Colombo, Sept 12: The Tamil Tiger rebels today boycotted a postwar reconstruction meeting chaired by a top Japanese peace envoy, casting doubt on USD 4.5 billion in foreign aid pledges to Sri Lanka. Yasushi Akashi met with Colombo-based diplomats and representatives of international donor agencies to discuss reconstruction of the war-battered country after the government and the rebels signed a cease-fire in February 2002.
Today's meeting was a follow-up to a Japanese-hosted international aid conference in June, also boycotted by the rebels, at which donors pledged USD 4.5 billion to help rebuild Sri Lanka on the condition that both sides made sufficient progress toward a lasting peace. Those efforts suffered a serious setback earlier this year when the rebels walked out of peace talks after attending six rounds, accusing the government of foot-dragging on developing the Tamil-dominated northeast.
The rebels said they would not attend today's meeting, citing a "lack of an effective structure to receive and disburse funds".
The rebels want direct access to foreign aid, but several donor countries have been reluctant to deal directly with them. Bureau Report