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Powerful political message from Oslo meeting - Prof. Peiris

by Ravi Ladduwahetty and Rashomi Silva

The main objective of the November 25 peace supporting meeting in Oslo is to send a powerful political message to the international community to back the peace process in Sri Lanka, Government spokesman Prof. G.L. Peiris said yesterday.

"It is going to be basically a political conference and the Governments that will be attending the meeting will be represented at a very high political level", he said.

USA's Assistant Secretary of State Richard Armitage, United Kingdom's Secretary of State for the Department of International Development Clair Short and European Union Commissioner Margo Walstrom are among those due to attend, Prof. Peiris told the weekly Cabinet news briefing.

Prof. Peiris will leave Sri Lanka tomorrow with Minister of Economic Reforms, Science and Technology Milinda Moragoda and a team of officials for the meeting. The November 25 talks will have a series of discussions at various stages.

There will be some parts of the discussions that will be restricted to the North and the East of Sri Lanka. There will also be a general discussion that will be centred round the overall development of the country as a whole.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik will address the parley on the broader aspects of development of Sri Lanka.

He said that there was also the monetary and the economic aspects to the parley as well.

While the meeting will not be a pledging conference akin those organized by the World Bank, it will try to raise the urgent funds as seed money needed for rehabilitation and the humanitarian work in the war ravaged areas.

Prof. Peiris explained that the larger funds which are required for the rehabilitation and the reconstruction of the North and the East will be raised at a subsequent meeting due in Tokyo to be held in around five or six months from now, at which time he said, the peace progress should have progressed further.

He said that the Government was trying to ensure rapid delivery because the idea was to convert the goodwill of the international community into money and to use that money into a substantial peace dividend to improve the lives of people throughout the country.

Prof. Peiris also said that whether Indian Ambassador to Oslo Gopal Krishna Gandhi, who was earlier Indian envoy to Colombo would attend the conference was under consideration.

However he said that India has been very supportive of the peace process in Sri Lanka, which has been an enormous source of strength to the government.

Prof. Peiris, stressing on the contribution of the Indian Government to Sri Lanka and the peace process, said that India has waived hitherto 10 percent mandatory up front payment to the US$ 200 million Credit Line. Earlier, the loan was structured in such a manner that Sri Lanka had to make this upfront payment and this has been waived, he said.

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