US supports Indian efforts to stop fighting in Sri Lanka

Lalit K Jha

Washington, Apr 25 (PTI) The United States has said it
supports the Indian efforts to stop fighting in Sri Lanka and
appealed to both the Rajapaksa government and LTTE to end
hostilities.

"We support Indian efforts to stop the fighting," State
Department spokesman Robert Wood told reporters here
yesterday.

"We understand that two Indian government special
emissaries arrived in Lanka to convey their government's
concerns about the conflict to the government of Sri Lanka,"
he said.

The US remains extremely concerned for the safety of the
remaining civilians in the no-fire zone, he said.

Although tens of thousands of people have fled the area,
numerous people have been killed and tens of thousands of
additional civilians remain in the conflict area, he added.

As the Lankan military went in for a final assault
against the LTTE, Wood said Assistant Secretary Richard
Boucher and US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Robert Blake
participated in a conference with the Tokyo co-chairs on
Thursday.

"The Co-Chair countries and the G-8 are working together
closely to find a way to end the fighting. The Tamil Tigers
must stop holding civilians and stop putting them in harm's
way. We call on the Tamil Tigers to lay down their arms and
surrender to a third party," he pointed out.

The White House Saturday, in its first statement on the
Sri Lankan conflict after President Barack Obama assumed
office on January 20, said it was taking "very seriously" the
allegations of violations of international humanitarian law by
both sides.

"Further continuation of the present situation would
compound the tragedy as the military end of the conflict only
breeds further enmity and ends hopes for reconciliation and a
unified Sri Lanka in the future," the White House said.

Observing that the international community needs to
provide assistance to a large number of displaced people, Wood
said the international community should be prepared to play a
role to end the fighting.

Supporting the UN Secretary-General's decision to send a
UN humanitarian team to the no-fire zone, as his envoy Vijay
Nambiar and President Mahinda Rajapaksa discussed and agreed
to last week, Wood said: "We urge the government of Sri Lanka
to allow the team into the no-fire zone as soon as possible."

The US also urged the government of Sri Lanka to allow
critical supplies to pass more rapidly through military
checkpoints, share its registration information of internally
displaced persons with the UN, identify additional shelter
sites and authorize continued medical evacuations from the
no-fire zone, Wood said.