US Secretary of State John Kerry
held talks with Sri Lanka's top Tamil leaders on Sunday as he wrapped up
an overnight visit pushing reconciliation in the island after decades
of ethnic war.
US Secretary of State John Kerry (L) speaks with Sri Lankan Tamil National Alliance (TNA) party leader Rajavarothiam Sampanthan (2nd L) in Colombo on May 3, 2015. Photo: AFP
Kerry met with heads of the Tamil
National Alliance (TNA), the main political party from the ethnic
minority, one day after holding talks with Sri Lanka's new President
Maithripala Sirisena and his government.
US officials said TNA leader
Rajavarothiam Sampanthan and several other senior party officials held
talks at Kerry's hotel in the capital Colombo.
The top US diplomat, whose presence in
Colombo marked the island's return to the world diplomatic fold, heaped
praise on the new government of Sirisena who toppled former strongman
Mahinda Rajapakse at January elections.
Kerry pledged support to ensure "true
reconciliation" in Sri Lanka six years after the end of its 37-year-old
Tamil separatist war which claimed at least 100,000 lives.
Giving a speech on Saturday, Kerry
echoed a long-standing Tamil demand to investigate the cases of
thousands who went missing in the final stages of the brutal conflict
that ended in May 2009.
"Try to find wherever the truth may
lead. No matter how painful that truth is," Kerry said. "It's the right
and the humane thing to do - and it is, believe it or not, an essential
part of the healing process."
The TNA is in the opposition, but
supports Sirisena's administration which has also promised to
investigate allegations that up to 40,000 Tamil civilians were killed by
troops under Rajapakse's command.
Kerry has promised technical assistance
for any probe and also urged Sirisena to free hundreds of Tamils who are
still being held without any charges against them.
During Rajapakse's decade-long rule,
Washington was close to slapping sanctions on Colombo for refusing to
allow investigations into claims of mass killings and rights abuses at
the end of the war between the separatist Tamil Tigers and government
forces.
As Sri Lanka's relations with the West
and regional powerhouse India soured, Rajapakse turned increasingly to
Beijing, with Chinese-funded investments projects springing up across
Sri Lanka.
Since coming to power, Sirisena has
tried to reset the diplomatic balance, choosing New Delhi for his first
foreign visit and offering the hand of friendship to other key players
who fell out with his predecessor.
Kerry is due to fly to Nairobi after meeting with US embassy staff in Colombo.
Source: AFP