John Kerry arrives in Sri Lanka

Colombo: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Colombo on Saturday on a two-day visit to express support to the new Sri Lankan government’s efforts to boost democracy, human rights and ensure reconciliation with Tamils.

Mr. Kerry, the first U.S. secretary of state to visit Sri Lanka in a decade, was received at the Colombo international airport by his Lankan counterpart Mangala Samaraweera. The top American diplomat will meet President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe.

He will also meet with the leaders of main Tamil party, TNA, and the civil society representatives. It appreciated the new government’s engagement with the U.N. Human Rights Council and the willingness shown to invite U.N. special rapporteurs.

Mr. Kerry’s visit comes following years of strained



relations between the U.S. and Lanka’s previous government led by Mahinda Rajapaksa. Mr. Rajapaksa had faced criticism from the West for refusing to cooperate with a probe into alleged war crimes committed during a crackdown on the LTTE.

Sri Lanka under Mr. Rajapaksa was subjected to three consecutive U.S.-backed U.N. Human Rights Council resolutions, the last of which mandated an international inquiry on alleged rights abuses committed by both government troops and the LTTE.

Colin Powell was the last U.S. State Department chief to visit Sri Lanka in 2004 in the aftermath of the deadly Indian Ocean Tsunami.

“It is a real opening in terms of Lanka’s relations with the international community and with the U.N.,” a U.S. State Department spokesman said on Friday in Washington.