na Faction [Vinayagamurthi
MURALITHARAN] (paramilitary breakaway from LTTE and fighting LTTE)
other: Buddhist clergy; labor unions; radical chauvinist Sinhalese
groups such as the National Movement Against Terrorism; Sinhalese
Buddhist lay groups

International organization participation:

ADB, BIMSTEC, C, CP, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC,
ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol,
IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, MONUC,
NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNIDO, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador Jaliya WICKRAMASURIYA
chancery: 2148 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 483-4025 (through 4028)
FAX: [1] (202) 232-7181
consulate(s) general: Los Angeles
consulate(s): New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador Robert O. BLAKE, Jr.
embassy: 210 Galle Road, Colombo 3
mailing address: P. O. Box 106, Colombo
telephone: [94] (11) 249-8500
FAX: [94] (11) 243-7345

Flag description:

yellow with two panels; the smaller hoist-side panel has two equal
vertical bands of green (hoist side) and orange; the other panel is
a large dark red rectangle with a yellow lion holding a sword, and
there is a yellow bo leaf in each corner; the yellow field appears
as a border around the entire flag and extends between the two panels

Economy
Sri Lanka

Economy - overview:

In 1977, Colombo abandoned statist economic policies and its import
substitution trade policy for more market-oriented policies,
export-oriented trade, and encouragement of foreign investment.
Recent changes in government, however, have brought some policy
reversals. Currently, the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party has a more
statist economic approach, which seeks to reduce poverty by steering
investment to disadvantaged areas, developing small and medium
enterprises, promoting agriculture, and expanding the already
enormous civil service. The government has halted privatizations.
Although suffering a brutal civil war that began in 1983, Sri Lanka
saw GDP growth average 4.5% in the last 10 years with the exception
of a recession in 2001. In late December 2004, a major tsunami took
about 31,000 lives, left more than 6,300 missing and 443,000
displaced, and destroyed an estimated $1.5 billion worth of
propert