COLOMBO, May 10: The United States on Thursday accused Sri Lanka of going back on promises to protect human rights and said the situation in the embattled island had “deteriorated” in the past year.
Visiting US diplomat Richard Boucher said there was more bloodshed and that the government of President Mahinda Rajapakse had failed to honour pledges to reduce violence since he took office in November 2005.
“People are more fearful and face more difficulties. Overall there has been a deterioration in Sri Lanka's human rights record,” Boucher said when asked how he assessed the situation in Colombo since his last visit in October.
Boucher, the US Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian affairs, told reporters here that he wanted to see Colombo deliver on the promises made to the international community to reduce violence stemming from a bitter ethnic conflict with Tamil rebels.
“We are very concerned,” he said after his closed-door meeting with Rajapakse at his tightly-guarded Temple Trees residence.
Boucher said he raised concerns with Rajapakse about the collapse of a truce with the rebels, attacks on media and the escalation of extra-judicial killings that have left more than 4,800 dead since December 2005.
Rajapakse's office in a statement said Boucher was told that Colombo was “doing its best” to ensure there were no rights violations. He also told Boucher that he has sought the help of the international community to resolve the ethnic conflict which has claimed over 60,000 lives since 1972.
The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) launched an abortive assault on the peninsula on Aug 11, prompting the military to shut the main highway to the region.
Jaffna is now supplied through risky air and sea transport routes vulnerable to Tiger attack.—AFP
