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Significant economic growth during ceasefire

by Asanga Warnakulasuriya

Today is the 250th day of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement signed between the Government and the LTTE. It coincides with the second session of peace talks scheduled to start today in Thailand.

During the ceasefire, Sri Lanka experienced a significant economic growth when compared with the same period last year. According to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan exports increased by 33 per cent reaching a total of US$ 568 million in August 2002 while the expenditure on imports for the first eight months declined by six per cent when compared with 2001.

Recovering from the negative GDP last year, Sri Lanka reached 1.4 per cent in GDP during the first quarter of the year and is expected to reach 4-4.5 per cent during the third quarter of 2002.

Ending the 20-year-old bloodshed, the ceasefire has brought Sri Lanka to the brink of new era. The ethnic conflict has killed more than 60,000 people and left over 900,000 people displaced.

Officials say that around 11 people have died daily because of the war.

Fortunately it is an obsolete figure today. The most affected in the war, civilians are now the most benefited because of the ceasefire, officials said. According to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), 103,000 people have either returned to their homes or relocated with the declaration of the ceasefire.

Tourist arrivals has also increased. There is a 52 per cent increase (compared to 2001) in South Asian tourists during the first nine months of 2002. Indian tourists dominated with a 96.4 per cent increase. Tourist from Malaysia (139.4 per cent), South Africa (65.3 per cent) and USA (14.5 per cent) has also increased.

As a result of almost three months of negotiations between Norwegian facilitators and two parties to the conflict, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran signed on separate letters making the agreement active from February 22, 2002 midnight.

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Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
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