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| Sunday, 8 June 2003 |
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Tokyo confab kicks off tomorrow : Aid pledges on track by Ananth Palakidnar The two-day Sri Lanka aid conference begins tomorrow amid confidence that the promised levels of aid would be sustained despite the uncertainty over the LTTE's attendance. Senior government officials from 34 donor countries and fifteen donor agencies will participate at the meeting to be held at the luxury Akasuka Prince Hotel, Tokyo with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe leading the Sri Lanka delegation. The aid conference will be jointly chaired by the Prime Ministers of Japan and Sri Lanka. US Deputy Secretary of state Richard Armitage will lead the US delegation to the parley. Japan and the European Union are the co-hosts of the conference. Diplomatic circles in Colombo expressed confidence that the amount of financial assistance pledged for Sri Lanka's post-war recovery will not be trimmed due to the non-participation of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam at the Tokyo conference. The present state of the talks between the Government and the LTTE is expected to be discussed in detail at the conference, sources said. Elaborate arrangements have been made for the conference in Tokyo by the Government of Japan and the other countries which are playing a supportive role in the current peace process. Prior to his departure to Tokyo, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in an interview with the BBC correspondent based in Colombo, said that he would have liked to have seen the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) at the Tokyo conference.The Prime Minister said that he did not see `such a large gap' between his Government and the LTTE and reiterated his call for direct dialogue with the rebels on proposals for power sharing. Meanwhile, visiting USAID deputy administrator Fredrik W. Schieck at a press briefing in Colombo on Friday said that `it was pity' to see the non- participation of the LTTE at the donor conference in Tokyo and he expected that in future they would cooperate more effectively in the peace process and coordinate with the international community in the rehabilitation and the reconstruction activities in the war torn North and the East. Tamil political party sources said that a` turning point' with regard to the current peace process was likely after the donor parley in Tokyo and said that the LTTE would abide by the stance of continuing with the talks to find a political settlement to the ethnic crisis and not return to militancy. *** North-East NGO emissary to Tokyo The President of the Tamil Teachers Association in Sri Lanka T. Mahasivam will submit a need assessment report on the rehabilitation and the reconstruction programs to be carried out in the North and East at the Tokyo Donor parley. The report was prepared by an NGO forum comprising Trade unions, Tamil organisations and various other groups following an elaborate study on various aspects of the damages to the lives and properties in the North and the East. The report also suggests that the planning, implementation and the supervision process of the rehabilitation activities in the North and the East must be handled by an 'interim administration' in the province. D W |
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