Sri Lanka's prime minister moved to revive peace talks with Tamil Tiger rebels yesterday, saying he would be willing to alter the Constitution to meet their demand for an interim administration in the war-torn northeast.
Speaking as donors pledged more than US$2 billion for the country at the start of an aid conference in Tokyo, Ranil Wickremesinghe said that once a political solution to end the 20-year conflict had been reached, his government would call a referendum to endorse changes to Sri Lanka's Constitution.
"We will introduce constitutional reforms when we have negotiated a final political solution, which we are fully committed to take to the people of Sri Lanka through a referendum for the ultimate decision," he told the conference, itself seen as a crucial step towards cementing the fragile peace process.
The rebels refused to attend the two-day Tokyo meeting and walked out of peace talks in April, citing the slow pace of rebuilding the Tamil-majority northeast.
But they have said they would consider resuming talks if the government agreed to an interim authority, which it had previously rejected as unconstitutional.
As a first step, Wickremesinghe offered to form a provisional authority as donors from more than 30 countries and 20 institutions began pledging funds expected to total around US$3 billion over three years that will be tied to the peace process.
US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage joined other delegates in urging the Tigers to return to the negotiating table and voiced scepticism over their ability to give up violence.
"[The group that] pioneered the practice of turning its sons and daughters into human bombs is going to have to work hard to build trust and convince the world that it is capable of playing a legitimate role in the political life of Sri Lanka," he said, referring to the Tigers' use of suicide bombers.
The Tigers -- officially the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam -- are listed as a terrorist group by Washington, and Armitage said there was no question of considering removing it from the list unless peace talks resumed.
Japan got the ball rolling with an offer of up to US$1 billion in aid over the next three years, but said it was conditional on concrete peace steps.
"Neither party should assume that the assistance by the international community would be provided automatically to them," Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi said at the meeting.
"The international community must review and monitor closely the progress of the peace process," she said.
The Asian Development Bank matched Japan's pledge of US$1 billion, and the European Union chipped in with an offer of 250 million euros (US$292 million) over three years, which it also said was conditional on the peace process.
The aid is aimed at providing all sides with an incentive to accelerate the peace process after a 16-month ceasefire rather than return to a war that has claimed 64,000 lives.
The Tamil Tigers, reacting on the weekend to reports that the government would make the offer of an interim authority, had said they wanted to see concrete proposals.
Wickremesinghe said the provisional administrative structure -- part of what he called a "road map" to a final peace -- would enable the Tigers to play a significant role and would have to be "efficient, transparent and accountable."
RSS