US says progress on political reconciliation and human rights should be priority.

A top US envoy visiting Sri Lanka praised Sri Lanka for progress so far in its post war efforts but warned more needs to be done.

Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert Blake who was on a three-day visit starting Monday December 7 to discuss political matters and reconciliation said the US was willing to extend more aid to Sri Lanka provided there was progress in political reconciliation and human rights.

"The United States welcomes the recent progress by the government of Sri Lanka," Blake said, referring to the return of hundreds of thousands of refugees from camps that drew international condemnation because people were not free to leave.” Blake told reporters in Colombo after meetings with the president and senior government officials.

"Everyone agrees that there is still a tremendous amount of work to be done,"

"Killings and abductions have come down. That is certainly welcome. We still need progress on press freedom and ... political reconciliation." Blake said.

Blake's visit came after the US Senate's Foreign Relations Committee urged President Barack Obama not to "lose" its relationship with the strategically located island nation as China and India have gained increasing sway.

The report urged the Obama administration to not to focus on the human rights violations alone but recalibrate its approach to post-war Sri Lanka to include more economic, political and security aid to protect U.S. interests and offer incentives for Sri Lanka to improve its rights record.

However, Blake, who was the ambassador in Colombo until May, said he was not aware of the report's recommendations and made it clear that accountability was a key priority for the Obama administration, at least for now.

“An important element of reconciliation is safeguarding and protecting the rights of all Sri Lankans. In practice this means…people who have violated the rights of others should be held accountable for their actions.”

Also, unlike the Senate report which avoided any reference to a political solution for the Tamil National question or power sharing, Blake, told reporters that a power-sharing arrangement should be implemented to ensure that all Sri Lankans participate in the democratic process.

“In all my meetings with Government and non-governmental leaders, I expressed my country's hope that the Government and opposition will work together to develop a consensus on reconciliation and power-sharing arrangements that can be implemented to ensure that all Sri Lankans can participate fully in the democratic process and that democracy can be restored in northern Sri Lanka, so Tamils and others in the North can enjoy a future of hope, dignity, and opportunity.”

During his visit Blake, visited Manik Farm in Vavuniya, the largest camp for Internally Displaced People (IDPs) run by the Sri Lankan government, and met some IDPs who had recently returned to Mannar district in North-western Sri Lanka.