Sri Lanka: UN tsunami envoy Clinton hopes assassination will not renew fighting

Condemning the “brutal and criminal” assassination of Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister, former United States President Bill Clinton, United Nations Special Envoy overseeing recovery efforts from December’s devastating Indian Ocean tsunami, has appealed to the people of the south Asian island state to avoid renewed hostilities.

“I am shocked and personally saddened by the assassination of Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar,” Mr. Clinton said in a statement.

“Since December 26, 2004, the people of Sri Lanka have demonstrated enormous courage and determination in their efforts to promote recovery in the aftermath of the tsunami,” he added.

“The ceasefire in Sri Lanka has helped foster an environment conducive to reconstruction, and I hope that the people of Sri Lanka will persevere in their efforts to avoid a renewal of hostilities.”

Two months ago, Mr. Clinton voiced the hope that the disaster would usher in a new chapter in the peace process in Sri Lanka, where the Government and Tamil separatists have waged a decades-old war, thereby making it easier for aid to be distributed and reconstruction to take place.