LTTE's continued terrorism, main reason for stalling of peace process - Christina Rocca

BY DAYA Gamage, US correspondent to Asian Tribune

ASSISTANT Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs Christina Rocca, testifying before the United States House of Representatives International Relations Sub-committee for Asia and the Pacific on June 14, said the division within the Lankan Government and the absence of trust between the Government and the LTTE, which continues to use assassinations and suicide bombers, underscoring their character as an organisation wedded to terrorism and justifying their designation as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation are the main reasons for the breakdown of the peace process.

However, Rocca said the United States primary goal in Sri Lanka is to help the country end more than a decade of conflict between the Government and the LTTE.

The Assistant Secretary said the recovery from last December's tsunami pre-empted the peace process as the primary concern of both parties for the past several months.

"With the Norwegian assistance, both parties have been negotiating an agreement to regulate the distribution of tsunami reconstruction aid.

This agreement, a Joint Mechanism, is an opportunity to build trust between the parties and is therefore an important contribution to the peace process should it come to fruition. President Kumaratunga has publicly committed herself to signing the Joint Mechanism, but she faces serious challenges from members of her government who oppose the mechanism."

Rocca told the United States Congress that the United States firmly supports her plan to sign the Joint Mechanism and remains prepared, along with other donors, to help Sri Lanka address urgent post-conflict reconstruction needs.

The goal of peaceful reconciliation will need to help guide our (US) post-tsunami re-construction assistance, she said.

In his opening statement, the Chairman of the House of Representatives International Relations Sub-committee on Asia and the Pacific, Congressman Jim Leach said "the coalition government in Colombo continues to debate the efficacy of a 'Joint Mechanism' to provide tsunami relief to the Tamil majority areas of the North and East. Agreement on such an aid mechanism could be an important confidence building measure and catalyst for the stalemated peace process." - (Asian Tribune)