Sri Lanka has shown slow pace of progress on reform and justice, said the nominee for the next US ambassador to Sri Lanka Alaina Teplitz.
In her testimony before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations last week, Ms Teplitz said that,
“Sri Lanka has come a long way since voters in 2015 rejected the corruption, strife, and repression of the past and threw their support behind a reform, reconciliation, and accountability agenda.”
She went on to state that,
“However, the pace of progress on reform and justice has been slow, and, as anti-Muslim riots in March so painfully demonstrated, the work of mending inter-ethnic and inter-religious fissures remains incomplete.”
“We continue to support Sri Lanka’s efforts to make good on its commitments to its people to come to terms with its past, implement justice and accountability measures, and secure a peaceful, prosperous future.”
Ms Teplitz said that if confirmed,
“I will work in both Sri Lanka and Maldives to advance U.S. values and a shared vision of good governance, transparent economic development, free navigation and commerce, fair and open investment environments, and a stable, rules-based regional order”.
See her full testimony here.
