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Australia, the European Commission and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan yesterday welcomed the commencement of peace talks between the government and the LTTE.

Peace negotiations are an important step towards a permanent end to the conflict that has caused immense suffering to all of Sri Lanka's ethnic groups, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said.

He said that in support of the peace process Australia will contribute A$ 7.5 million towards humanitarian objectives in Sri Lanka including mine action, food aid, rehabilitation and conflict reduction. The Australian Government has decided to provide A$ 400,000 specifically for the rehabilitation of child soldiers.

"I call on the LTTE to release all child soldiers and to cooperate fully with efforts to assist former child soldiers in overcoming their traumatic experiences and re-joining their families and communities," Downer added.

An additional amount of up to A$1.5 m will also be provided through the bilateral program for community-based peace building initiatives in conflict affected areas.

The European Commission has adopted a decision to support the peace process in Sri Lanka under its Rapid Reaction Mechanism, a news release said yesterday.

The Commission's decision is timed to coincide with the start of peace talks. The additional Community funding of 1.8 million euro is in recognition of the parties' commitment to the Ceasefire Agreement.

The European Commission financed in May this year an assessment mission to Sri Lanka under its Rapid Reaction Mechanism (RRM) to explore possibilities for RRM-assistance for the peace process.

The program will focus on highly visible actions demonstrating the importance the European Commission attaches to the political initiatives currently undertaken. This programme under the Rapid Reaction Mechanisms additional to and supportive of other community programmes.

The programme consists of the following measures:

Support to the implementation of the Ceasefire Agreement by rehabilitating schools that had been used for military purposes; Rehabilitation of electricity lines between the checkpoints on the Kandy-Jaffna road; A financial contribution to the Peace Secretariat; Support to activities of the Human Rights Commission.

In parallel, the Commission has started the process to mobilise Euro 4 million under the Rehabilitation budget line. These funds will be used for the rehabilitation of the Batticaloa Railroad, an additional contribution to assist the return of displaced persons and to finance a mine survey under the UN Mine Action Programme.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan welcomed the start Monday of the Norwegian-brokered talks.

The UN spokesman said Annan was "pleased that the two sides have successfully implemented the provisions of their ceasefire signed last February and are now entering substantive talks."

Annan hoped that "these talks will lead to a political settlement of the internal conflict in Sri Lanka which will preserve the country's unity and integrity," spokesman Fred Eckhard said.

"At the same time, he looks forward to enhancing the United Nations role in support of the peace process, especially regarding peace-building activities," Eckhard said. 

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