Sri Lanka – donor conference in Oslo on Monday 25 November

The first international donor conference in support of the peace process in Sri Lanka is being held in Oslo on Monday. The aim of the conference is to mobilize political and economic support for the efforts to promote a lasting peace on the island.

Foreign Minister Jan Petersen will open the conference. It is being attended by over 100 representatives of 19 nations, including Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage of the US and Secretary of State for International Development Clare Short of the UK. The EU will be represented by Commissioner for the Environment Margot Wallstrøm, and Sri Lanka by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and the government’s chief negotiator, Professor G. L. Peiris. The delegation from the LTTE will be headed by its chief negotiator, Mr Anton Balasingham.

The war-affected areas need enormous amounts of humanitarian assistance. In order to maintain popular support for the peace process, rapid and visible measures should be implemented that will show the parties that peace is worthwhile. The hostilities between the LTTE and the authorities have been going on for over 20 years and have cost over 60 000 lives. The cease-fire agreement that was signed in February is still in force and has been followed up by fresh negotiations this autumn. The next negotiation meeting between the parties will be held in Oslo on 2-5 December.

The parties have mentioned three matters that must be given priority. The first is the return of refugees to the northern and eastern parts of the country, a step that will require extensive demining efforts. Furthermore they agree that assistance must be given to war-affected women and children and that efforts must be made to provide a new life for the many victims of the war.

Norway has been facilitating the peace process since 1998. Important elements of this work are helping the parties to understand each other’s positions, serving as a channel of communication between them and building bridges.