IV
104TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. RES. 181
Encouraging the peace process in Sri Lanka.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JUNE 29, 1995
Mr. HAMILTON (for himself, Mr. BEREUTER, and Mr. BERMAN) submitted the
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Inter-
national Relations
RESOLUTION
Encouraging the peace process in Sri Lanka.
Whereas the United States has enjoyed a long and cordial
friendship with Sri Lanka;
Whereas as one manifestation of the warm ties between the
United States and Sri Lanka, the First Lady of the
United States visited Sri Lanka in April 1995;
Whereas Sri Lanka is a vibrant democracy whose government
is committed to political pluralism, free market econom-
ics, and a respect for human rights;
Whereas the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (‘‘LTTE’’)
have waged a protracted secessionist struggle in Sri
Lanka for nearly 12 years;
Whereas an estimated 30,000 people have died in Sri Lanka
as a result of these hostilities;
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Whereas the Department of State’s report on global terror-
ism names the LTTE as a major terrorist organization;
Whereas the LTTE is widely believed to have engaged in po-
litical assassinations, including the murder in 1994 of a
leading candidate for the Sri Lankan presidency, and the
killing in 1993 of President Ranasinghe Premadasa;
Whereas the government of President Kumaratunga initiated
a dialogue with the LTTE in 1994, and took a number
of other steps to ease tensions and set the stage for nego-
tiations between the government and the LTTE, includ-
ing lifting the ban on the transit of many commodities
to Jaffna;
Whereas a cessation of hostilities in Sri Lanka went into ef-
fect on January 8, 1995;
Whereas 4 rounds of peace talks between the government and
the LTTE took place; and
Whereas in April 1995, the LTTE withdrew from these nego-
tiations and resumed military operations against the Gov-
ernment of Sri Lanka that have resulted in hundreds of
casualties, including many innocent civilians: Now, there-
fore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives—
(1) notes with great satisfaction the warm and
friendly relations that exist between the United
States and Sri Lanka;
(2) applauds the commitment to democracy
demonstrated by the Sri Lankan people, in defiance
of brutal acts of wanton terrorism;
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(3) commends the Sri Lankan people and the
Government of Sri Lanka for the significant im-
provements in Sri Lanka in the area of human
rights;
(4) applauds the cessation of hostilities in early
1995 between the Government of Sri Lanka and the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (‘‘LTTE’’) and
deplores the resumption of fighting;
(5) calls on the LTTE to desist in its resort to
arms, and to return to the negotiating table;
(6) calls on all parties to negotiate in good faith
with a view to ending the current armed strife in Sri
Lanka and to finding a just and lasting political set-
tlement to Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict while assuring
the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka;
(7) believes that a political solution, including
appropriate constitutional structures and adequate
protection of minority rights, is the path to a com-
prehensive and lasting peace in Sri Lanka;
(8) denounces all political violence and acts of
terrorism in Sri Lanka, and calls upon those who
espouse such methods to reject these methods and to
embrace dialogue, democratic norms, and the peace-
ful resolution of disputes;
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(9) calls on all parties to respect the human
rights of the Sri Lankan people; and
(10) states its willingness in principle to see the
United States lend its good offices to help resolve
the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka, if so desired by all
parties to the conflict.
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