Sri Lanka's Ambassador Jaliya Wickramasuriya in Washington is mounting a diplomatic offensive in Congress to counter international critics who fear for civilians trapped in a narrow rebel enclave.
Ambassador Jaliya Wickramasuriya met with six House members last week and plans to continue his Capitol Hill campaign into May. He is driving a message to congress that the Sri Lankan government is trying to prevent civilian casualties but the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels are holding them hostage and risking their lives."Our main purpose is getting the civilians out of danger," he said in an e-mail, describing his meetings. "The Tigers are firing at civilians who are fleeing."
Several foreign governments have called on Sri Lanka to call for ceasefire in an attempt to save thousands of people in the safe zone, turned now in to a conflict zone. Sri Lankan Government has refused to call ceasefire and has denied access for aid agencies to enter the conflict zone to provide humanitarian assistance.
Thirty House members recently signed a letter to the Sri Lankan government calling for a cease-fire.
Mr. Wickramasuriya told members of Congress that the rebels would only take advantage of a cease-fire to reinforce their position and tighten their grip on the civilians.
The ambassador said he received support last week in his meetings with Republican Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina and Democratic Reps. Shelley Berkley of Nevada, Joseph Crowley of New York, Mike Ross of Arkansas, Heath Shuler of North Carolina and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland.
SL is of two countires one belongs to Tamils and the other to Sinhalese. If this is not understood then who ever tries to solve the SL problem would only make it worse.