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Summary

Sri Lanka is a constitutional democracy with relatively high educational and social standards. The country's political, social, and economic development has been seriously constrained by two decades of ethnic conflict between the majority Sinhalese and minority Tamil ethnic groups. Since 1983, a separatist war costing some 64,000 lives has been waged against government forces by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a well-organized rebel group that has been seeking to establish a separate state in the Tamil-dominated areas of the north and east. The current Norwegian-brokered peace process has produced notable successes, though in May 2003 it was suspended by the LTTE due to differences over interim administration arrangements. In February 2002, a permanent cease-fire was reached and generally has been observed by both sides. In September, the Colombo government and the LTTE held their first peace talks in 7 years, with the LTTE indicating for the first time that it is willing to accept autonomy rather than independence for Tamil-majority regions. The two sides have agreed in principle to seek a solution through a federal structure. However, political rivalry between President Kumaratunga and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe has hindered peace efforts; government troops continue to occupy large swaths of Tamil-speaking territory; and there remain doubts about the willingness of the LTTE to renounce the use of force and disarm. The United States designated the LTTE as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) in 1997 and demands that the Tigers lay down their arms and foreswear the use of force before that status can change. U.S. policy supports efforts to reform Sri Lanka's democratic political system in a way that provides for full political participation of all communities; it does not endorse the establishment of another independent state on the island. In August 2002, S.Res. 300 expressed the U.S. Senate's encouragement of the Sri Lanka peace process. The United States regarded as "extremely positive" the December 2002 announcement that parties to the Sri Lanka conflict have agreed to seek settlement through establishment of a federal governmental structure. The Bush Administration has vowed to play a role in multilateral efforts to settle the conflict and to assist in the rebuilding of war-torn areas. The United States and Sri Lanka signed a new Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) in 2002, and U.S. trade-related bodies have since been active in efforts to boost bilateral ties. The two countries also maintain military-to-military relations. This report will be updated periodically.

Related Legislation:
• S.R.300

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