President surprised over Ranil's stance

PRESIDENT Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga in a letter yesterday expressed her surprise and regret over the rejection of her sincere offer, by Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe on an important issue of national concern. The letter:

Hon. Ranil Wickremesinghe, MP,
Leader of the Opposition,
5th Lane,
Colombo.

My dear Mr. Wickremesinghe,

Developing a common program for the implementation of humanitarian efforts for tsunami affected area, I write in response to the letter dated May 6, 2005 under the hand of Mr. Malik Samarawickrema, Chairman of the UNP setting out the response of your party to the invitation to participate in a discussion chaired by me on May 9, 2005.

I wish to convey my surprise and regret at your rejection of a sincere offer to have a dialogue on an important issue of national concern, overriding party politics.

The proposal for the establishment of a Post-Tsunami Operational Management Structure (which you refer to as the 'Joint Mechanism') is in fact, not part of the peace process, as you have assumed, without even being acquainted with its contents.

It is, rather, an administrative arrangement consisting of a group of committees with the objective of ensuring a more equitable and efficient utilisation of foreign aid for post-tsunami reconstruction, within a limited area of two kilometres from the coastline, in six districts of the Northern and Eastern provinces.

The LTTE has agreed that there is an urgent need for all communities to co-operate on humanitarian grounds, in the face of the common adversity and that the Government and the LTTE together with elected representatives of the affected communities, especially the Muslim people will have resolved to work together in good faith, in recognition of this humanitarian need in the six districts of Amparai, Batticaloa, Jaffna, Killinocchi, Mullaitivu and Trincomalee.

With regard to the document handed to me by you on January 25, 2005 this refers to reconstruction work already being implemented by the Government with the support of others throughout the country.

The program for the implementation of reconstruction of tsunami affected areas seeks to use foreign aid allocated to address the specific needs of the affected areas in six districts of the North and East by providing for the participation of all affected communities, in an equitable and non-discriminatory structure that will be both transparent and accountable, inspiring confidence among the affected peoples and the donor community.

The deliberate avoidance of this opportunity to receive a briefing on the main features of the proposal and of contributing your views on it, in keeping with the best traditions of the democratic process, is deeply regrettable.

Yours sincerely,
Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga.