U.S. will consider request for humanitarian help

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, MAY 5. The Clinton administration is saying that it has received no request from Sri Lanka for any assistance from the United States, but that a request would certainly be considered for humanitarian assistance. At the State Department on Thursday, the spokesman was asked about the situation on the ground, Colombo's inability to get any military assistance from India and its recognition of the state of Israel.

``We would certainly consider a request for humanitarian assistance. We have provided them in the past with certain military equipment as well, under careful review of human rights considerations. We have provided some military training in the past under our programmes, following the same criteria. But in this situation, we've not been asked to provide any assistance in response to the current fighting'', the spokesman, Mr. Richard Boucher, said.

By not commenting on Colombo's inability to get any military assistance from India, the Clinton administration does not wish to comment, at least publicly, on the linkages between establishing diplomatic ties with Israel and getting defence hardware from there.

``That's a question you're going to have to ask them (meaning Sri Lanka) or Israel. That's not the kind of stuff I'm going to do. We have encouraged the step of having cooperation with Israel. We've encouraged relations with Israel for some time. So it's a good thing that they've done that'', Mr. Boucher said.

The State Department was also asked to comment on the ``draconian measures'' imposed by Colombo including censorship of the local and foreign media in response to the war with the LTTE. The spokesman said the U.S. was aware of the intensification of the fighting and that it had all along supported a peaceful process and one ``based on the Sri Lankan Government's proposals for constitutional reform and devolution of power''.

The U.S. has the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in its list of terrorist organisations.

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