Financial Times

Sri Lankan donors urge early return to peace talks

Four countries chairing Sri Lanka's donor-led reconstruction and development after 20-years of war, last week appealed for the early resumption of peace talks and urged donors to continue delivering humanitarian relief and rehabilitation assistance to all needy areas of the country.

The call was made after the the co-chairs of the Tokyo Donor Conference last June (the US, EC, Japan, and Norway) met in Washington to discuss the international community's support of Sri Lanka's peace process.

The four while calling on all political figures to work towards free, fair, and peaceful, polls, underscored the importance that campaign rhetoric must be devoid of religious and ethnic intolerance and "must not be used in ways that undermine the important gains that have been made in the peace process."

They also encouraged donors to provide support for independent local and international election monitors and call on all parties to ensure that they can carry out their mission in safety.

A statement issued at the end of the meeting said the co-chair group was pleased to note that in cooperation with the Sri Lankan Monitoring Mission, the parties have largely upheld the cease-fire in Sri Lanka for two years.

"With each passing month more displaced Sri Lankans return to their homes and more humanitarian demining occurs.

The co-chairs applaud these indicators of peace, while at the same time call for the earliest possible resumption of peace talks, which have been suspended since April 2003.

After the elections conclude, the co-chairs urge the political parties to work expeditiously to establish clarity of responsibilities, so that the peace process - and the entire process of governance - can resume, regardless of the outcome of elections.

They welcomed the LTTE's statements of commitment to the cease-fire and to negotiations and encouraged them to act responsibly during and after the election campaign. "The co-chairs reiterate their continued determination to implement their assistance pledged at the Tokyo Conference, based on the principles of the Tokyo Declaration, which makes clear that assistance by the donor community must be closely linked to substantial and parallel progress in the peace process.

The co-chairs said they will convene another meeting at an early date after the elections.

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