AFP, Colombo :
Colombo asked to free all remaining political prisoners and help search for missing persons by visiting US top diplomat.
The US secretary of state has said he wants to renew ties with Sri Lanka and urged its new government to work with the UN to ensure an investigation into war crimes met international standards.
John Kerry arrived in Sri Lanka on Saturday, the first time in a decade that a US secretary of state has visited Sri Lanka.
He announced the start of an annual bilateral dialogue and said the US would immediately send experts to advise the new government on economic growth, trade and investment. “Kerry spoke frequently about the need for the citizens of this island country to not forget their past, and to find a way to reconcile their past grievances,” Al Jazeera’s Rosiland Jordan, reporting from Colombo, said.
“In Sri Lanka, that means squaring political, ethnic and religious differences. It also means trusting each other, something that can’t be legislated.” Rajapaksa was unseated by Mathripala Sirisena in a surprise election win in January. Rajapaksa’s government had also clashed with the UN over its investigation into war atrocities.
Colombo asked to free all remaining political prisoners and help search for missing persons by visiting US top diplomat.
The US secretary of state has said he wants to renew ties with Sri Lanka and urged its new government to work with the UN to ensure an investigation into war crimes met international standards.
John Kerry arrived in Sri Lanka on Saturday, the first time in a decade that a US secretary of state has visited Sri Lanka.
He announced the start of an annual bilateral dialogue and said the US would immediately send experts to advise the new government on economic growth, trade and investment. “Kerry spoke frequently about the need for the citizens of this island country to not forget their past, and to find a way to reconcile their past grievances,” Al Jazeera’s Rosiland Jordan, reporting from Colombo, said.
“In Sri Lanka, that means squaring political, ethnic and religious differences. It also means trusting each other, something that can’t be legislated.” Rajapaksa was unseated by Mathripala Sirisena in a surprise election win in January. Rajapaksa’s government had also clashed with the UN over its investigation into war atrocities.
