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The admin. is currently evaluating U.S. policy toward Sri Lanka in the wake of the military defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), one of the world’s deadliest terrorist groups. Six months since the end of the war, the Sri Lankan Government is dealing with a humanitarian crisis in the North where hundreds of thousands are still displaced and homes and infrastructure are destroyed. The Government faces many challenges in transitioning to peace, and the international community can help. Sri Lanka is an important partner and friend to the U.S., so the Senate Foreign Relations Comm. (SFRC) asked two staff members, Fatema Z. Sumar and Nilmini Gunaratne Rubin, to evaluate U.S. policy towards Sri Lanka. They conduct a week-long fact finding mission Nov. 2–7, 2009, to see firsthand how the country was transitioning after the war. They met dozens of government officials, opposition party leaders, non-governmental organizations, journalists, international donors, foreign diplomats, academics, civil society leaders, business people, internally displaced persons (IDPs), and Sri Lankan citizens in a variety of settings. In addition to Colombo, they traveled throughout the country, including visiting the IDP camps in the North, viewing demining activities in the Northwest, seeing areas rebuilt after the Dec. 2004 tsunami and fighting in the East, and meeting local government officials in the South. Their report provides significant insight and a number of important recommendations to advance U.S. policy in Sri Lanka.
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