,,iii  #aacth ,,congress  #b;d ,session 
,s4 ,,res4 #cfd  ,,in ,,the ,,senate    
,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states  ,february 
#bg1 #bjad ,mr4 ,inhofe 7for himself1   
,mr4 ,cornyn1 ,mr4 ,hatch1 ,mr4         
,barrasso1 ,mr4 ,blunt1 ,mr4 ,manchin1  
,mr4 ,sessions1 ,mr4 ,boozman1 ,mr4     
,crapo1 ,ms4 ,collins1 and ,mr4 ,enzi7  
submitted the following resolution2     
which was referred to the ,committee on 
,foreign ,relations  ,,resolution       
,expressing support for the internal    
rebuilding1 resettlement1 and           
reconciliation within ,sri ,lanka that  
are necessary to ensure a lasting peace4
  ,whereas ,may #ai1 #bjad1 marks the   
#e-year anniversary of the end of the   
#bf-year civil war between the          
,liberation ,tigers of ,tamil ,eelam    
7,,ltte7 and the ,government of ,sri    
,lanka2 ,whereas the people of ,sri     
,lanka suffered greatly as a result of  
this conflict1 the impact and aftermath 
of which has been felt by all1          
especially by women1 children1 and      

families2 ,whereas the ,government of   
,sri ,lanka established a ,lessons      
,learnt and ,reconciliation ,commission 
7,,llrc7 to report whether any person1  
group1 or institution directly or       
indirectly bears responsibility for     
incidents that occurred between         
,february #bjjb and ,may #bjji and to   
recommend measures to prevent the       
recurrence of such incidents in the     
future and promote further national     
unity and reconciliation among all      
communities2 ,whereas the ,,llrc report 
was presented to the ,sri ,lankan       
,parliament on ,december #af1 #bjaa1 and
 officially translated into ,sinhala and
 ,tamil on ,august #af1 #bjab2 ,whereas 
the ,,llrc report acknowledges important
 events and grievances that have        
contributed to decades of political     
violence and war in ,sri ,lanka and     
makes constructive recommendations on a 
wide range of issues1 including the need
 to credibly investigate widespread     
allegations of extrajudicial killings2  

enforced disappearances2 intentional    
targeting of civilians and              
noncombatants2 demilitarizing the north 
and the country as a whole2 reaching a  
political settlement with minority      
communities on the meaningful           
decentralization of power2 and promoting
 and protecting the right to freedom of 
expression for all through the enactment
 of a right to information law and      
additional rule of law reforms2 ,whereas
 the ,government of ,sri ,lanka         
developed the ,national ,plan of ,action
 to implement the recommendations of the
 ,,llrc and has made significant        
progress within limited time in the     
implementation of the ,national ,plan of
 ,action1 notably in the areas of       
demining1 rehabilitation of             
ex-combatants1 resettlement of displaced
 persons1 improvements of infrastructure
 and social services in the ,north and  
,east1 as well as investigations into   
complaints regarding persons who have   
disappeared during the war2 ,whereas    

there have been reports of attacks on   
places of worship and restrictions on   
the media in several places in ,sri     
,lanka2 ,whereas the ,government of ,sri
 ,lanka expressed its commitment to     
address the needs of all ethnic groups  
and has recognized the necessity of a   
political settlement and reconciliation 
for a peaceful and just society1 which  
is a long-term process that will need to
 be driven by the people of ,sri ,lanka 
themselves2 ,whereas the ,september #ba1
 #bjac1 elections in ,sri ,lanka for the
 ,northern1 ,central1 and ,north        
,western ,provincial ,councils were an  
important step in fulfilling this       
commitment2 ,whereas these elections    
were made possible through a sustained  
effort by the ,government of ,sri ,lanka
 to restore infrastructure in the ,north
 and put in place a system for the      
conduct of the elections2 ,whereas the  
elections allowed the people of the     
,north of ,sri ,lanka to exercise their 
political rights that had been withheld 

from them for more than #bj years by the
 ,liberation ,tigers of ,tamil ,eelam   
7,,ltte7 and resulted in a clear victory
 for the provincial wing of the ,tamil  
,national ,alliance2 ,whereas ,sri      
,lanka is enjoying rapid economic growth
 as an important hub for shipping       
transport1 technology1 and tourism in   
the ,south ,asia region2 ,whereas ,sri  
,lanka is of great strategic importance 
to the ,united ,states1 due to its      
location1 deep-water ports1 and         
proximity to the world's busiest        
shipping lanes1 an importance noticed   
and pursued by other significant powers2
 and ,whereas ,sri ,lanka seeks to be a 
key ,united ,states partner in the fight
 against terrorism and ,indian ,ocean   
piracy3 ,now1 therefore1 be it  ,that   
the ,senate-- 7#a7 calls upon the       
,president to develop a comprehensive   
and well balanced policy towards ,sri   
,lanka that reflects ,united ,states    
interests1 including respect for human  
rights1 democracy1 and the rule of law1 

as well as economic and security        
interests2  7#b7 calls on the ,united   
,states ,government and the             
international community to assist the   
,government of ,sri ,lanka1 with due    
regard to its sovereignty1 stability1   
and security1 in establishing domestic  
mechanisms to deal with any grievances  
arising from actions committed by both  
sides during and after the civil war in 
,sri ,lanka2  7#c7 encourages the       
,government of ,sri ,lanka to put in    
place a truth and reconciliation        
commission similar to the one adopted by
 ,south ,africa to help heal the wounds 
of war1 taking into account the unique  
characteristics of the conflict and its 
aftermath2 and  7#d7 urges the          
,government of ,sri ,lanka to improve   
religious and media freedoms and to     
bring to justice those responsible for  
attacks on journalists and newspaper    
offices as well as places of worship1   
regardless of religion4