Thursday May 27, 2010
The U.S. State Department announced on Wednesday it had canceled a travel warning for Sri Lanka, in a boost for the Indian Ocean island state that ended a long war last year and hopes to draw more tourists.

The end of the travel warning comes just over a year after Sri Lankadeclared victory over the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) following 27 years of civil war.

The LTTE had not staged any attacks in the capital Colombo or elsewhere in Sri Lanka since then, the State Department said in a statement.

Sri Lankan Foreign Minister G.L. Peiris is scheduled to hold talks with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington on Friday.

The State Department’s decision was hailed by Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to the United States, Jaliya Wickramasuriya.

“We welcome the State Department’s decision recognition of Sri Lanka as a peaceful and prosperous nation that is of course safe for visitors,” Ambassador Wickramasuriya said. “We have been working with the State Department for some time to lift this warning, and I am heartened that it has occurred during Minister  Peiris’ Washingtonvisit.”

In its statement, the State Department noted that, “The Government of Sri Lanka declared victory over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on May 18, 2009. Since the war’s declared end, the LTTE has not mounted any attacks inColombo or elsewhere in Sri Lanka.”

In fact, tourism returned dramatically to Sri Lanka just days after the conflict ended, and it has continued to improve, nearly doubling in some months compared to last year, despite the State Department’s travel advisory.

Source: adaderana.lk