U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing on issues related to Sri Lanka, Excerpts only:
QUESTION: In a couple of days, the Sri Lankan Government said it will completely eliminate the Tamil Tigers in a matter of days. The Tamils in the U.S. are freaking out and asking Hillary Clinton to call for a ceasefire. What do you say?
MR. WOOD: Well, look, with regard to Sri Lanka, one of our primary concerns is the humanitarian situation. We’re worried about IDPs, what happens to them, we are worried about civilians that are caught up in the hostilities that are going on. And we want to see both governments talk about a way to end the hostility – excuse me, the government and the LTTE discuss ways to end the hostilities.
QUESTION: So you want a negotiated solution. You don’t think that this should end militarily?
MR. WOOD: Well, look, eventually you need to have a 
political framework that deals with some of the questions that are being put forth by various parties in the country. We just want to see, again, an end to hostilities. We want to see civilians protected – you know, as protected as best they can be protected in this conflict. And we want to be able to deal effectively with the humanitarian situation that we’re very concerned about.
QUESTION: Well, when you say you want to see an end to the hostilities, does that mean you’re calling for a ceasefire?
MR. WOOD: I’m saying we want to see an end to the hostilities.
QUESTION: But how do you get into a negotiated solution, though, if one side wins a total military victory?
MR. WOOD: Well, look, again, we’re getting ahead of the game here. What we’re trying to do with this, as I said first off, is to deal with the concerns we have about IDPs and the humanitarian situation. That’s our foremost objective, to deal with those issues.
But we obviously want to see an end to that conflict, and for that to happen, there has to be a discussion of the issues that are – you know, that are coming between the two sides.
QUESTION: Are you guys just communicating through the ambassador, or is there any, you know – you know (inaudible)?
MR. WOOD: Our ambassador is very much involved, also our South Central Asia Bureau, in trying to deal with this conflict. There are other parties in the international community that are engaged in trying to do this.
vQUESTION: Is the Sri Lankan Government listening to your concerns about --
MR. WOOD: We make our concerns known to the Sri Lankan Government and to others. We hope that they will listen to us, but it’s not just the United States here we’re talking about. We’re talking about others in the international community that are interested in seeing this conflict ended.
QUESTION: Have they been responsive to what you’ve been saying?
MR. WOOD: Well, I think we have to see how things go in terms of how this conflict either continues or discontinues. I can’t give you a better assessment than that at this point.
QUESTION: It seems like you’re leaving open the possibility of a military victory and then some discussions about how to go forward from there. You’re not mentioning --
MR. WOOD: I’m not leaving open any possibilities of anything. I’m just stating to you what our policy is.
QUESTION: You’re not calling for a ceasefire. You’re saying --
MR. WOOD: We want to see an end to hostilities.
QUESTION: Would the U.S. offer to negotiate between the LTTE and the government – Sri Lankan Government?
MR. WOOD: As far as I know, we have not been asked to do that. This is something – there is a process that has been put forward to try to help end this conflict. We will do what we can to support efforts to end the conflict. But in the end, the two sides have got to, as I said, discuss ways of ending this conflict and bring a cessation to hostilities.
QUESTION: What process are you talking about? I’m sorry.
MR. WOOD: There are – there is a process underway within the international community to try to resolve this crisis, and we will do what we can, as the United States, to try to bring about an end to the hostilities, but also to try to deal with the question of IDPs and the humanitarian situation on the ground, and those are the things that we are trying very much to deal with.
[end of quote on sri lanka]
Published: Feb 24, 2009 3:42:07 GMT