Sri Lanka bolsters press freedom, seeks to heal civil war wounds, foreign minister says

Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, said that the country's new government has bolstered press freedom and aims to strengthen democratic institutions, foster economic development and heal wounds remaining from the civil war that ended five years ago.

Samaraweera spoke Feb. 12 at the National Press Club at an event organized by the Club's International Correspondents Committee, after meeting with Secretary of State John Kerry earlier in the day.

"Within hours" of taking over in January, the new government addressed press freedom by unblocking previously shuttered websites, Samaraweera said.

In addition, the requirement that journalists be referred to the Ministry of Defense has been waived "so journalists from all over the world are free to come and go," he said. In both the north and south, journalists would be safe now.

Samaraweera reiterated Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena's statement that "the biggest challenge today is to unite the hearts of the people of the south [the majority Buddhist Sinhalese area] and of the north [the minority Hindu Tamil area]."

Sri Lanka will look into allegations of human rights violations during the war between the two sections of the country, Samaraweera said.

"We are not in denial," he added.

The country will establish a credible internal mechanism to investigate the allegations, he said. Sri Lanka will consult with South Africa as it develops its own internal process.

He pointed to the replacement of military governors by civilians in provinces in in which Tamils are concentrated as a significant step the new government has already made toward reconciliation.

Samaraweera tied economic development to development of democratic institutions. An environment conducive to foreign direct investment requires following the rule of law and practicing democratic fundamentals, he said.

The new government aims to remove the military from its current involvement in all parts of the economy, including even restaurants and tourist hotels, Samaraweera said.

The military, which he described as generally disciplined and efficient despite some "miscreants," could play an important role in international peace keeping.

All development projects underway will be reviewed, he said, including those based on loans from the Chinese. He said that Chinese involvement in and of itself is not necessarily a worry.

The United States and Sri Lanka share democratic values, Samaraweera said. The United States is a "stakeholder" in Sri Lanka due to the fact that it is the largest foreign market for Sri Lanka and that 70 U.S. companies have operations in the country.

He said his response to Kerry's question about what the United States could do to help Sri Lanka was, "We want your friendship and support more than anything else."