Times Online THURSDAY, 25 AUGUST 2011
n a comment dated 15.01.2010, US ambassador Patricia Butenis noted the Tamils in Sri Lanka and overseas are divided on the issue of accountabiliy and war crimes, according to just leaked Wikileaks cables.She said while the Tamils in Sri Lanka saw accountability as unrealistic and counterproductive, the Diaspora saw it as a priotity.
Here is the comment by Ambassador Butenis:
Accountability is clearly an issue of importance for the ultimate political and moral health of Sri Lankan society. There is an obvious split, however, between the Tamil diaspora and Tamils in Sri Lanka on how and when to address the issue. While we understand the former would like to see the issue as an immediate top-priority issue, most Tamils in Sri Lanka appear to think it is both unrealistic and counter-productive to push the issue too aggressively now. While Tamil leaders are very vocal and committed to national reconciliation and creating a political system more equitable to all ethnic communities, they believe themselves vulnerable to political or even physical attack if they raise the issue of accountability publicly, and common Tamils appear focused on more immediate economic and social concerns. A few have suggested to us that while they cannot address the issue, they would like to see the international community push it. Such an approach, however, would seem to play into the super-heated campaign rhetoric of Rajapaksa and his allies that there is an international conspiracy against Sri Lanka and its 'war heroes.' BUTENIS
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Blake to travel to Sri Lanka
PTI | 09:08 PM,Aug 25,2011Washington, Aug 25 (PTI) A top Obama administration official will travel to Sri Lanka next week, days after the US warned Colombo that an international inquiry could be launched against it if it did not take adequate steps for a credible probe into charges of humanitarian crimes during the LTTE war.Robert Blake, US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, will visit Sri Lanka from August 29-31, an official announcement said here today.”He will meet with government officials, civil society representatives, university students and political leaders while in Sri Lanka,” the State Department said. The announcement follows State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland’s remarks earlier this month that the US would like the Sri Lankan government “to establish the kind of accountable system that its people can have confidence in.” “If that does not happen and does not happen expeditiously, then we reserve the right to discuss international mechanisms,” Nuland had said.A UN panel had also called for setting up of an “independent international mechanism” into what it called “credible” allegations that Sri Lankan military committed war crimes in its final decisive offensive against LTTE rebels in 2009.Sri Lanka, on the other hand, has dismissed the charges as “unsubstantiated”.
