration of not only the talent of our younger generation, but also the willingness of these young people to come together to promote and preserve Sri Lankan heritage.
I wish you a pleasant and enjoyable evening.

Thank you.