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Sri Lanka Relations with Western States
Ties with the United States in the late 1980s were based on a
common democratic tradition, a mutual appreciation of the virtues
of economic liberalization and market-oriented reforms, United
States participation in major development projects such as the
Accelerated Mahaweli Ganga Program, and seemingly convergent
security interests in the Indian Ocean. The existence of a Voice
of America relay facility on the island, used to transmit
broadcasts within the South Asia region, was part of WashingtonColombo ties.
Large numbers of educated Sri Lankans, both Sinhalese and
Tamil, lived in the United States, Britain, and Western Europe
during the 1970s and 1980s. Overseas Tamils played a role in
publicizing the plight of their countrymen in host country media
and provided the militant movement with some financial support.
An increasing number of Western countries expressed criticism of
human rights violations by the government. For example, Norway
halted all aid to Sri Lankan government bodies in June 1987 to
protest abuses. The plight of Tamil refugees was highlighted in
August 1986 when two lifeboats carrying 155 Sri Lankan Tamils
were rescued off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. It appeared
that the Tamils had fled West Germany after being denied refugee
status by the Bonn government and had been cast adrift from a
West German-owned freighter (the Canadian government gave them
one-year work permits and promised to consider applications for
refugee status). At the same time, the fund-raising activities of
many sympathizers in the West, including refugees, were not
entirely within legal bounds. In January 1986, the Swiss
government arrested seventy Tamil refugees on charges of selling
heroin.
Data as of October 1988
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