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| Monday, 3 January 2005 |
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LTTE aid requests being met by Govt - Peace Secretariat Following the destruction of lives and property caused by the Tsunami waves that hit Sri Lanka on December 26,the Government of Sri Lanka has embarked on large scale relief and rehabilitation activities in all affected areas, a media release issued by the Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process said. The LTTE Development Secretariat's request for assistance is being met by the government. Arrangements have been made by Norwegian facilitators for the LTTE Peace Secretariat to be in regular contact with the Government of Sri Lanka in Colombo for the purpose of coordinating disaster relief activities, the release said. The release added: "Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse travelled to Jaffna on December 30, accompanied by Trade Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle, Power and Energy Minister Susil Premajayantha, Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation Minister Anura Dissanayake, Port and Aviation Deputy Minister Dilan Perera and Wimal Weerawansa MP, to formalise the distribution of essential items to Jaffna and had met many people who have survived the tidal waves. "On December 29, Constitutional Affairs Minister D.E.W. Gunasekera went Jaffna to see the Tsunami-affected areas and to asses the urgent needs of the people. On the same day, Director General Harim Peiris of the Relief,Rehabilitation and Reconciliation Ministry had also visited Jaffna, Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu districts. The release said that the President has directed all the Government Agents of the affected districts to allocate Rs.10 million each for relief efforts. Thus the districts of Jaffna, Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi,Vavuniya in the North and Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Amapara in the East were granted an initial sum of Rs. 70 million. To facilitate the relief activities, a National Relief Operation Unit (NROU) has been established and is headquartered at the Presidential Secretariat, the release said. NROU, the apex body will assist all disaster relief activities undertaken by the various Government and Non-Governmental Organisations. A needs assessment and situation analysis are being undertaken by NROU with the help of the special UN team now in Sri Lanka. To accelerate the redevelopment of the affected areas, the government intends to set up seven Task Forces. The President has appealed to the business community to work in conjunction with these Task Forces. The Business community has pledged their sincere support to work with these Task Forces, who will oversee the areas of housing and urban planning, highways, schools, hospitals, tourism, electricity and Telecom. The business community is right now involved in numerous immediate relief measures, the press release said. The International Community has rushed in with aid to help meet rising needs of relief and rehabilitation. Australia, Canada, China, France, India, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Norway, Pakistan, Singapore, UK, USA are some of the countries that have assisted with financial aid and other immediate relief measures. |
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