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A new mechanism for spurring North-East development

The government has proposed a new mechanism to replace the Sub Committee on Immediate Humanitarian and Rehabilitation Needs (SIHRN) with a body comprising one or two commissioners and district development committees. The two commissioners will be entrusted with the task of carrying out immediate functions while the district development committees will monitor and coordinate all functions related to the utilisation of funds.

This is widely seen as an immediate and temporary measure for the reconstruction of the North-East and for effective utilisation of the US$ 4.5 billion received from the Tokyo aid conference last week.

The SIHRN was perceived to be ineffective and inefficient because it was bound by bureaucratic red tape and other constraints. The ineffectiveness of SIHRN was one of the reasons cited by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for temporarily pulling out of the peace negotiations.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe himself observed at the Tokyo aid parley that Sri Lanka has to overcome the delays, the blockages and the inertia of its bureaucratic apparatus and transform it into one capable of speedy implementation where work is done efficiently and effectively.

This concern is precisely what the government hopes to address through the proposed new mechanism. However, as Cabinet Spokesman Minister Prof G. L. Peiris has pointed out, the mechanism will first have to be discussed with the LTTE since the previous committee was also appointed with the agreement of both parties. The government intends to submit this new proposal to the LTTE to seek their response.

In this context, it is imperative for the two sides to meet in person and discuss the proposal extensively. The discussion does not necessarily have to be another round of peace talks per se, but a consensual 'meeting of minds' where both sides can voice their ideas and concerns on this specific proposal.

The LTTE which remains adamant that the government should offer them an interim administration with full powers, must realise that a democratically elected government cannot act outside the parameters of the present Constitution until and unless it is amended according to clearly defined parliamentary procedures. In the meantime, the government has offered to set up an interim administration structure in which the LTTE will have a major role to play.

These are critical issues which cannot be discussed through an exchange of letters through the facilitator. It is in the interest of the LTTE to discuss an interim administration structure with the government even at this stage for the benefit of the very people it claims to represent. The LTTE lost an opportunity to present their plans for the people of the North-East before the international community by not going to the Tokyo donor conference. A positive response from the LTTE to the government's invitation to begin talks on new ways of spurring development in the North-East will give it yet another chance to do so.

A factor that both sides must not forget is that the international community is closely watching developments in Sri Lanka. The donors have pledged an unprecedented quantum of aid to Sri Lanka, placing fullest confidence in our capability to successfully resolve the ethnic conflict and to meaningfully use the funds, a major proportion of which will go to the North-East.

No room should thus be left at this crucial juncture for any slackening of the commitment to achieving peace.

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