|
|
 |
 |
 |
| Monday, 4 August 2003 |
 |
|
 |
Security | |
| News Business Features Editorial Security Politics World Letters Sports Obituaries
|
Japanese Minister urges LTTE in Jaffna : Return to talks soon by Ranil Wijayapala The visiting Japanese Senior Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tatsuro Yano making a special statement in Jaffna on the Sri Lankan peace process yesterday urged the LTTE to return to the negotiating table at the earliest possible date. Tatsuro Yano, arrived in Sri Lanka last morning on an invitation extended by Minister Assisting Foreign Affairs Lal Dharmapriya Gamage and visited a camp for the Internally displaced in Inuvil, and a returnee's village in Jaffna. The visiting Minister made this special statement in Colombuthurai in Jaffna during his tour specially aimed at reviving the stalled peace talks between the Government and the LTTE. "I am concerned that peace talks have not resumed even after almost two months have passed since the Tokyo Conference", Yano added. He expressed optimism that the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE would reach an agreement in respect to the issue of the establishment of an interim administrative structure for the North and East. "I hope that the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE will soon reach an agreement acceptable to both parties through constructive negotiations", he said.The visiting Japanese Minister also announced that despite the current situation Japan will continue to extend immediate humanitarian assistance to the North East in line with the commitments of the international community. "As a part of such assistance Japan has decided to extend approximately US$ 2.6 million to the UNICEF for the improvement of maternal and child health care in Sri Lanka ", he said. Referring to the US$ 4.5 billion assistance pledged by the international community at the Tokyo donor conference, the visiting Minister said the resumption of peace talks is a pre-requisite to utilise those funds properly. "In order to achieve a durable peace and reconstruct a prosperous society, it is essential for the people of Sri Lanka to reconcile with each other by overcoming the differences in their ethnicities or communities". For the promotion of such efforts, it was agreed that assistance by donor community must be closely linked to substantial and parallel progress in the peace process. "In order to achieve such substantial progress, peace talks should be resumed in the first place", he added. The Government of Japan extends its fullest support to the peace process through facilitating peace talks and hosting the donor conference for Sri Lanka in Tokyo. The Japanese Special Envoy Yasushi Akashi also made efforts to bring the LTTE to the negotiating table and to the Tokyo donor conference following their withdrawal from the peace talks on April 21. The Japanese Senior Vice Ministers visit came at a time, the LTTE is studying the initial proposals sent by the Government on the proposed interim administrative structure for the North East as a fresh effort to restart stalled peace talks. A panel of legal experts of the LTTE is now in the process of studying these proposals forwarded by the Government through the Norwegian facilitators while the LTTE Political Wing leader is consulting its Eastern area leadership on the Interim Administration proposals. The LTTE's political wing leader S.P. Thamilselvan, said in Batticaloa that the LTTE is ready to send counter proposals on the interim administration of the North East based on the proposals sent by the Government. The LTTE is scheduled to have a meeting in a European capital in the middle of this month to prepare a response to the Government's latest proposals whilst suggesting changes if any to the Government's draft paper for the North East Interim administrative structure. |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
Produced by Lake House |
