The United States has taken note of the talks between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) held in Berlin, Germany, on February 7-8.

We regard as extremely positive the announcement that the two sides have made progress on plans for the delivery of humanitarian assistance and resettling Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the north and east. We also welcome the parties’ discussion of human rights, including the LTTE’s stated willingness to end the practice of child recruitment and to work with UNICEF in developing an action plan dealing with the issue. Regarding child soldiers, the LTTE has promised on several occasions in the past that it would end this odious practice; we expect the Tigers to honor their pledge.

The US has also followed the troubling events that took place off of the Jaffna coast on February 7. This apparent attempt to smuggle arms into Sri Lanka during the course of the peace process was highly destabilizing and could call into question the Tigers’ stated wish to pursue a negotiated settlement. We urge the LTTE to commit itself fully to peace and desist from arms re-supply efforts. At the same time, we express appreciation to the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission for performing its duties despite great risk to its personnel.