UN General Assembly
1986

Permit me to volunteer some observations on the domestic situation in Sri Lanka which has received publicity and projection in the international media. It has been the consistent view of ray President, Mr. J.R. Jayewardene, that this issue should find a political solution, to which end he has striven hard during the past three years. In 1984 he set up a round-table conference which was attended by all parties concerned, except the Tamil terrorist groups. After one year's deliberations, presided over by the President himself, efforts to find a political solution acceptable to all parties were not successful because the main Tamil groups did not agree to the proposals of the majority. Again during the past two months negotiations have been resumed and the talks have progressed satisfactorily. The successful conclusion of the talks now depend on the willingness of the terrorists to be a part of the democratic process. We are thankful to those friendly countries which have been with us in this hour of trial and stress, especially India, our immediate neighbor. Any solution we arrive at