US offers Lanka support in ‘terror fight’

(January 20, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The U.S. administration reiterated its support for the Sri Lankan government in its “fight against terrorism.” The American reassurance was conveyed by Admiral Robert F. Willard, Commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, during his visit to the island on Thursday and Friday, in the course of a regional trip to South Asia to meet his naval counterparts.

Calling on President Rajapaksa at his Temple Trees residence on Friday, Admiral Willard reaffirmed the support of the U.S. for Sri lanka in “defending against terrorist activity through cooperation in maritime security,” said a press statement issued by the U.S. Embassy in Colombo. It added that the admiral had also “noted that improvements in human rights protection could lead to enhanced cooperation.”

Admiral Willard reviewed ongoing maritime cooperation, including naval training and exchanges, between the U.S. and Sri Lanka. Meeting with senior Lankan military officers, he also visited the strategic port of Trincomalee in east Lanka “to discuss U.S.-Sri Lanka cooperation against LTTE terrorism,” the U.S. official statement said.

The U.S. reaffirmation of support in Colombo’s war against the Tamil rebels is significant as it comes close on the heels of the government scrapping the ceasefire agreement with the LTTE and stepping up its offensive against the Tigers. The Americans are said to have helped Sri Lanka improve its air-strike at rebel hideouts through intelligence collected through satellite imagery.