Archives

By Scott McDonald

COLOMBO, Monday (Reuters) - Sri Lanka will appeal to international donors for much of the $500 million it needs over the next five years to rebuild its war-shattered North, Minister Jayalath Jayawardena said on Monday.

Jayawardena, Minister of Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Refugees, told Reuters in an interview the investment would depend on the progress of peace talks aimed at ending two decades of conflict in which 64,000 people have died.

Norway, acting as a peace broker, announced last week that peace talks would begin in neutral Thailand on September 16 between the Colombo government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in an attempt to build on a ceasefire reached in February.

Jayawardena said the northern stronghold of the LTTE needed large amounts of aid to make up for two decades of under-investment.

"We are starting from zero. As far as we are concerned the province is totally devastated," he said.

"No proper development has been done in the northern province for the last 20 years. Now we are in the position to assess what their needs and priorities are," he said.

Jayawardena said the $500 million figure was a target. Much of it would have to come from international donors because of the difficulties of the cash-strapped government, which saw its economy grow just 0.1 percent in the first quarter this year.

"The Prime Minister's Office has taken the responsibility of raising donor funding," he said in his office in Colombo.

He said even though the ceasefire was in place, investors and donors had been hesitant to invest in the North -- the Jaffna peninsula and the Tiger-controlled Wanni area -- until the peace process was more firmly rooted.

"It is in the pipeline with the peace process. There were delays, but at least now it has started and I hope that within a short period they (donors) will be convinced," he said.

Jayawardena said the ceasefire has already had an immediate impact on the lives of people in Jaffna and Wanni, which has some of the lowest living standards in the tropical island nation.

"The most important thing is the mobility of the people. At the moment the people can move freely," he said, pointing to an agreement between the government and the LTTE to re-open the A-9 highway which runs from the South through Wanni to Jaffna.

Jayawardena said some 800,000 people were categorised as internally displaced and at least three million had been affected by the fighting in the North.

"The first thing is humanitarian emergencies such as food, water and shelter. De-mining is also an immediate priority," he said.

There are two million mines in Wanni, which lacks electricity, clean water or basic health care.

"The Wanni is the worst affected area. It was totally cut off," said Jayawardena, who spoke as a government team flew to Wanni for talks with the Tigers on development aid.

He said it was too early to say what economic boost the rest of the island would get from rebuilding the North.

News | Business | Features | Editorial | Security
Politics | World | Letters | Sports | Obituaries |

Produced by Lake House
Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
Comments and suggestions to :Web Manager