Dick Lugar

For the last 26 years, essentially, there has been an attempt by the Government of Sri Lanka to bring about unity in the country.

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?

Permit international monitoring of the screening procedures to prevent arbitrary arrests and 'disappearances' of the detained individuals.

Just out of curiosity, which countries would want to block consideration by Security Council?

The same can be said of the LTTE, if and when it renounces violence and becomes a legitimate political party.

It would give them a greater say in their own lives and how they are governed.

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.

He has said all along that this is a fight to, as he puts it, liberate the Tamils from the LTTE.

But not really an overall planning strategy for the future of the country.

I am just curious, given the politics, one of the major parties has a Marxist element that is substantial, although maybe not dominant.

The Sri Lanka Government will one day want the respect and support of the United States.

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.

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 needed.

Allowing humanitarian agencies to . . . reach all civilians in need.

The immediate creation of humanitarian corridors to allow civilians trapped by the fighting to travel to areas away from the fighting.

Press freedoms are an essential element of democracy.

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.

International participation, in this case, through the World Bank, for example?

I think the President is not a racist. I think he would like to do the right thing.

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.

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 all Sri Lankans, including Sinhalese…

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for this opportunity to join my friend and colleague, Evan Bayh from Indiana, in introducing Judge David Hamilton.

I am proud to present David Hamilton as a nominee for the Seventh Circuit.

Senator Bayh and I are proud that President Obama's first judicial nominee is from our State of Indiana.

They were able to compare notes on legislative jurisdiction, schedules, campaigning, and staffing with Senator Lugar.