India fully backs Joint Mechanism

Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh declared his country's fullest support for the proposed Post Tsunami Operational Management Structure to facilitate relief and reconstruction work in Sri Lanka's tsunami hit areas.

The expression of support came in a joint statement from the Prime Minister and President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga following bilateral talks between the two leaders during the latter's visit to New Delhi last Friday.

The President conveyed to the Prime Minister her commitment to ensure the full participation of all communities in the country to ensure the delivery of relief and reconstruction assistance to those affected by the tsunami.

In this context, she apprised the Prime Minister of her efforts to establish a Post-Tsunami Operational Management Structure (P-TOMS) for co-ordinating relief and reconstruction in areas affected by the tsunami.

The Indian Prime Minister reiterated that India remains committed to assist Sri Lanka's remarkable efforts to recover from the tragedy of the Boxing Day tsunami.

The Indian assistance would consist of a grant of Rs. 100 crores for relief and reconstruction projects, a moratorium of debt repayments for three years as well as the factoring of post-tsunami.

President Kumaratunga thanked the Prime Minister, the Government and people of India for the generous assistance sent to Sri Lanka immediately after the tsunami and for the further aid pledged.

Meanwhile, the Hindu reported that ending all speculation to the contrary, India has come out in support of a Sri Lankan Government proposal to involve the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in a joint domestic mechanism for administering post-tsunami operations in the country.

The India-Sri Lanka joint statement in New Delhi on Friday during the ongoing working visit of President Kumaratunga notes that she apprised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of her efforts to establish a Post-Tsunami Operational Management Structure (P-TOMS) and that the "Prime Minister expressed understanding of and support for these ongoing efforts". Those opposed to the `joint mechanism' had claimed that India had reservations about the plan, and New Delhi's official silence on the issue helped fuel rumours in Colombo that this was indeed the case.

According to officials on both sides, President Kumaratunga explained the importance of P-TOMS in the context of the ongoing peace process. "For the first time, the LTTE is going to involve itself in an administrative process with the Sri Lankan Government," the Hindu stated quoting a Sri Lankan official.