The United States said Thursday that it was in Sri Lanka's own interest to cooperate with the United Nations, which closed down its Colombo office after angry protests over a war crimes panel.
Sri Lanka has refused to cooperate with a panel named last month by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that would advise on "accountability issues" during the island's bloody three-decade war that ended last year.
"We feel like it's in Sri Lanka's best interest to accept these people and their expert advice and that's offered in good faith," State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters.
The United States has previously urged Sri Lanka to work for long-term reconciliation between the majority Sinhalese community and the Tamil minority.
Sri Lanka's relations with Western nations grew tense last year due to criticism over its human rights record, but the United States has in recent months tried to patch up with the island nation.
The United Nations has previously said that at least 7,000 ethnic Tamil civilians were killed in the final stages of the war, and it estimates some 100,000 people died during the decades-long conflict.
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Sri Lanka has refused to cooperate with a panel named last month by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that would advise on "accountability issues" during the island's bloody three-decade war that ended last year.
"We feel like it's in Sri Lanka's best interest to accept these people and their expert advice and that's offered in good faith," State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters.
The United States has previously urged Sri Lanka to work for long-term reconciliation between the majority Sinhalese community and the Tamil minority.
Sri Lanka's relations with Western nations grew tense last year due to criticism over its human rights record, but the United States has in recent months tried to patch up with the island nation.
The United Nations has previously said that at least 7,000 ethnic Tamil civilians were killed in the final stages of the war, and it estimates some 100,000 people died during the decades-long conflict.
sify
