05 November 2003
U.S. Reaffirms Strong Support for Peace Process in Sri Lanka
White House Report, Nov. 5: Sri Lanka, Iraq, Abortion
President Bush, in a meeting with Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in the Oval Office November 5, "expressed his strong support for the prime minister's leadership and his commitment to peace," White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan told reporters shortly after the meeting.
President Bush, McClellan said, "made it very clear that the United States supports the prime minister's efforts, and the president reaffirmed our strong support for the peace process and democratic institutions that are in place in Sri Lanka.
"The two leaders also discussed the importance of free trade. The president thanked the prime minister for the positive role Sri Lanka played [at the World Trade Organization meeting in October] in Cancun. Both leaders expressed their commitment to free trade and moving forward on the Doha talks," McClellan added.
Asked by a reporter if Bush had discussed with Wickremesinghe the disbanding of the Sri Lankan parliament November 4 by Sri Lankan President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, McClellan said, "They did discuss those issues, but the president expressed confidence in the prime minister's leadership and he reaffirmed our strong support for the democratic institutions that are in place.
"This is an internal matter for Sri Lanka. There are democratic institutions in place, and we have confidence in those democratic institutions to resolve these internal matters."
McClellan said Bush has not been in touch with Kumaratunga.
U.S. WORKING TO INVOLVE MORE IRAQIS IN SECURITY EFFORTS
"We are working to accelerate our efforts to involve more and more Iraqis in the security of their country," McClellan told reporters, when asked about Iraq.
"They're the second-largest contributors to their own security. And in fact, a number of Iraqis have paid the ultimate sacrifice in defense of their fellow citizens and in defense of their security. We will continue to work with the other coalition forces that are there, and other countries that have already committed troops, and we will continue talking with other countries as well about ways that they can contribute too," he said.
On the question of Turkish troops going to Iraq for peacekeeping duties, McClellan said: "We appreciate the offer by the Turkish government to provide troops. We'll continue to talk with them about those issues. We'll continue to talk with the [Iraq] Governing Council about those issues. We'll let those discussions continue."
The Turkish ambassador to the United States was reported to have said November 4 that Turkey's offer to send up to 10,000 troops to Iraq "is still on the table," but the troops will not be sent without a formal invitation from the Iraq Governing Council.
McClellan noted that the Iraqis are involved in a number of different tasks. "Tens of thousands of Iraqis are already involved in their police forces, in the border patrol, in the protection of their infrastructure facilities, and involved in the civil defense forces as well," he said. "And we will continue working to accelerate those efforts, as we will continue to work to accelerate our efforts to transfer more and more responsibility and authority to the Iraqi people so that they can build their better future that is ahead of them."
President Bush "has previously talked about the importance of accelerating our efforts on all fronts; on the security front, as well as the democratic front and the reconstruction front," the Press Secretary said.
BUSH SIGNS INTO LAW BILL TO BAN PARTIAL BIRTH ABORTION
President Bush November 5 signed into law the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003, which was passed by Congress in October, at an event at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington attended by some four hundred supporters, including many administration officials, while outside the building opponents of the ban protested.
"For years, a terrible form of violence has been directed against children who are inches from birth, while the law looked the other way. Today, at last, the American people and our government have confronted the violence and come to the defense of the innocent child," Bush said.
"Every person, however frail or vulnerable, has a place and a purpose in this world. Every person has a special dignity. This right to life cannot be granted or denied by government, because it does not come from government, it comes from the Creator of life."
Fully aware of the impending legal obstacles, Bush said "the executive branch will vigorously defend this law against any who would try to overturn it in the courts."
"The president believes he's done the right thing for the American people. ... [T]his is a particularly abhorrent procedure; a brutal practice," McClellan told reporters.
Abortion-rights groups say the law has overly broad language that could criminalize several safe and common procedures, and may be the first step in a larger campaign to eventually bar all abortions.
Former President Clinton twice vetoed similar bills, arguing that they lacked an exception to protect the health of the mother.
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
This page printed from: http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2003&m=November&x=20031105170418ssorw0.9328272&t=usinfo/wf-latest.html
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