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"Aid to SL is conditioned on progress in the peace process - Donors should recognize this"

The Confederation of Civilian Based Organisations in Jaffna submitted a memorandum addressed to the Norwegian Prime Minister, outlining the concern of the Tamil people on the thirty million Dollar aid package of Norway to Sri Lanka for development projects in the year 2005. The federation alleges that the Tamil people view this as a disincentive in the backdrop of the lack of commitment and sincerity of purpose on the part of the government to break barriers and act with courage to restart the stalled peace process.

The Confederation availed the opportunity of meeting the Norwegian Special Peace Envoy Mr. Erik Solheim during his brief visit to Jaffna on 15th September prior to his meeting with the Head of the LTTE Political Wing on 16th. A memorandum addressed to the Norwegian Prime Minister was handed over to the Peace Envoy after preliminary discussions on the current political situation and frustrations of the Tamil people over the delay to restart the peace talks.

Following are excerpts from the memorandum:

"The peace process remains dormant for the last 20 months. Failure on the part of the government to effectively implement the CFA has resulted in the Tamil people not deriving the dividends of peace, most importantly normalcy. Urgent humanitarian needs still remain unfulfilled making the day to day life of the Tamil people, crisis ridden.

The peace process is not moving forward because of the lethargic attitude of the government in not taking on board the ISGA proposals submitted by the LTTE as the for recommencement of political negotiations. Under the circumstances, we strongly protest against Norway offering a 30 million Dollar aid package to Sri Lanka for development project. This, we believe, tends to negate the conditionality attached to aid on the progress in the peace process.

We are afraid that a government that is under pressure from extremist coalition partners who believe in a military solution to the ethnic conflict, has a tendency to utilize this type of assistance for its war machinery and thrust a war on the Tamil nation over again. The Tamil people have no reservations in opposing any such international assistance unilaterally to a government that has put in the back burner the ISGA proposals, stalled the peace process, and allowed the proliferation of armed groups that are against the Tamil cause to roam around and create much against the letter and spirit of the CFA.

It is high time that the International community takes cognition of this government's blatant denial of human rights to the Tamils and engaged in genocidal acts against the Tamil nation. We do not recognize a no-war peace which does not ultimately leads to a final resolution of the conflict. The deal tactics resorted to by the government in the matter of knocking off impediments and taking forward the peace process gives grave concern to the Tamil people. The Confederation therefore urges you to review aid offer to Sri Lanka in the context of the conditionality tide to aid and agreed upon by the signatories to the CFA under-written by the Norwegian facilitators".

The Jaffna District Agricultural Co-operative Consumer Society Confederation also submitted a similar memorandum to Mr. Erik Solheim.

15 September 2004

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