Aid deal not final, says Kumaratunga

[TamilNet, Friday, 17 June 2005, 10:28 GMT]
Responding to a letter from the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) which listed JVP's reasons for quitting the alliance, Sri Lanka's President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunga said Thursday that a final document for the Joint Mechanism has not been formulated. She added that the proposed mechanism does not go beyond the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA) signed by Ranil Wickremesinghe and that the mechanism will not in any way jeopardize the sovereignty or integrity of Sri Lanka. Political observers in Colombo noted that as no time frame has been fixed for signing the proposal, more political maneuvering and delay in finalizing the aid deal can be expected.

"Not only by then, even by today a final document relating to the mechanism has not been formulated. I have never hesitated to disclose to the constituent parties of the UPFA all the multiple developments relating to the concept of relief mechanism as they occurred. You ought to understand that until a final consensus is arrived at on a matter of this nature it is not diplomatically prudent to discuss everything in public," Kumaratunga writes in her lengthy reply to Tilvin Silva on Thursday.

Ms Kumaratunga said: "The Tsunami Relief Council is purely an administrative mechanism to rehabilitate the tsunami devastated areas in the North and East coastal belt. Its activity extends only up to 2 kilometers from the beach. That too is in the Districts of Jaffna, Mullativu, Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Ampara and Kilinochchi. It is not devolution of political power. It will not be signed by the President or a Minister but by a Ministry official."

Kumaratunga added that it is a "Victory" for the government, that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are joining the Government in collaboration to action the tsunami relief mechanism.

The JVP accused Kumaratunaga and her Government with the following "faults", as seen from Ms Kumaratunga's response:

1. Provision of an opportunity for the Liberation Tigers Tamil Eelam Organization which is an illegal Terrorist organization with no public mandate to sit with a properly mandated legitimate Government to perform a function which should be done by the Freedom Alliance Government.
2. Devolution of power vested in the Government on some other organization.
3. It is a reaffirmation of the claim that North and East are the homeland of the Tamils
4. Denial of democratic rights of the innocent
5. Affirmation of the claim of the LTTE as the only representative of the Tamil people.
6. The Tsunami Relief Council is a subjugation of the Tsunami traumatized Muslim and Sinhala people in the North and East to the despotic hands of the LTTE.
7. The LTTE organization is receiving a joint hand in government activity without any assurance of its joining the democratic political stream.
8. This is an unconditional violation of Administrative Regulations and the Establishment Code.
9. Subjugation of the people of the North and East to Terrorist forces.
10. The Tsunami Relief Council will be another strong testimony to establish a claim that the North and East of Sri Lanka has a parallel administration run by the LTTE.
11. It is a violation of the Independence, Sovereignty, Unity and Territorial integrity of Sri Lanka

Ms Kumaratunge explained her position to the above accusations in her response.

Meanwhile, in a televised speech to Sri Lankan people Thursday, Ms Kumaratunge gave assurances that "LTTE will not gain any legal status through this [Joint Mechanism] administrative arrangement.

“This arrangement is aimed at reconstructing infrastructure within a two kilometer coastal belt ravaged by the tidal waves. This is a form of decentralized administration very similar to the JVP’s proposed policy of decentralization to solve the ethnic unrest in the North and East. The Tsunami Relief Council does not have any legislative power. All funds will be expended by the Government’s Treasury and its officials,” said Ms Kumaratunge.

External Links:

SL:		Political Solution the only way
SL:		President’s response to JVP