On the occasion of the first anniversary of the start of peace negotiations between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the U.S. Department of State’s spokesman issued the following statement:

“Today marks the first anniversary of the beginning of negotiations between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to end nearly twenty years of conflict. We continue our strong support for this process and for the efforts of Norway to keep it moving forward.

“It is unfortunate that this anniversary finds the talks in suspension. We also remain concerned about continuing political assassinations by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and call on the Tigers to abandon terrorism, including political assassination, and to comply with the terms of the ceasefire agreement they signed.

“We hope that the Tamil Tigers’ response to the July 17 Government proposal for an interim administration will be realistic and will allow the two sides to return to the table at an early date. With a constructive approach to talks and willingness to compromise, a negotiated solution to the conflict is possible.”