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AMBASSADOR DHANAPALA CALLS FOR GREATER
INTERNATIONAL INVOLVEMENT IN THE SRI LANKA PEACE PROCESS,
Senior Adviser to the Sri Lankan President and Peace Secretariat Secretary-General Jayantha Dhanapala, on Thursday (8 September) called for a fundamental review and re-design of the Sri Lanka peace process. Noting that international indulgence of the LTTE in the hope that they will return to the negotiating table isn't working, Ambassador Dhanapala said the continued violations of the ceasefire agreement by the LTTE raised hard questions about the global role towards the LTTE. He said that while the Sri Lanka Government had no intention of replacing Norway as the facilitator, the rest of the international community had an important role to play in supplementing the present facilitation role played by Norway and through applying pressure on the LTTE”. Ambassador Dhanapala made these observations when he delivered the keynote address at a briefing on “The Sri Lanka Peace Process: the Role of the International Community” convened by the bi-partisan Sri Lanka Congressional Caucus, on Capitol Hill on Thursday (8 September). Former U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka Teresita Schaffer and Prof. John Richardson of the American University, who authored ‘Paradise Poisoned’, joined as panelists while Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to the US Bernard A.B. Goonetilleke made opening remarks. The briefing was convened by co-chairs of the Sri Lankan Caucus U.S. Congressmen Jerry Weller and Frank Pallone and was attended by Congressman Rep. Danny K. Davis, Congressional aides, US Government and NGO representatives, Sri Lankan expatriates and members of the media.
Embassy of Sri Lanka 09 Septmeber 2005
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