The Ambassador for the United States of America Robert O.Blake speaks to C.A.Chandraprema about the LTTE, the nature of the Sri Lankan conflict, the confidence shown by expatriate Tamils in Sri Lanka's long term prospects and the possibility of a political settlement in Sri Lanka.
The full text of the interview published in 'The Island' a popular Sri Lankan news portal is as follows.
Q. How would you read the situation in Sri Lanka at the present moment?
A. We are concerned about the situation, but we also think there is hope. We are concerned because the ceasefire has broken down and there has been a lot of fighting in the past year and there have been severe humanitarian consequences and human rights problems for the people of Sri Lanka. But we also think there is hope for the people of Sri Lanka because there is a process already under way in the All party Representatives Committee, that can lead to a political solution to the conflict.
Q. How would you characterize the Sri Lankan problem - is it case of a popularly elected government fighting terrorism?
A. Certainly that is a part of it, but part of the problem is that terrorism exists because of the failure of successive governments to address the grievances that have given rise to terrorism in the first place. That is why we advocate a political solution to the problem and not a military solution.
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