Replying to the editorial of the Washington Post published 19th February - 'Sri Lanka's Descent', Sri Lanka's US ambassador Jaliya Wickramasuriya, asserted that the newspaper should "support the people of Sri Lanka by giving the government the time and space necessary to achieve this peace."

See here, reply published in full below:

Following Sri Lanka’s 26-year conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), an internationally proscribed terrorist organization, the government had three priorities. Sri Lanka removed the threat of land mines laid by the LTTE and resettled 300,000 internally displaced people and is in the process of fostering national reconciliation. I am sure that Sri Lankans and The Post’s editorial board are in agreement over the need for lasting peace. That is why the the government of Sri Lanka established a national action plan to implement recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission.

The long conflict that took place in Sri Lanka was complex, and it is imperative that a more holistic and truthful account emerge for justice to prevail. The government of Sri Lanka remains steadfast in its commitment to reconciliation, redevelopment and the pursuit of peace, as evidenced by Sri Lanka’s progress in the past three years. The Post should support the people of Sri Lanka by giving the government the time and space necessary to achieve this peace.

Jaliya Wickramasuriya, Washington

The writer is Sri Lanka’s ambassador to the United States.

See our editorial: More time and space is more of the same