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[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 672 Introduced in House (IH)]

109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 672

 Urging the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil 
Eelam to engage positively in the forthcoming peace talks and prevent a 
                 return to armed conflict in Sri Lanka.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 8, 2006

 Mr. Pallone submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
 Urging the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil 
Eelam to engage positively in the forthcoming peace talks and prevent a 
                 return to armed conflict in Sri Lanka.

Whereas Sri Lanka is Asia's oldest democracy and remains a close friend of the 
        United States;
Whereas more than 64,000 civilians have died and 350,000 persons have been 
        internally displaced in Sri Lanka as a result of a 20-year armed 
        conflict between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers 
        of Tamil Eelam, a group designated by the Department of State as a 
        foreign terrorist organization;
Whereas in 2002 the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil 
        Eelam signed a cease-fire agreement;
Whereas peace talks between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation 
        Tigers of Tamil Eelam have been stalled since April 2003;
Whereas on August 12, 2005, the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister, Lakhsman 
        Kadirgamar, was assassinated in a terrorist act that has been attributed 
        to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam;
Whereas December 2005 was the bloodiest month in Sri Lanka since the cease-fire 
        agreement came into effect in 2002 due to a series of Claymore mine and 
        suicide attacks against Security Forces of the Government of Sri Lanka 
        by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam;
Whereas the United States remains deeply concerned about the continued 
        violations of the cease-fire agreement in Sri Lanka, as marked by a 
        recent series of violent incidents involving Claymore mine and suicide 
        attacks;
Whereas Velupillai Prabhakaran, the leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil 
        Eelam, recently issued an ultimatum to the Government of Sri Lanka to 
        come up with a political settlement within the next year or face an 
        ``intensified struggle for self-determination'';
Whereas the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam has a history of engaging in a 
        campaign of terror and violence;
Whereas if hostilities resume in Sri Lanka, the use of unconventional weapons 
        and suicide missions and other terrorist tactics by the Liberation 
        Tigers of Tamil Eelam could cause even greater devastation to the 
        country and have implications on regional security;
Whereas to strengthen the implementation of the cease-fire agreement, the 
        Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have 
        agreed to commence peace talks beginning in February 2006 in Geneva, 
        Switzerland; and
Whereas, despite the agreement to continue peace talks, a return to armed 
        conflict in Sri Lanka is still a very real threat: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives urges, in the strongest 
possible terms, the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers 
of Tamil Eelam to--
            (1) engage positively in the forthcoming peace talks and to 
        prevent a return to armed conflict in Sri Lanka;
            (2) renegotiate a cease-fire agreement and implement the 
        agreement in a productive and successful manner; and
            (3) focus on rebuilding a peaceful, secure, and prosperous 
        future for Sri Lanka.
                                 <all>
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