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Lanka needs international help to sustain peace: ADB President
Colombo, Mar 08: The Asian Development Bank today urged the international community to help rebuild Sri Lanka, even before the country reaches a final settlement to end its civil war.
Colombo, Mar 08: The Asian Development Bank today
urged the international community to help rebuild Sri Lanka,
even before the country reaches a final settlement to end its
civil war.
ADB president Tadao Chino arrived in Sri Lanka on
Thursday for a four-day visit and travelled to the island's
north, where he discussed development projects with officials
from the Tamil tiger rebels, who have been fighting a
separatist war for nearly two decades.
"We need to provide continued assistance to sustain and enhance the peace process while waiting for a lasting peace," Chino told reporters in the capital, Colombo. The ADB provides USD 200 million in annual assistance to Sri Lanka, and may increase that after a donor conference in Tokyo in June.
The government estimates at least USD 500 million is needed to rebuild the war-ravaged nation.
The rebels began their insurgency in 1983 to create a separate state for the minority Tamils accusing majority Sinhalese of discrimination. Nearly, 65,000 people were killed and another 1.6 million displaced before a Norway-brokered cease-fire was signed last year.
The truce has paved the way for five rounds of peace talks, during which the rebels have agreed to accept regional autonomy. Bureau Report
"We need to provide continued assistance to sustain and enhance the peace process while waiting for a lasting peace," Chino told reporters in the capital, Colombo. The ADB provides USD 200 million in annual assistance to Sri Lanka, and may increase that after a donor conference in Tokyo in June.
The government estimates at least USD 500 million is needed to rebuild the war-ravaged nation.
The rebels began their insurgency in 1983 to create a separate state for the minority Tamils accusing majority Sinhalese of discrimination. Nearly, 65,000 people were killed and another 1.6 million displaced before a Norway-brokered cease-fire was signed last year.
The truce has paved the way for five rounds of peace talks, during which the rebels have agreed to accept regional autonomy. Bureau Report