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| Sunday, 30 January 2005 |
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Govt-LTTE deal soon by Ranga Jayasuriya The Government's peace secretariat yesterday expressed optimism that it would soon seal a deal with the LTTE on a mechanism coordinating post tsunami relief distribution in the North-East. "Discussions are being held with the LTTE to decide a mechanism to distribute relief assistance in the North-East. The issue is subject to continued discussions," a senior official of the Government's Peace Secretariat said referring to the negotiations between the two peace secretariats. "We hope, we will be able to agree on a mechanism," he said. LTTE peace secretariat chief S. Pulidevan leading the LTTE delegation is now in Colombo holding talks with the government's peace secretariat. LTTE sources in Kilinochchi said the two parties would review a Government's proposal for a three tiered structure at district, regional and national level - to review and coordinate the post tsunami relief assistance. Meanwhile, the LTTE last week sounded as having backed away from its long held demand for direct foreign aid and urged the international community to channel that to the non-governmental organizations. Tiger theoretician Anton Balasingham meeting with tsunami victims in Mullaitivu had said Velupillai Prabhakaran told the Norwegian Foreign Minister that the international community need not deliver aid directly to the Tigers, but utilize its own NGO mechanism to disburse and monitor aid distribution in the North-East. The government is trying to bring the disaster management including disbursement of international aid under one national umbrella. Our experience of such structures is that discrimination of the Tamil region would again creep in to this humanitarian equation, resulting in Tamil habitats being left out of the national program," LTTE peace secretariat website quoted Balasingham as saying. "Parochial politics is out of the equation at this hour," he said adding that "realizing this, we are now engaged in discussions with the government on structuring a common strategy to ensure equitable distribution of the international aid ...". Balasingham was expected to leave for London last evening (29). |
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