Christina Rocca meets JVP delegation

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 20 April 2005, 16:16 GMT]
The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), Sinhala Marxist Nationalist Party and a major constituent of the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government, Wednesday told Ms Christina Rocca, the visiting US Assistant Secretary of State, that JVP is opposed to the joint mechanism which was proposed to enable the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to disburse funds from foreign governments and international aid agencies to assist tsunami rehabilitation and reconstruction programme in the northeast, sources said.

The JVP delegation led by its leader Mr.Somawanse Amerasinghe is reported to have handed over Ms Christina Rocca an alternate proposal for the joint mechanism, sources said.

Mr.Amarasinghe is said to have told Ms Rocca that LTTE is not elected by the people that if the LTTE wants a say in disbursing funds it could do so through the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), sources said.

The JVP delegation pointed out to Ms Rocca that it opposed the introduction of the provincial council system because an attempt was made by an earlier government to give a major role to the LTTE in running the administration in the northeast province. The JVP opposes the introduction of joint mechanism in the northeast for the same reason and also that it would undermine the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country, JVP delegation stressed at the discussion, sources said.

However Ms Christina Rocca is reported to have told the JVP delegation the urgent need of a joint mechanism to reconstruct the tsunami affected coastal areas of the northeast, sources said.

Earlier Ms Christina Rocca met with the Prime Minister Mr.Mahinda Rajapakse and discussed details of the joint mechanism proposal, sources said.