"This is a time. The President will have tremendous opportunity now, President Rajapaksa, if he is willing to do that, if he grasps the depth of Tamil grievances and the radical changes that will be ne..."
"He has said all along that this is a fight to, as he puts it, liberate the Tamils from the LTTE."
"In other words, it is well and good to call upon the governments to do the right thing, but there does not seem to have been the creativity within the government."
"Permit international monitoring of the screening procedures to prevent arbitrary arrests and 'disappearances' of the detained individuals."
"If it could do that, which it can with the right political will, that would be a tremendous example for the region and for the world that terrorism is not the answer to a political issue."
"Just out of curiosity, which countries would want to block consideration by Security Council?"
"I am just curious, given the politics, one of the major parties has a Marxist element that is substantial, although maybe not dominant."
"It would give them a greater say in their own lives and how they are governed."
"as Senator Lugar said, the leverage to work things."
"For the last 26 years, essentially, there has been an attempt by the Government of Sri Lanka to bring about unity in the country."
"The United States has repeatedly asserted that a lasting, sustainable peace can best be achieved if the Sri Lankan Government works now to reach a political solution that addresses the aspirations of ..."
"If the donors--the International Community--came together to insist that this money will flow only under certain conditions, then there might be an opportunity."
"But not really an overall planning strategy for the future of the country."
"The same can be said of the LTTE, if and when it renounces violence and becomes a legitimate political party."
"The immediate creation of humanitarian corridors to allow civilians trapped by the fighting to travel to areas away from the fighting."
"But also expressed concern about the erosion of the rule of law and democracy in Sri Lanka."
"So the strategy you would employ would be for our Government to move through our Ambassador to the United Nations to bring this issue before the Security Council?"
"But I think that most Sri Lankans want to live in peace in a land where they can pursue their lives without harassment or without problems."
