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Norway envoy meets Sri Lanka rebels over tsunami aid
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-02-06 00:35
Norway's ambassador to Sri Lanka met Tamil Tiger officials on
Saturday to find common ground between the rebels and the government about
distribution of post-tsunami aid over which the two sides have been bickering.
Thousands of people in Sri Lanka lost their homes and are living in
temporary shelters after the Dec. 26 tsunami wiped entire coastal villages off
the map and killed about 40,000 people.
Hans Bratskar, ambassador of Norway which brokered a ceasefire between the
government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), met rebel officials
in northern Kilinochchi town for talks "on formulating a common structure
between the government and the LTTE in reconstruction activities", a rebel Web
site said.
The government says all aid should come to it and not to a "non-state actor"
such as the LTTE, which has expressed disappointment over the amount of relief
that has reached tsunami-hit areas under rebel control.
A senior government official said this week that 70 percent of people
affected by the tsunami in Sri Lanka had not received aid.
The Norwegian envoy had stressed the need for the LTTE and the government to
quickly come to an agreement over distribution of aid since the international
community was keen to see it reach the right people, said the Web site,
www.ltteps.org.
An assessment report by aid donors this week said strong monitoring,
transparency and accountability were required to ensure that the millions of
dollars of external assistance reached their intended sources and were used
efficiently.
Sri Lanka would need about $1.5 billion for reconstruction, the report by the
Asian Development Bank, The World Bank and the Japan Bank for International
Cooperation said in the report.
The report raised concerns over corruption and waste involving aid.
"The allocation of resources, both domestic and international, should be
strictly guided by the identified needs and local priorities, without
discrimination on the basis of political, religious, ethnic or gender
considerations," it said.
LTTE have waged a two-decade war for autonomy in northern Sri Lanka, which
sustained 20 percent of the damage from the giant waves.
The government, meanwhile, withdrew tax and duty exemptions on most goods
that were allowed to be imported free as part of relief measures soon after the
tsunami.
The ministry of finance and planning said in a statement that since disaster
management had moved into a rehabilitation and reconstruction phase it was
discouraging imports or donation of rice to safeguard local farmers who will
soon harvest their crop.
"Therefore, only certain items such as medical supplies, milk powder, infant
milk, infant food, roofing material and components of pre-fabricated houses will
be released free of duty," it said.
The ministry banned imports of rice, biscuits, instant food, garments and
drinking water and said voluntary organisations providing relief to tsunami
victims were encouraged to seek cash donations from overseas than in kind as
most of the requirements could be met locally.
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