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Sri Lanka

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Overview

Formerly known as Ceylon, Sri Lanka is an island nation in the Indian Ocean, not far from the southeast coast of India. Sri Lanka’s two main ethnic groups, the Sinhala and Tamils, have come to define its politics since the British relinquished control. In 1931, Britain granted Ceylon self-rule, and during World War II, it was a strategic base for Britain against the Japanese. Sri Lanka became independent in 1949, and for the next few decades, it struggled to keep the peace between its ethnic groups. In the 1980s, civil war broke out between government forces and the Tamil Tigers. Efforts to establish peace have failed since that time, and a number of highly placed Indian and Sri Lankan political figures have been assassinated, along with 65,000 other fatalities. A 2004 tsunami added to the destabilization of the government, causing widespread devastation. In 2006, the Red Cross evacuated 150 foreigners from the Jaffna region and tried to get needed supplies to civilians there. Extensive human rights abuses continue, and recent controversies include the wounding of the US ambassador from Tamil mortar fire, the arrest of a Tamil leader in New York, and criticism by US lawmakers of a Sri Lankan law that would make it illegal for someone to convert a Sri Lankan to another religion by force. The conflict between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tigers officially ended in May 2009 when the Tamil Tigers admitted defeat. Since the military defeat of the Tamil Tigers, international groups have voiced fears of the beginning of guerrilla warfare government abuses continue and if the concerns of the Tamils are not addressed.

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Basic Information

Lay of the Land: Formerly Ceylon, Sri Lanka is a leaf-shaped island in the Indian Ocean, not far from the southeastern coast of India. The Palk Strait, which separates the two countries, is less than 20 miles wide at its narrowest. A low-lying plain covers the northern half of the island and follows the southern coast, while mountains reaching more than 8,000 feet rise in the south central region. The coastline itself contains many coconut-fringed lagoons. Though located in the monsoon belt of Asia, Sri Lanka has two distinct climatic zones. The southwest, where most of the population is located, receives 200 inches of annual rainfall, while the “dry zone,” covering the rest of the island, averages only about 50- inches a year.

 
Population: 20.1 million (2008)
 
Religions: Buddhist 69.0%, Hindu 11.3%, Sunni Muslim 8.9%, Christian (predominantly Catholic) 8.6%, Baha’i 0.1%, non-religious 2.3%.
 
Ethnic Groups: Sinhalese 73.8%, Sri Lankan Moors 7.2%, Indian Tamil 4.6%, Sri Lankan Tamil 3.9%, other 10.5%.
 
Languages: Sinhala (official) 66.3%, Tamil (official) 15.1%, English 0.4%, Sri Lankan Creole Malay 0.3%, Indo-Portuguese 0.02%, Veddah 0.001%.
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History

Sri Lanka was originally settled by the Balangoda people during the 6th century BC. They were hunters/gatherers, and later developed a sustainable agricultural system on the Horton Plains using sophisticated irrigation. Three hundred years later, they brought Buddhism with them, influencing the culture of Sri Lanka for centuries to come. Today, more than 70% of Sri Lanka’s population identifies as Buddhist.

 
The Vedda people are the descendants of the Balangoda, and intermarried with Indo-Aryan people that had emigrated from India. This civilization lasted from 200 BC until 1200 AD, despite repeated invasions from southern India.
 
The Dameda, or Tamil, are mentioned in early Buddhist literature, and came from India. The Tamil were Hindu, and practiced trading. Kambojas comprised the third ethnic group, practicing Islam and trading throughout the Persian Gulf.
 
Roman sailors called the island Taprobane, and the Arabs referred to it as Serendip. In 1505, Portuguese traders in search of cinnamon and other spices invaded Sri Lanka’s coastal areas, and began to spread Catholicism.
 
In 1618, the Dutch captured the island from the Portuguese, only to be supplanted by the British in 1796. However, Dutch law continues to influence Sri Lankan courts to this day. In 1815, the British defeated the king of Kandy, last of the native rulers, and created the Crown Colony of Ceylon. Plantations supported an economy based on tea, rubber and coconuts.
 
In 1931, the British granted Ceylon limited self-rule, after several native groups agitated for independence and greater respect for the local languages and customs. During World War II, Sri Lanka was a British base of operations against the Japanese. On April 5, 1942, the Japanese navy bombed the city of Colombo, sending many Indian merchants fleeing the country. A Marxist element continued its work against the Japanese within the country.
 
Ceylon became independent on February 4, 1948. Senanayake became the first prime minister of Sri Lanka, but he quickly antagonized the Tamils and the Sinhalese by stating conflicting policies with regard to the status of Sinhala and Tamil as the country’s official languages. He also managed to antagonize the Buddhists by attacking monks, who had been his most loyal supporters.
 
Bandaranaike, a politician supporting Sinhala as the nation’s official language, replaced Senanayake upon his death in 1952. He removed British bases in 1957, and Sri Lanka became a country without military alliances. He tried to obtain more rights for the Tamils, but was opposed by the United National Party (UNP), which prompted riots in 1958.
 
Bandaranaike was assassinated in September 1959. His successor, Wijayananda Dahanayake, was unable to hold the government together, and elections in March 1960 brought the UNP under Dudley Senanayake back to office, but without a working parliamentary majority. Bandaranaike’s widow, Sirimavo Bandaranaike, later succeeded him.
 
Sirimavo Bandaranaike’s government attempted to reconcile the country’s differences, but the socialist policies of the Republican Political Party led to the US and other countries cutting off aid, which in turn led to an economic crisis. She nationalized oil companies, which led to a boycott by the oil cartels. In1964, she formed a coalition government with a Trotskyist party, the LSSP.
 
Economic conditions worsened, though, and the sale of the country’s traditional resources could not keep pace with rising costs. Another coalition government, in 1968 brought the United Front together with the LSP and the Communist Party of Sri Lanka.
 
Under Bandaranaike the country became a republic, the Free Sovereign and Independent Republic of Sri Lanka. Under the new government, the Senate was abolished, and Sinhala was established as the country’s official language, with Tamil as the secondary language. During the 1970s, the last ties with Britain were broken, and more businesses were nationalized to prevent disinvestment.
 
In 1971, the People’s Liberation Front, a Marxist group, launched a rebellion and attempted to ethnically cleanse Muslim and Sinhala residents. Tamils were harassed, and the mayor of Jaffna was assassinated in 1975. In 1977, the voters retuned the UNP to power under Junius Jayewardene.
 
By 1978, Jayewardene introduced a new constitution that installed him as president, and he quickly crushed a strike by the trade union movement. He also abandoned state controlled economic policies and opened free trade zones. Subsequent elections, in 1981, were marred by inconsistencies and stolen ballot boxes, as well as widespread vandalism.
 
In 1982, Jayewardene had the constitution amended to allow presidential elections to be held early. These elections, too, were not free and fair. Government officials continued to influence voting practices, as well as the treatment of police and officials. In July 1983, riots broke out as a result of the killing of 13 Sri Lankan soldiers by the Tamil Tigers. Jayewarden stayed in office until 1989, virtually ruling as a dictator.
 
India became more involved in Sri Lanka’s civil conflict, but a convoy from India was stopped by the Sri Lankan Navy. The Indian Air Force then dropped needed supplies onto the Jaffna Peninsula, while Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi offered a peace accord. But his offer to send troops into Sri Lanka was interpreted as a hostile effort. It eventually led to an outbreak of hostilities between the Indian Peacekeeping Force and the Tamil Tigers, which set off a 25-year civil war between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tigers, who were fighting for self-rule.
 
Ranasinghe Premadasa succeeded Jayewardene in 1989, and asked for the Indian troops to be withdrawn. Indian Prime Minister V.P. Singh complied, but both Rajiv Gandhi and Premadasa were assassinated by Tamil Tiger suicide bombers in 1991 and 1993, respectively.
 
Dingiri Banda Wijetunga became president in 1993, with Ranil Wickremasinghe as prime minister. The 1994 elections were won on promises to make concessions to the Tamils and to bring about needed economic changes. Chandrika Kumaratunga became prime minister and later president, and appointed her 78-year old mother as prime minister.
 
A ceasefire, signed shortly thereafter, broke down after a few months. A civil war dragged on, with an estimated 65,000 killed by 2000. Another ceasefire, in 2001, also did not last. In the meantime, trouble between the president and other government officials caused the government to grind to a halt. A 2004 tsunami devastated the region, adding to the problems.
 
Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar was assassinated in 2005, further destabilizing peacekeeping efforts. On November 17, 2005, Mahinda Rajapakse was elected president.
 
The conflict began to escalate in late 2005. In August 2006, the Red Cross evacuated 150 foreigners from the Jaffna region after a month of fighting between the Tamil Tigers and the government. The government launched military offensives in the east and north of the island, eventually capturing the entire area formerly controlled by the Tamil Tigers. The conflict officially ended in May 2009 when the Tamil Tigers admitted defeat. Since the military defeat of the Tamil Tigers, international groups have voiced fears of the beginning of guerrilla warfare government abuses continue and if the concerns of the Tamils are not addressed.
 
A Country Study: Sri Lanka (Library of Congress)
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History of U.S. Relations with Sri Lanka

Since Sri Lanka’s independence in 1948, US assistance has totaled more than $1.6 billion.

 
Through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the US has contributed to Sri Lanka’s economic growth with projects designed to reduce unemployment, improve housing, develop the Colombo Stock Exchange, modernize the judicial system, and improve competitiveness.
 
Since the outbreak of war between separatist Tamils and the government in the 1980’s, hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankans have fled the country. As of 1996, roughly 100,000 had sought refuge in India, and 200,000 in western countries. They have formed communities in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Newark and Miami.
 
The Tamil Tigers were designated as a terrorist group by the United States government in 1997.
 
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Current U.S. Relations with Sri Lanka

The US has established policy toward Sri Lanka to help move the country toward greater unity and encouragement for its economic and social development. As well, the United States is a strong supporter of ethnic reconciliation in Sri Lanka.

 
At the June 2003 Tokyo Donors’ Conference on Sri Lanka, the United States pledged $54 million, including $40.4 million of USAID funding. Following the 2004 tsunami, the United States provided $135 million in relief and reconstruction assistance.
 
In addition, the International Broadcast Bureau (IBB), formerly Voice of America (VOA), operates a radio-transmitting station in Sri Lanka. The US Armed Forces maintain a limited military-to-military relationship with the Sri Lankan defense establishment.
 
In the 2000 US Census, 20,145 people identified themselves as being of Sri Lankan ancestry.
 
In 2006, 20,700 Americans visited Sri Lanka, down 18.1% from the 25,272 tourists in 2005. Since 2005 tourism has grown every year, up from 11,565 in 2002.
 
In 2006, 10,432 Sri Lankans visited the US. The number of tourists has increased every year since 2002, when 6,613 Sri Lankans came to America.
 
In 2007, the US drastically reduced aid to Sri Lanka because of “human rights concerns.” Many other international donors followed the US' example as a means of pressuring the government. During the final stages of the conflict between the Tamil Tigers and the government, the US withheld military training for Sri Lankan personnel, citing the government's gross human rights violations.
 
Relations were further strained during the January 2010 Sri Lankan election ,during which the US was accused of supporting the opposition candidacy of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. In March, the Department of State's US Human Rights Report regarding human rights in Sri Lanka in 2009 was released, insinuating President Rajapaksa and his brother's culpability in human rights abuses in the country, noting that the government was dominated by the Rajapaksa family.
 
Notable Sri Lankan Americans
Mary Anne Mohanraj is the author of the novel Bodies in Motion and the co-founder of Clean Sheets and Strange Horizons magazines. She was born in Sri Lanka but moved to the US when she was 2 years old.
 
V.V. Ganeshananthan is the author of Love Marriage, which was named one of the Washington Post's Book World's Best of 2008. She was born in Sri Lanka.
 
Dilan Jayasingha, better known as DeLon, was the first Sri Lankan artist to place on the US Billboard charts with his 2005 single “Calor de la Salsa.” He had another hit with his 2007 single “Nasty Girl.” His parents are Sri Lankan immigrants.
 
Raj Rajaratnam is the richest Sri Lankan-born person in the world. He founded the New York-based hedge fund management firm Galleon Group. He was born in Sri Lanka and moved to the US to attend business school. (See also: New Charges in Largest Hedge Fund Insider Trading Case in History.)
 
Sri Lanka (USAID)
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (aka Tamil Tigers) (Sri Lanka, separatists) (by Preeti Bhattacharji, Council on Foreign Relations)
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Where Does the Money Flow

Trade between the US and Sri Lanka is dominated by the importation of apparel and household goods, which represents the only billion-dollar commodity exchanged between the two countries. From 2003 to 2007, US imports of cotton clothing rose from $733 million to $1 billion. However, they dropped down to $809 million in 2009 following the worldwide recession.

 
The total value of American imports from Sri Lanka was $1.6 billion in 2009. Nearly all imports from Sri Lanka to the US were in decline in 2009. Other top imports included boxes, belting, glass, and abrasives, falling from $85.8 million to $68.6 million; tea, spices and preparation, decreasing from $31.4 million to $25.8 million, non-farm tractors and parts, dropping from $40.5 million to $30.0 million, apparel and household goods-other textiles, declining from $395.3 million to $352.3 million, and sporting and camping apparel, footwear and gear, decreasing from $71.2 million to $63.4 million.
 
The top American export to Sri Lanka was wheat, which increased from $26.3 to $36.4 million in 2009. The total value of American exports to Sri Lanka in 2009 was $229.5 million.
 
Other major exports on the rise included civilian aircraft, engines, equipment and parts, expanding from $46.2 million to $51.7 million, and vegetables, increasing from $3.9 million to $12.8 million.
 
In 2009, US exports on the decline include telecommunications equipment, decreasing from $10.4 million to $3.4 million, rice, falling from $10.9 million to $2.0 million, manmade cloth, dropping from $11.3 million to $6.0 million, and electric apparatus, declining from $7.2 million to $4.4 million.
 
The budget request for 2011 Foreign Assistance Program totals $21.9 million with most of the money, $18 million, going to Development Assistance. USAID will begin a land reform program, since land issues were one of the primary drivers of conflict. “USAID programs for conflict mitigation, peace and reconciliation processes will support nascent civil society organizations in the north working to rebuild the fabric of regional government and civil society in former conflict areas, These organization will play a critical role in promoting reconciliation between communities by reintegrating the civic infrastructure of conflict-affected areas with the rest of the country. … Conflict mitigation and Reconciliation programs will provide technical assistance, training and program support.” Other development programs are focused on economic growth, agricultural projects, increasing private sector competitiveness, Good Governance programs and Human Rights programs.
 
The US Department of Defense and USAID aims to help the government of Sri Lanka achieve stabilization and prevent terrorists from using the country as a safe haven. Through the Department of State's Export Control and Related Border Security program, the US aims to help prevent the spread of WMDs and transfers of advanced conventional weapons by training Sri Lankan interagency personnel on the Tracker Automated Licensing system and providing basic inspection-detection equipment. 
 
Foreign Military Financing aims to train and equip the Sri Lankan army to increase its demining capability and help it transition from combat operation and internal security to eventual increased participation in peacekeeping and coalition operations. 
 
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Controversies

R&B Star Akon's Music Video Sparks Uproar

Akon's music video for “Sexy Chick” sparked protests in Sri Lanka, where the singer was scheduled to perform in April 2010. The video had a scene featuring scantily clad women dancing at a pool party in front of an iconic Buddha statue, which residents felt defamed Buddhism. Infuriated, residents of Colombo gathered outside the headquarters of Maharaja Corporation, a broadcaster sponsoring Akon's show, and hurled rocks at the building, injuring employees. The Sri Lankan government banned the singer from performing in the country by denying his visa and the show was postponed. Akon apologized for the use of the Buddha statue, claiming he was unaware of the statue's presence and never intended to “offend or desecrate” any religious beliefs.
 
US Lawmakers Criticize Sri Lankan Anti-Conversion Bill
In February 2008, a group of 15 US lawmakers asked Sri Lanka to stop its anti-conversion legislation. The proposed bill, called “Prohibition of Forcible Conversions,” calls for a fine of 500,000 rupees and up to seven years in prison for trying to convert a Sri Lankan citizen to another religion using force or fraud. However, the UN has been critical of the bill, saying that existing laws would deal with any such conversions. Many worry that the destabilized political situation in the country would allow corrupt politicians to abuse the law to settle personal disputes. The proposed legislation would also criminalize charitable acts, humanitarian aid, and peaceful religious dialogues. However, the bill was never submitted to Congress for approval.
 
Tamil Leader Arrested in New York City
In April 2007, a top leader of the Tamil Tigers was arrested in New York City on charges of providing material support to a terrorist organization. Karunakaran Kandasamy was arrested to stop the flow of support to the Tigers, who have operated in Sri Lanka as well as the United States. US Officials said that emissaries from the group conspired to buy surface-to-air missiles in Brooklyn, and tried to get US officials to remove the group from the terrorism list.
 
US Ambassador Hurt in Sectarian Violence
In February 2007, the US and Italian ambassadors to Sri Lanka were slightly injured when their helicopters were shot at with mortars. The Tamil Tigers were the suspected aggressors. Robert Blake and Pio Mariani both required medical care, and were taken to an area hospital. The US has designated the Tamil Tigers as a terrorist group, in 1997, and the European Union made the same designation, in 2006.
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Human Rights

According to the State Department, “the government's respect for human rights declined as armed conflict reached its conclusion. Outside of the conflict zone, the overwhelming majority of victims of human rights violations, such as extrajudicial killings and disappearances, were young male Tamils. In May 2010, Human Rights Watch declared the need for an independent international investigation into human rights violations committed by the Sri Lankan government after new photographic evidence was examined. Within the 200 photos are a series documenting what seems to be the execution of a captured LTTE by military forces. HRW claims the commissions created by the government are inadequate, or have failed to take significant investigative steps into the alleged abuses.

 
The State Department notes that “Credible reports cited unlawful killings by paramilitaries and others believed to be working with the awareness and assistance of the government, assassinations by unknown perpetrators, politically motivated killings, and disappearances. The government was credibly accused of arbitrary arrests and detentions, poor prison conditions, denial of fair public trial, government corruption and lack of transparency, infringement of freedom of movement, harassment of journalists and lawyers critical of the government, and discrimination against minorities. Human rights observers alleged that pro-government paramilitary groups and security forces participated in armed attacks against civilians and practiced torture, kidnapping, hostage-taking, and extortion with impunity.” 
 
Human rights groups maintained that while torture is prohibited under specific circumstances, it was allowed under others. Methods of torture and abuse reportedly included beatings, often with sticks, iron bars or hose; electric shock; suspending individuals by the wrists or feet in contorted positions; burning with metal objects and cigarettes; genital abuse; blows to the ears; asphyxiation with plastic bags containing chili pepper or gasoline; and near-drowning.
 
“In cases when security force personnel were alleged to have committed human rights abuses, the government generally did not seek to identify those responsible or bring them to justice. Case law generally failed to uphold the doctrine of command responsibility for human rights abuses.” 
 
Prison conditions did not meet international standards due to acute overcrowding and lack of sanitary facilities. However, some rights groups alleged that isolated incidents of degrading treatment, including overcrowding, maltreatment, or abuse of female prisoners occurred.
 
The law prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention, but such incidents occurred in practice. Under the relaxed arrest and detention standards imposed by the emergency regulations, the law is unclear as to what constitutes an arbitrary arrest. The government refused to release statistics on the number of arrests made during the year.
 
The law provides for the right to privacy. The government did not respect these rights in practice, particularly when conducting search operations in Tamil neighborhoods. The emergency regulations allowed security forces to conduct searches of property, engage in wiretapping and surveillance of private citizens with little judicial oversight. Additionally, the government limited the ability of IDPs to communicate with persons outside of the IDP camps. When it controlled territory, the LTTE routinely interfered with the privacy of citizens by maintaining a network of informants.
 
“Government security forces, progovernment paramilitary groups, and the LTTE used excessive force and committed abuses against civilians in 2009. During the SLA offensive against the LTTE, several hundred thousand ethnic Tamil civilians were trapped in LTTE-held land. As the conflict reached its final months, the government declared two no-fire zones, areas into which it would not fire weapons. As the conflict progressed, the LTTE and civilians under its control were confined to an increasingly small area.”
 
During the final five months of conflict, artillery shelling, mortar fire, and aerial bombing reportedly killed many civilians . Only the Sri Lankan Air Force used aerial bombs; however, it was difficult to attribute artillery and mortar fire to one side or the other. There were frequent reports of the LTTE positioning artillery and mortar positions close to and among civilian encampments, hospitals, and churches, drawing return fire from the government. Some reports estimated that fighting in the last week of the conflict may have killed 1,000 civilians per day.
 
“Government and other observers reported numerous occasions when the LTTE fired on civilians who attempted to flee, reportedly killing and wounding many individuals. Trapped Tamil civilians reported being afraid to cross over to the government side for fear of being subjected to killings, disappearances, and abuse by the SLA.”
 
“Pro-government paramilitary groups allegedly were used to identify, abduct, and kill suspected LTTE sympathizers or operatives immediately after the conflict and in the IDP camps.”
 
From January to May the LTTE dramatically increased its forced recruitment of child soldiers, but at the year's end, the children were undergoing rehabilitation in accordance with international standards.
 
The Karuna group, the Pillaiyan group, and the EPDP reportedly ran extortion rings. Both groups killed civilians, in many cases following abductions. According to numerous, credible reports, the government provided protection, intelligence, and military aid to Karuna, Pillaiyan, and EPDP cadres who committed extrajudicial killings, abductions, extortion, and torture.
 
Media freedom is provided for by law, but not always supported in practice. The government owns the largest newspapers and TV stations. Foreign media outlets were allowed to operate, but journalists would have their visas revoked if they reported on a sensitive topic in a manner that the government disliked. Media freedom deteriorated in the Colombo area as well as the conflict zones. Most journalists practiced self-censorship or were subject to pressure or accusations of treason from senior government officials.
 
“The law grants every citizen “freedom of movement and of choosing his residence” and “freedom to return to the country.” However, the government severely restricted this right on multiple occasions.
The government required Tamils, especially those living in Jaffna, to obtain special passes issued by security forces to move around the country. Citizens of Jaffna were required to obtain permission from the army’s Civil Affairs unit, or in some cases from the EPDP, in order to leave Jaffna. According to several sources, the waiting list was over five months long. Curfews imposed by the army also restricted the movement of Jaffna’s citizens. Security forces at Army checkpoints in Colombo frequently harassed Tamils.”
 
According to the World Bank’s Worldwide Governance Indicators, government corruption was a serious problem. There was corruption in all three branches of government, as well as various bureaucratic agencies. Transparency International (TI) identified nepotism and cronyism in the appointment of officials to government and state‑owned institutions.
 
“The law prohibits domestic violence, but it was not strictly enforced. Sexual assault, rape, and spousal abuse continued to be serious and pervasive problems.”
 
Prostitution was prevalent, and trafficking in women for the purpose of prostitution or forced labor occurred.
 
Commercial sexual exploitation of children in the coastal resort areas remained a problem.
 
“The country was a point of origin and destination for trafficked persons, primarily women and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation. “
 
“Both Sri Lankan and Indian origin Tamils maintained that they suffered longstanding systematic discrimination in university education, government employment, and in other matters controlled by the government. Tamils also experienced discrimination in housing.”
 
“Tamils throughout the country, but especially in the conflict-affected north and east, reported frequent harassment of young and middle aged Tamil men by security forces and paramilitary groups.”
 
The law criminalizes homosexual activity but was not enforced. Human rights organizations reported that police harassed, extorted money or sexual favors from, and assaulted gay men in Colombo and other areas.
 
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Debate
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Past Ambassadors

Felix Cole
Appointment: Apr 8, 1948
Presentation of Credentials: Aug 3, 1949
Termination of Mission: Left post Oct 30, 1949
Note: Commissioned to Ceylon.

 
Joseph C. Satterthwaite
Appointment: Sep 22, 1949
Presentation of Credentials: Nov 19, 1949
Termination of Mission: Left post Jul 25, 1953
Note: Commissioned to Ceylon.
 
Philip K. Crowe
Appointment: Jul 6, 1953
Presentation of Credentials: Sep 19, 1953
Termination of Mission: Left post Sep 27, 1956
Note: Commissioned to Ceylon.
 
Maxwell H. Gluck
Appointment: Jul 3, 1957
Presentation of Credentials: Sep 19, 1957
Termination of Mission: Left post Oct 2, 1958
Note: Commissioned to Ceylon.
 
Lampton Berry
Appointment: Oct 10, 1958
Presentation of Credentials: Nov 22, 1958
Termination of Mission: Left post Jun 3, 1959
Note: Commissioned to Ceylon. Commissioned during a recess of the Senate; recommissioned after confirmation on Jan 29, 1959.
 
Bernard Gufler
Appointment: Jul 6, 1959
Presentation of Credentials: Aug 24, 1959
Termination of Mission: Left post Mar 1, 1961
Note: Commissioned to Ceylon.
 
Frances E. Willis
Appointment: Mar 15, 1961
Presentation of Credentials: May 11, 1961
Termination of Mission: Left post Sep 20, 1964
Note: Commissioned to Ceylon.
 
Cecil B. Lyon
Appointment: Jul 31, 1964
Presentation of Credentials: Oct 30, 1964
Termination of Mission: Left post Jun 17, 1967
Note: Commissioned to Ceylon; also accredited to Maldives; resident at Colombo.
 
Andrew V. Corry
Appointment: May 24, 1967
Presentation of Credentials: Jul 19, 1967
Termination of Mission: Left post Mar 21, 1970
Note: Commissioned to Ceylon; also accredited to Maldives; resident at Colombo.
 
Robert Strausz-Hupe
Appointment: Feb 16, 1970
Presentation of Credentials: May 3, 1970
Termination of Mission: Left post Dec 12, 1971
Note: Commissioned to Ceylon; also accredited to Maldives; resident at Colombo.
 
Christopher Van Hollen
Appointment: Sep 21, 1972
Presentation of Credentials: Oct 27, 1972
Termination of Mission: Left post Apr 21, 1976
Note: Also accredited to Maldives; resident at Colombo.
 
John H. Reed
Appointment: Jun 1, 1976
Presentation of Credentials: Jul 2, 1976
Termination of Mission: Left post Jun 1, 1977
Note: Also accredited to Maldives; resident at Colombo.
 
W. Howard Wriggins
Appointment: Jul 14, 1977
Presentation of Credentials: Aug 18, 1977
Termination of Mission: Left post Dec 13, 1979
Note: Also accredited to Maldives; resident at Colombo.
 
Donald R. Toussaint
Appointment: Nov 27, 1979
Presentation of Credentials: Jan 21, 1980
Termination of Mission: Left post Jan 17, 1982
Note: Also accredited to Maldives; resident at Colombo.
 
John Hathaway Reed
Appointment: Dec 11, 1981
Presentation of Credentials: Feb 8, 1982
Termination of Mission: Left post Sep 3, 1985
Note: Also accredited to Maldives; resident at Colombo.
 
James W. Spain
Appointment: Nov 6, 1985
Presentation of Credentials: Nov 21, 1985
Termination of Mission: Left post Jun 16, 1989
Note: Also accredited to Maldives; resident at Colombo.
 
Marion V. Creekmore, Jr.
Appointment: Oct 10, 1989
Presentation of Credentials: Nov 29, 1989
Termination of Mission: Left post Aug 27, 1992
Note: Also accredited to Maldives; resident at Colombo.
 
Teresita Currie Schaffer
Appointment: May 26, 1992
Presentation of Credentials: Oct 7, 1992
Termination of Mission: Left post Aug 15, 1995
Note: Also accredited to Maldives; resident at Colombo.
 
A. Peter Burleigh
Appointment: Dec 19, 1995
Presentation of Credentials: Jan 19, 1996
Termination of Mission: Left post Aug 1, 1997
Note: Also accredited to Maldives; resident at Colombo.
 
Shaun Edward Donnelly
Appointment: Nov 10, 1997
Presentation of Credentials: Dec 19, 1997
Termination of Mission: Left post Aug 16, 2000
Note: Also accredited to Maldives; resident at Colombo.
 
E. Ashley Wills
Appointment: Sep 15, 2000
Presentation of Credentials: Nov 13, 2000
Termination of Mission: Left post Jun 17, 2003
Note: Also accredited to Maldives; resident at Colombo.
 
Jeffrey Lunstead
Appointment: May 27, 2003
Presentation of Credentials: Sep 26, 2003
Termination of Mission: 2006
Note: Also accredited to Maldives; resident in Colombo.
 
Robert O. Blake
Appointment: June 29, 2006
Presentation of Credentials: September 9, 2006
Termination of Mission: Early 2009
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Sri Lanka's Ambassador to the U.S.
ambassador-image Kariyawasam, Prasad

 

On June 23, 2014, Prasad Kariyawasam, a longtime member of his country’s Foreign Service, took over as Sri Lanka’s ambassador to the United States.

 

Kariyawasam was born March 21, 1954, in Galle, near the southern tip of Sri Lanka, to educators Pragnadasa and Anula Kariyawasam. He was a Boy Scout and a cricket player; one of the best of his age group in the country, in fact. He was captain of the Richmond College Galle team in 1972 when, in a match against Mahinda College, Kariyawasam scored an unbeaten 156 runs. He then attended the University of Peradeniya, where he also played cricket and graduated in 1978 with a B.S. in mathematics.

 

Kariyawasam joined the Sri Lankan Foreign Service in 1981. His early postings included Geneva, Switzerland, from 1983 to 1987; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from 1989 to 1992; and as a minister in the Washington embassy beginning in 1995. In 1998, Kariyawasam was moved to the Department of the High Commissioner in New Delhi, India.

 

He returned to Geneva as Sri Lanka’s permanent representative to the United Nations mission there, also serving as consul general to Switzerland, ambassador to the Holy See (Vatican City) and representative to the G-15. He returned home to serve as director general of the Economic Affairs Division and as an additional secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. With the UN, he served on committees dealing with human rights, racism, migration issues, disarmament and terrorism.

 

Kariyawasam moved to New York in 2005 as permanent representative to the UN, also serving as high commissioner to Jamaica and the Bahamas, as well as ambassador to Chile and Colombia. In his work at the UN, Kariyawasam fought the proliferation of small arms from Western nations, drawing criticism from the National Rifle Association for his efforts.

 

A 2005 State Department cable, released by WikiLeaks, praised Kariyawasam enthusiastically, including his “professionalism, good judgment and familiarity with the U.S.” 

 

According to the cable, “His appreciation of the ‘bigger picture’ issues related to US-Sri Lankan relations has been especially beneficial during our recent bilateral MCA discussions. For example, despite his personal reservations about certain MCA [Millennium Challenge Account] requirements, he nonetheless recognized the importance of securing a compact to our overall relations, contributing to the process by pushing a draft proposal through the labyrinthine Sri Lankan bureaucracy and advocating for an improved consultative process.”

 

Kariyawasam also served in Colombo as director of the Foreign Ministry’s South Asia Division and was the official spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

 

In 2009, Kariyawasam was made high commissioner to India, as well as ambassador to Afghanistan and Bhutan. While in New Delhi, Kariyawasam created a controversy when he urged that some Indian Members of Parliament be investigated for ties to the Tamil Tigers, the rebel group that fought a civil war in Sri Lanka for more than 25 years.

 

Kariyawasam’s wife, Kanthi, whom he married in 1981, is a biomedical researcher at Georgetown University. They have two grown children: a daughter, Mayooka, who graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in computer science and a son, Pramodh. Kariyawasam speaks English and Sinhala.

-Steve Straehley

 

To Learn More:

Official Biography

Wikipedia Profile

State Department Comments (WikiLeaks)

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Sri Lanka's Embassy Web Site in the U.S.
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US-flag nation-flag U.S. Embassy web site

U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka

Sison, Michele
ambassador-image

A native of Virginia, Michele J. Sison is the first Filipino-American ambassador from the United States. Her mother is Veronica Sison and her father, Pablo B. Sison was originally from Pangasinan, a province in the Philippines. She was confirmed by the US Senate on August 1, 2008 as the United States Ambassador to Lebanon. She arrived in Beirut on February 5, 2008 as Chargé d’Affaires. She served as ambassador until August 7, 2010.

 
Sison earned her BA in political science from Wellesley College and also attended the London School of Economics.
 
A career member of the Senior Foreign Service (Class of Minister-Counselor), Sison has served in Washington, Port-au-Prince, Haiti (1982-1984), Lome, Togo (1984-1988), Cotonou, Benin (1988-1991), Douala, Cameroon (1991-1993), and Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire (1993-1996). She served as consul general at the US Consulate General in Chennai, India (1996-1999) and as Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d’Affaires at the US Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan (1999-2002).
 
Sison served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of South Asian Affairs before being appointed ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, where she served from August 2004 through January 2008.
 
Sison has two daughters, Alexandra Katherine Knight and Jessica Elizabeth Knight, both in college. She is separated from her husband, Jeffrey Jones Hawkins.

 

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Overview

Formerly known as Ceylon, Sri Lanka is an island nation in the Indian Ocean, not far from the southeast coast of India. Sri Lanka’s two main ethnic groups, the Sinhala and Tamils, have come to define its politics since the British relinquished control. In 1931, Britain granted Ceylon self-rule, and during World War II, it was a strategic base for Britain against the Japanese. Sri Lanka became independent in 1949, and for the next few decades, it struggled to keep the peace between its ethnic groups. In the 1980s, civil war broke out between government forces and the Tamil Tigers. Efforts to establish peace have failed since that time, and a number of highly placed Indian and Sri Lankan political figures have been assassinated, along with 65,000 other fatalities. A 2004 tsunami added to the destabilization of the government, causing widespread devastation. In 2006, the Red Cross evacuated 150 foreigners from the Jaffna region and tried to get needed supplies to civilians there. Extensive human rights abuses continue, and recent controversies include the wounding of the US ambassador from Tamil mortar fire, the arrest of a Tamil leader in New York, and criticism by US lawmakers of a Sri Lankan law that would make it illegal for someone to convert a Sri Lankan to another religion by force. The conflict between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tigers officially ended in May 2009 when the Tamil Tigers admitted defeat. Since the military defeat of the Tamil Tigers, international groups have voiced fears of the beginning of guerrilla warfare government abuses continue and if the concerns of the Tamils are not addressed.

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Basic Information

Lay of the Land: Formerly Ceylon, Sri Lanka is a leaf-shaped island in the Indian Ocean, not far from the southeastern coast of India. The Palk Strait, which separates the two countries, is less than 20 miles wide at its narrowest. A low-lying plain covers the northern half of the island and follows the southern coast, while mountains reaching more than 8,000 feet rise in the south central region. The coastline itself contains many coconut-fringed lagoons. Though located in the monsoon belt of Asia, Sri Lanka has two distinct climatic zones. The southwest, where most of the population is located, receives 200 inches of annual rainfall, while the “dry zone,” covering the rest of the island, averages only about 50- inches a year.

 
Population: 20.1 million (2008)
 
Religions: Buddhist 69.0%, Hindu 11.3%, Sunni Muslim 8.9%, Christian (predominantly Catholic) 8.6%, Baha’i 0.1%, non-religious 2.3%.
 
Ethnic Groups: Sinhalese 73.8%, Sri Lankan Moors 7.2%, Indian Tamil 4.6%, Sri Lankan Tamil 3.9%, other 10.5%.
 
Languages: Sinhala (official) 66.3%, Tamil (official) 15.1%, English 0.4%, Sri Lankan Creole Malay 0.3%, Indo-Portuguese 0.02%, Veddah 0.001%.
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History

Sri Lanka was originally settled by the Balangoda people during the 6th century BC. They were hunters/gatherers, and later developed a sustainable agricultural system on the Horton Plains using sophisticated irrigation. Three hundred years later, they brought Buddhism with them, influencing the culture of Sri Lanka for centuries to come. Today, more than 70% of Sri Lanka’s population identifies as Buddhist.

 
The Vedda people are the descendants of the Balangoda, and intermarried with Indo-Aryan people that had emigrated from India. This civilization lasted from 200 BC until 1200 AD, despite repeated invasions from southern India.
 
The Dameda, or Tamil, are mentioned in early Buddhist literature, and came from India. The Tamil were Hindu, and practiced trading. Kambojas comprised the third ethnic group, practicing Islam and trading throughout the Persian Gulf.
 
Roman sailors called the island Taprobane, and the Arabs referred to it as Serendip. In 1505, Portuguese traders in search of cinnamon and other spices invaded Sri Lanka’s coastal areas, and began to spread Catholicism.
 
In 1618, the Dutch captured the island from the Portuguese, only to be supplanted by the British in 1796. However, Dutch law continues to influence Sri Lankan courts to this day. In 1815, the British defeated the king of Kandy, last of the native rulers, and created the Crown Colony of Ceylon. Plantations supported an economy based on tea, rubber and coconuts.
 
In 1931, the British granted Ceylon limited self-rule, after several native groups agitated for independence and greater respect for the local languages and customs. During World War II, Sri Lanka was a British base of operations against the Japanese. On April 5, 1942, the Japanese navy bombed the city of Colombo, sending many Indian merchants fleeing the country. A Marxist element continued its work against the Japanese within the country.
 
Ceylon became independent on February 4, 1948. Senanayake became the first prime minister of Sri Lanka, but he quickly antagonized the Tamils and the Sinhalese by stating conflicting policies with regard to the status of Sinhala and Tamil as the country’s official languages. He also managed to antagonize the Buddhists by attacking monks, who had been his most loyal supporters.
 
Bandaranaike, a politician supporting Sinhala as the nation’s official language, replaced Senanayake upon his death in 1952. He removed British bases in 1957, and Sri Lanka became a country without military alliances. He tried to obtain more rights for the Tamils, but was opposed by the United National Party (UNP), which prompted riots in 1958.
 
Bandaranaike was assassinated in September 1959. His successor, Wijayananda Dahanayake, was unable to hold the government together, and elections in March 1960 brought the UNP under Dudley Senanayake back to office, but without a working parliamentary majority. Bandaranaike’s widow, Sirimavo Bandaranaike, later succeeded him.
 
Sirimavo Bandaranaike’s government attempted to reconcile the country’s differences, but the socialist policies of the Republican Political Party led to the US and other countries cutting off aid, which in turn led to an economic crisis. She nationalized oil companies, which led to a boycott by the oil cartels. In1964, she formed a coalition government with a Trotskyist party, the LSSP.
 
Economic conditions worsened, though, and the sale of the country’s traditional resources could not keep pace with rising costs. Another coalition government, in 1968 brought the United Front together with the LSP and the Communist Party of Sri Lanka.
 
Under Bandaranaike the country became a republic, the Free Sovereign and Independent Republic of Sri Lanka. Under the new government, the Senate was abolished, and Sinhala was established as the country’s official language, with Tamil as the secondary language. During the 1970s, the last ties with Britain were broken, and more businesses were nationalized to prevent disinvestment.
 
In 1971, the People’s Liberation Front, a Marxist group, launched a rebellion and attempted to ethnically cleanse Muslim and Sinhala residents. Tamils were harassed, and the mayor of Jaffna was assassinated in 1975. In 1977, the voters retuned the UNP to power under Junius Jayewardene.
 
By 1978, Jayewardene introduced a new constitution that installed him as president, and he quickly crushed a strike by the trade union movement. He also abandoned state controlled economic policies and opened free trade zones. Subsequent elections, in 1981, were marred by inconsistencies and stolen ballot boxes, as well as widespread vandalism.
 
In 1982, Jayewardene had the constitution amended to allow presidential elections to be held early. These elections, too, were not free and fair. Government officials continued to influence voting practices, as well as the treatment of police and officials. In July 1983, riots broke out as a result of the killing of 13 Sri Lankan soldiers by the Tamil Tigers. Jayewarden stayed in office until 1989, virtually ruling as a dictator.
 
India became more involved in Sri Lanka’s civil conflict, but a convoy from India was stopped by the Sri Lankan Navy. The Indian Air Force then dropped needed supplies onto the Jaffna Peninsula, while Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi offered a peace accord. But his offer to send troops into Sri Lanka was interpreted as a hostile effort. It eventually led to an outbreak of hostilities between the Indian Peacekeeping Force and the Tamil Tigers, which set off a 25-year civil war between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tigers, who were fighting for self-rule.
 
Ranasinghe Premadasa succeeded Jayewardene in 1989, and asked for the Indian troops to be withdrawn. Indian Prime Minister V.P. Singh complied, but both Rajiv Gandhi and Premadasa were assassinated by Tamil Tiger suicide bombers in 1991 and 1993, respectively.
 
Dingiri Banda Wijetunga became president in 1993, with Ranil Wickremasinghe as prime minister. The 1994 elections were won on promises to make concessions to the Tamils and to bring about needed economic changes. Chandrika Kumaratunga became prime minister and later president, and appointed her 78-year old mother as prime minister.
 
A ceasefire, signed shortly thereafter, broke down after a few months. A civil war dragged on, with an estimated 65,000 killed by 2000. Another ceasefire, in 2001, also did not last. In the meantime, trouble between the president and other government officials caused the government to grind to a halt. A 2004 tsunami devastated the region, adding to the problems.
 
Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar was assassinated in 2005, further destabilizing peacekeeping efforts. On November 17, 2005, Mahinda Rajapakse was elected president.
 
The conflict began to escalate in late 2005. In August 2006, the Red Cross evacuated 150 foreigners from the Jaffna region after a month of fighting between the Tamil Tigers and the government. The government launched military offensives in the east and north of the island, eventually capturing the entire area formerly controlled by the Tamil Tigers. The conflict officially ended in May 2009 when the Tamil Tigers admitted defeat. Since the military defeat of the Tamil Tigers, international groups have voiced fears of the beginning of guerrilla warfare government abuses continue and if the concerns of the Tamils are not addressed.
 
A Country Study: Sri Lanka (Library of Congress)
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History of U.S. Relations with Sri Lanka

Since Sri Lanka’s independence in 1948, US assistance has totaled more than $1.6 billion.

 
Through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the US has contributed to Sri Lanka’s economic growth with projects designed to reduce unemployment, improve housing, develop the Colombo Stock Exchange, modernize the judicial system, and improve competitiveness.
 
Since the outbreak of war between separatist Tamils and the government in the 1980’s, hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankans have fled the country. As of 1996, roughly 100,000 had sought refuge in India, and 200,000 in western countries. They have formed communities in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Newark and Miami.
 
The Tamil Tigers were designated as a terrorist group by the United States government in 1997.
 
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Current U.S. Relations with Sri Lanka

The US has established policy toward Sri Lanka to help move the country toward greater unity and encouragement for its economic and social development. As well, the United States is a strong supporter of ethnic reconciliation in Sri Lanka.

 
At the June 2003 Tokyo Donors’ Conference on Sri Lanka, the United States pledged $54 million, including $40.4 million of USAID funding. Following the 2004 tsunami, the United States provided $135 million in relief and reconstruction assistance.
 
In addition, the International Broadcast Bureau (IBB), formerly Voice of America (VOA), operates a radio-transmitting station in Sri Lanka. The US Armed Forces maintain a limited military-to-military relationship with the Sri Lankan defense establishment.
 
In the 2000 US Census, 20,145 people identified themselves as being of Sri Lankan ancestry.
 
In 2006, 20,700 Americans visited Sri Lanka, down 18.1% from the 25,272 tourists in 2005. Since 2005 tourism has grown every year, up from 11,565 in 2002.
 
In 2006, 10,432 Sri Lankans visited the US. The number of tourists has increased every year since 2002, when 6,613 Sri Lankans came to America.
 
In 2007, the US drastically reduced aid to Sri Lanka because of “human rights concerns.” Many other international donors followed the US' example as a means of pressuring the government. During the final stages of the conflict between the Tamil Tigers and the government, the US withheld military training for Sri Lankan personnel, citing the government's gross human rights violations.
 
Relations were further strained during the January 2010 Sri Lankan election ,during which the US was accused of supporting the opposition candidacy of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. In March, the Department of State's US Human Rights Report regarding human rights in Sri Lanka in 2009 was released, insinuating President Rajapaksa and his brother's culpability in human rights abuses in the country, noting that the government was dominated by the Rajapaksa family.
 
Notable Sri Lankan Americans
Mary Anne Mohanraj is the author of the novel Bodies in Motion and the co-founder of Clean Sheets and Strange Horizons magazines. She was born in Sri Lanka but moved to the US when she was 2 years old.
 
V.V. Ganeshananthan is the author of Love Marriage, which was named one of the Washington Post's Book World's Best of 2008. She was born in Sri Lanka.
 
Dilan Jayasingha, better known as DeLon, was the first Sri Lankan artist to place on the US Billboard charts with his 2005 single “Calor de la Salsa.” He had another hit with his 2007 single “Nasty Girl.” His parents are Sri Lankan immigrants.
 
Raj Rajaratnam is the richest Sri Lankan-born person in the world. He founded the New York-based hedge fund management firm Galleon Group. He was born in Sri Lanka and moved to the US to attend business school. (See also: New Charges in Largest Hedge Fund Insider Trading Case in History.)
 
Sri Lanka (USAID)
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (aka Tamil Tigers) (Sri Lanka, separatists) (by Preeti Bhattacharji, Council on Foreign Relations)
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Where Does the Money Flow

Trade between the US and Sri Lanka is dominated by the importation of apparel and household goods, which represents the only billion-dollar commodity exchanged between the two countries. From 2003 to 2007, US imports of cotton clothing rose from $733 million to $1 billion. However, they dropped down to $809 million in 2009 following the worldwide recession.

 
The total value of American imports from Sri Lanka was $1.6 billion in 2009. Nearly all imports from Sri Lanka to the US were in decline in 2009. Other top imports included boxes, belting, glass, and abrasives, falling from $85.8 million to $68.6 million; tea, spices and preparation, decreasing from $31.4 million to $25.8 million, non-farm tractors and parts, dropping from $40.5 million to $30.0 million, apparel and household goods-other textiles, declining from $395.3 million to $352.3 million, and sporting and camping apparel, footwear and gear, decreasing from $71.2 million to $63.4 million.
 
The top American export to Sri Lanka was wheat, which increased from $26.3 to $36.4 million in 2009. The total value of American exports to Sri Lanka in 2009 was $229.5 million.
 
Other major exports on the rise included civilian aircraft, engines, equipment and parts, expanding from $46.2 million to $51.7 million, and vegetables, increasing from $3.9 million to $12.8 million.
 
In 2009, US exports on the decline include telecommunications equipment, decreasing from $10.4 million to $3.4 million, rice, falling from $10.9 million to $2.0 million, manmade cloth, dropping from $11.3 million to $6.0 million, and electric apparatus, declining from $7.2 million to $4.4 million.
 
The budget request for 2011 Foreign Assistance Program totals $21.9 million with most of the money, $18 million, going to Development Assistance. USAID will begin a land reform program, since land issues were one of the primary drivers of conflict. “USAID programs for conflict mitigation, peace and reconciliation processes will support nascent civil society organizations in the north working to rebuild the fabric of regional government and civil society in former conflict areas, These organization will play a critical role in promoting reconciliation between communities by reintegrating the civic infrastructure of conflict-affected areas with the rest of the country. … Conflict mitigation and Reconciliation programs will provide technical assistance, training and program support.” Other development programs are focused on economic growth, agricultural projects, increasing private sector competitiveness, Good Governance programs and Human Rights programs.
 
The US Department of Defense and USAID aims to help the government of Sri Lanka achieve stabilization and prevent terrorists from using the country as a safe haven. Through the Department of State's Export Control and Related Border Security program, the US aims to help prevent the spread of WMDs and transfers of advanced conventional weapons by training Sri Lankan interagency personnel on the Tracker Automated Licensing system and providing basic inspection-detection equipment. 
 
Foreign Military Financing aims to train and equip the Sri Lankan army to increase its demining capability and help it transition from combat operation and internal security to eventual increased participation in peacekeeping and coalition operations. 
 
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Controversies

R&B Star Akon's Music Video Sparks Uproar

Akon's music video for “Sexy Chick” sparked protests in Sri Lanka, where the singer was scheduled to perform in April 2010. The video had a scene featuring scantily clad women dancing at a pool party in front of an iconic Buddha statue, which residents felt defamed Buddhism. Infuriated, residents of Colombo gathered outside the headquarters of Maharaja Corporation, a broadcaster sponsoring Akon's show, and hurled rocks at the building, injuring employees. The Sri Lankan government banned the singer from performing in the country by denying his visa and the show was postponed. Akon apologized for the use of the Buddha statue, claiming he was unaware of the statue's presence and never intended to “offend or desecrate” any religious beliefs.
 
US Lawmakers Criticize Sri Lankan Anti-Conversion Bill
In February 2008, a group of 15 US lawmakers asked Sri Lanka to stop its anti-conversion legislation. The proposed bill, called “Prohibition of Forcible Conversions,” calls for a fine of 500,000 rupees and up to seven years in prison for trying to convert a Sri Lankan citizen to another religion using force or fraud. However, the UN has been critical of the bill, saying that existing laws would deal with any such conversions. Many worry that the destabilized political situation in the country would allow corrupt politicians to abuse the law to settle personal disputes. The proposed legislation would also criminalize charitable acts, humanitarian aid, and peaceful religious dialogues. However, the bill was never submitted to Congress for approval.
 
Tamil Leader Arrested in New York City
In April 2007, a top leader of the Tamil Tigers was arrested in New York City on charges of providing material support to a terrorist organization. Karunakaran Kandasamy was arrested to stop the flow of support to the Tigers, who have operated in Sri Lanka as well as the United States. US Officials said that emissaries from the group conspired to buy surface-to-air missiles in Brooklyn, and tried to get US officials to remove the group from the terrorism list.
 
US Ambassador Hurt in Sectarian Violence
In February 2007, the US and Italian ambassadors to Sri Lanka were slightly injured when their helicopters were shot at with mortars. The Tamil Tigers were the suspected aggressors. Robert Blake and Pio Mariani both required medical care, and were taken to an area hospital. The US has designated the Tamil Tigers as a terrorist group, in 1997, and the European Union made the same designation, in 2006.
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Human Rights

According to the State Department, “the government's respect for human rights declined as armed conflict reached its conclusion. Outside of the conflict zone, the overwhelming majority of victims of human rights violations, such as extrajudicial killings and disappearances, were young male Tamils. In May 2010, Human Rights Watch declared the need for an independent international investigation into human rights violations committed by the Sri Lankan government after new photographic evidence was examined. Within the 200 photos are a series documenting what seems to be the execution of a captured LTTE by military forces. HRW claims the commissions created by the government are inadequate, or have failed to take significant investigative steps into the alleged abuses.

 
The State Department notes that “Credible reports cited unlawful killings by paramilitaries and others believed to be working with the awareness and assistance of the government, assassinations by unknown perpetrators, politically motivated killings, and disappearances. The government was credibly accused of arbitrary arrests and detentions, poor prison conditions, denial of fair public trial, government corruption and lack of transparency, infringement of freedom of movement, harassment of journalists and lawyers critical of the government, and discrimination against minorities. Human rights observers alleged that pro-government paramilitary groups and security forces participated in armed attacks against civilians and practiced torture, kidnapping, hostage-taking, and extortion with impunity.” 
 
Human rights groups maintained that while torture is prohibited under specific circumstances, it was allowed under others. Methods of torture and abuse reportedly included beatings, often with sticks, iron bars or hose; electric shock; suspending individuals by the wrists or feet in contorted positions; burning with metal objects and cigarettes; genital abuse; blows to the ears; asphyxiation with plastic bags containing chili pepper or gasoline; and near-drowning.
 
“In cases when security force personnel were alleged to have committed human rights abuses, the government generally did not seek to identify those responsible or bring them to justice. Case law generally failed to uphold the doctrine of command responsibility for human rights abuses.” 
 
Prison conditions did not meet international standards due to acute overcrowding and lack of sanitary facilities. However, some rights groups alleged that isolated incidents of degrading treatment, including overcrowding, maltreatment, or abuse of female prisoners occurred.
 
The law prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention, but such incidents occurred in practice. Under the relaxed arrest and detention standards imposed by the emergency regulations, the law is unclear as to what constitutes an arbitrary arrest. The government refused to release statistics on the number of arrests made during the year.
 
The law provides for the right to privacy. The government did not respect these rights in practice, particularly when conducting search operations in Tamil neighborhoods. The emergency regulations allowed security forces to conduct searches of property, engage in wiretapping and surveillance of private citizens with little judicial oversight. Additionally, the government limited the ability of IDPs to communicate with persons outside of the IDP camps. When it controlled territory, the LTTE routinely interfered with the privacy of citizens by maintaining a network of informants.
 
“Government security forces, progovernment paramilitary groups, and the LTTE used excessive force and committed abuses against civilians in 2009. During the SLA offensive against the LTTE, several hundred thousand ethnic Tamil civilians were trapped in LTTE-held land. As the conflict reached its final months, the government declared two no-fire zones, areas into which it would not fire weapons. As the conflict progressed, the LTTE and civilians under its control were confined to an increasingly small area.”
 
During the final five months of conflict, artillery shelling, mortar fire, and aerial bombing reportedly killed many civilians . Only the Sri Lankan Air Force used aerial bombs; however, it was difficult to attribute artillery and mortar fire to one side or the other. There were frequent reports of the LTTE positioning artillery and mortar positions close to and among civilian encampments, hospitals, and churches, drawing return fire from the government. Some reports estimated that fighting in the last week of the conflict may have killed 1,000 civilians per day.
 
“Government and other observers reported numerous occasions when the LTTE fired on civilians who attempted to flee, reportedly killing and wounding many individuals. Trapped Tamil civilians reported being afraid to cross over to the government side for fear of being subjected to killings, disappearances, and abuse by the SLA.”
 
“Pro-government paramilitary groups allegedly were used to identify, abduct, and kill suspected LTTE sympathizers or operatives immediately after the conflict and in the IDP camps.”
 
From January to May the LTTE dramatically increased its forced recruitment of child soldiers, but at the year's end, the children were undergoing rehabilitation in accordance with international standards.
 
The Karuna group, the Pillaiyan group, and the EPDP reportedly ran extortion rings. Both groups killed civilians, in many cases following abductions. According to numerous, credible reports, the government provided protection, intelligence, and military aid to Karuna, Pillaiyan, and EPDP cadres who committed extrajudicial killings, abductions, extortion, and torture.
 
Media freedom is provided for by law, but not always supported in practice. The government owns the largest newspapers and TV stations. Foreign media outlets were allowed to operate, but journalists would have their visas revoked if they reported on a sensitive topic in a manner that the government disliked. Media freedom deteriorated in the Colombo area as well as the conflict zones. Most journalists practiced self-censorship or were subject to pressure or accusations of treason from senior government officials.
 
“The law grants every citizen “freedom of movement and of choosing his residence” and “freedom to return to the country.” However, the government severely restricted this right on multiple occasions.
The government required Tamils, especially those living in Jaffna, to obtain special passes issued by security forces to move around the country. Citizens of Jaffna were required to obtain permission from the army’s Civil Affairs unit, or in some cases from the EPDP, in order to leave Jaffna. According to several sources, the waiting list was over five months long. Curfews imposed by the army also restricted the movement of Jaffna’s citizens. Security forces at Army checkpoints in Colombo frequently harassed Tamils.”
 
According to the World Bank’s Worldwide Governance Indicators, government corruption was a serious problem. There was corruption in all three branches of government, as well as various bureaucratic agencies. Transparency International (TI) identified nepotism and cronyism in the appointment of officials to government and state‑owned institutions.
 
“The law prohibits domestic violence, but it was not strictly enforced. Sexual assault, rape, and spousal abuse continued to be serious and pervasive problems.”
 
Prostitution was prevalent, and trafficking in women for the purpose of prostitution or forced labor occurred.
 
Commercial sexual exploitation of children in the coastal resort areas remained a problem.
 
“The country was a point of origin and destination for trafficked persons, primarily women and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation. “
 
“Both Sri Lankan and Indian origin Tamils maintained that they suffered longstanding systematic discrimination in university education, government employment, and in other matters controlled by the government. Tamils also experienced discrimination in housing.”
 
“Tamils throughout the country, but especially in the conflict-affected north and east, reported frequent harassment of young and middle aged Tamil men by security forces and paramilitary groups.”
 
The law criminalizes homosexual activity but was not enforced. Human rights organizations reported that police harassed, extorted money or sexual favors from, and assaulted gay men in Colombo and other areas.
 
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Debate
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Past Ambassadors

Felix Cole
Appointment: Apr 8, 1948
Presentation of Credentials: Aug 3, 1949
Termination of Mission: Left post Oct 30, 1949
Note: Commissioned to Ceylon.

 
Joseph C. Satterthwaite
Appointment: Sep 22, 1949
Presentation of Credentials: Nov 19, 1949
Termination of Mission: Left post Jul 25, 1953
Note: Commissioned to Ceylon.
 
Philip K. Crowe
Appointment: Jul 6, 1953
Presentation of Credentials: Sep 19, 1953
Termination of Mission: Left post Sep 27, 1956
Note: Commissioned to Ceylon.
 
Maxwell H. Gluck
Appointment: Jul 3, 1957
Presentation of Credentials: Sep 19, 1957
Termination of Mission: Left post Oct 2, 1958
Note: Commissioned to Ceylon.
 
Lampton Berry
Appointment: Oct 10, 1958
Presentation of Credentials: Nov 22, 1958
Termination of Mission: Left post Jun 3, 1959
Note: Commissioned to Ceylon. Commissioned during a recess of the Senate; recommissioned after confirmation on Jan 29, 1959.
 
Bernard Gufler
Appointment: Jul 6, 1959
Presentation of Credentials: Aug 24, 1959
Termination of Mission: Left post Mar 1, 1961
Note: Commissioned to Ceylon.
 
Frances E. Willis
Appointment: Mar 15, 1961
Presentation of Credentials: May 11, 1961
Termination of Mission: Left post Sep 20, 1964
Note: Commissioned to Ceylon.
 
Cecil B. Lyon
Appointment: Jul 31, 1964
Presentation of Credentials: Oct 30, 1964
Termination of Mission: Left post Jun 17, 1967
Note: Commissioned to Ceylon; also accredited to Maldives; resident at Colombo.
 
Andrew V. Corry
Appointment: May 24, 1967
Presentation of Credentials: Jul 19, 1967
Termination of Mission: Left post Mar 21, 1970
Note: Commissioned to Ceylon; also accredited to Maldives; resident at Colombo.
 
Robert Strausz-Hupe
Appointment: Feb 16, 1970
Presentation of Credentials: May 3, 1970
Termination of Mission: Left post Dec 12, 1971
Note: Commissioned to Ceylon; also accredited to Maldives; resident at Colombo.
 
Christopher Van Hollen
Appointment: Sep 21, 1972
Presentation of Credentials: Oct 27, 1972
Termination of Mission: Left post Apr 21, 1976
Note: Also accredited to Maldives; resident at Colombo.
 
John H. Reed
Appointment: Jun 1, 1976
Presentation of Credentials: Jul 2, 1976
Termination of Mission: Left post Jun 1, 1977
Note: Also accredited to Maldives; resident at Colombo.
 
W. Howard Wriggins
Appointment: Jul 14, 1977
Presentation of Credentials: Aug 18, 1977
Termination of Mission: Left post Dec 13, 1979
Note: Also accredited to Maldives; resident at Colombo.
 
Donald R. Toussaint
Appointment: Nov 27, 1979
Presentation of Credentials: Jan 21, 1980
Termination of Mission: Left post Jan 17, 1982
Note: Also accredited to Maldives; resident at Colombo.
 
John Hathaway Reed
Appointment: Dec 11, 1981
Presentation of Credentials: Feb 8, 1982
Termination of Mission: Left post Sep 3, 1985
Note: Also accredited to Maldives; resident at Colombo.
 
James W. Spain
Appointment: Nov 6, 1985
Presentation of Credentials: Nov 21, 1985
Termination of Mission: Left post Jun 16, 1989
Note: Also accredited to Maldives; resident at Colombo.
 
Marion V. Creekmore, Jr.
Appointment: Oct 10, 1989
Presentation of Credentials: Nov 29, 1989
Termination of Mission: Left post Aug 27, 1992
Note: Also accredited to Maldives; resident at Colombo.
 
Teresita Currie Schaffer
Appointment: May 26, 1992
Presentation of Credentials: Oct 7, 1992
Termination of Mission: Left post Aug 15, 1995
Note: Also accredited to Maldives; resident at Colombo.
 
A. Peter Burleigh
Appointment: Dec 19, 1995
Presentation of Credentials: Jan 19, 1996
Termination of Mission: Left post Aug 1, 1997
Note: Also accredited to Maldives; resident at Colombo.
 
Shaun Edward Donnelly
Appointment: Nov 10, 1997
Presentation of Credentials: Dec 19, 1997
Termination of Mission: Left post Aug 16, 2000
Note: Also accredited to Maldives; resident at Colombo.
 
E. Ashley Wills
Appointment: Sep 15, 2000
Presentation of Credentials: Nov 13, 2000
Termination of Mission: Left post Jun 17, 2003
Note: Also accredited to Maldives; resident at Colombo.
 
Jeffrey Lunstead
Appointment: May 27, 2003
Presentation of Credentials: Sep 26, 2003
Termination of Mission: 2006
Note: Also accredited to Maldives; resident in Colombo.
 
Robert O. Blake
Appointment: June 29, 2006
Presentation of Credentials: September 9, 2006
Termination of Mission: Early 2009
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Sri Lanka's Ambassador to the U.S.
ambassador-image Kariyawasam, Prasad

 

On June 23, 2014, Prasad Kariyawasam, a longtime member of his country’s Foreign Service, took over as Sri Lanka’s ambassador to the United States.

 

Kariyawasam was born March 21, 1954, in Galle, near the southern tip of Sri Lanka, to educators Pragnadasa and Anula Kariyawasam. He was a Boy Scout and a cricket player; one of the best of his age group in the country, in fact. He was captain of the Richmond College Galle team in 1972 when, in a match against Mahinda College, Kariyawasam scored an unbeaten 156 runs. He then attended the University of Peradeniya, where he also played cricket and graduated in 1978 with a B.S. in mathematics.

 

Kariyawasam joined the Sri Lankan Foreign Service in 1981. His early postings included Geneva, Switzerland, from 1983 to 1987; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from 1989 to 1992; and as a minister in the Washington embassy beginning in 1995. In 1998, Kariyawasam was moved to the Department of the High Commissioner in New Delhi, India.

 

He returned to Geneva as Sri Lanka’s permanent representative to the United Nations mission there, also serving as consul general to Switzerland, ambassador to the Holy See (Vatican City) and representative to the G-15. He returned home to serve as director general of the Economic Affairs Division and as an additional secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. With the UN, he served on committees dealing with human rights, racism, migration issues, disarmament and terrorism.

 

Kariyawasam moved to New York in 2005 as permanent representative to the UN, also serving as high commissioner to Jamaica and the Bahamas, as well as ambassador to Chile and Colombia. In his work at the UN, Kariyawasam fought the proliferation of small arms from Western nations, drawing criticism from the National Rifle Association for his efforts.

 

A 2005 State Department cable, released by WikiLeaks, praised Kariyawasam enthusiastically, including his “professionalism, good judgment and familiarity with the U.S.” 

 

According to the cable, “His appreciation of the ‘bigger picture’ issues related to US-Sri Lankan relations has been especially beneficial during our recent bilateral MCA discussions. For example, despite his personal reservations about certain MCA [Millennium Challenge Account] requirements, he nonetheless recognized the importance of securing a compact to our overall relations, contributing to the process by pushing a draft proposal through the labyrinthine Sri Lankan bureaucracy and advocating for an improved consultative process.”

 

Kariyawasam also served in Colombo as director of the Foreign Ministry’s South Asia Division and was the official spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

 

In 2009, Kariyawasam was made high commissioner to India, as well as ambassador to Afghanistan and Bhutan. While in New Delhi, Kariyawasam created a controversy when he urged that some Indian Members of Parliament be investigated for ties to the Tamil Tigers, the rebel group that fought a civil war in Sri Lanka for more than 25 years.

 

Kariyawasam’s wife, Kanthi, whom he married in 1981, is a biomedical researcher at Georgetown University. They have two grown children: a daughter, Mayooka, who graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in computer science and a son, Pramodh. Kariyawasam speaks English and Sinhala.

-Steve Straehley

 

To Learn More:

Official Biography

Wikipedia Profile

State Department Comments (WikiLeaks)

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Sri Lanka's Embassy Web Site in the U.S.
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US-flag nation-flag U.S. Embassy web site

U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka

Sison, Michele
ambassador-image

A native of Virginia, Michele J. Sison is the first Filipino-American ambassador from the United States. Her mother is Veronica Sison and her father, Pablo B. Sison was originally from Pangasinan, a province in the Philippines. She was confirmed by the US Senate on August 1, 2008 as the United States Ambassador to Lebanon. She arrived in Beirut on February 5, 2008 as Chargé d’Affaires. She served as ambassador until August 7, 2010.

 
Sison earned her BA in political science from Wellesley College and also attended the London School of Economics.
 
A career member of the Senior Foreign Service (Class of Minister-Counselor), Sison has served in Washington, Port-au-Prince, Haiti (1982-1984), Lome, Togo (1984-1988), Cotonou, Benin (1988-1991), Douala, Cameroon (1991-1993), and Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire (1993-1996). She served as consul general at the US Consulate General in Chennai, India (1996-1999) and as Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d’Affaires at the US Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan (1999-2002).
 
Sison served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of South Asian Affairs before being appointed ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, where she served from August 2004 through January 2008.
 
Sison has two daughters, Alexandra Katherine Knight and Jessica Elizabeth Knight, both in college. She is separated from her husband, Jeffrey Jones Hawkins.

 

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