The Hindu : U.N. preparing for larger role in Sri Lanka

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 05, 2002

International

International

U.N. preparing for larger role in Sri Lanka

By Nirupama Subramanian

COLOMBO MAY 4. The United Nations, which was once advised by the Sri Lankan Government to confine itself to "malaria and mosquitoes'', is preparing to play a more pro-active humanitarian role in the background of the island's ongoing peace process.

The U.N., which has maintained a low-profile throughout the two decades of conflict in Sri Lanka, is now going all-out to take advantage of the ceasefire to push its humanitarian agenda. Its top priority is providing assistance to the estimated 800,000 people internally displaced by the conflict. The agency is preparing a donor-alert for financial assistance, which is likely to be distributed at a meeting of the Sri Lanka aid group in the first week of June.

Officials said pledges were expected from Norway, Canada and the Netherlands for human recovery and reconstruction in the immediate short-term, well ahead of a final settlement to the conflict. A U.N. Needs Assessment Mission, which wound up a two-week visit of the affected areas of the island on Friday, said that its first priority was to help the displaced resettle.

Eduardo Wattez, U.N. Asia-Pacific regional director, who was part of the multi-disciplinary team, said on Friday the "donor community was sympathetic'' despite Sri Lanka's "disappointing'' record of failed peace initiatives. He acknowledged that the donors would wait before pledging aid for secondary projects like roads, telecommunications and hospitals, which would depend on the smooth progress of the peace process.

The U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Ashely Wills, has said his Government would wait for a final resolution to the conflict before pledging aid.

However, the U.N. wants to begin at once with human recovery programmes. The fact that 23,000 people had spontaneously returned to their homes in the last few weeks necessitated an immediade plan of action with regard to mines removal, rebuilding and food aid ``The message is that the UN is shifting gear, it does not want to sit on the fence, it is prepared to be damned for what it might do than be damned for not doing anything,'' a UN official said.

The U.N. also wants to extend micro-credit facilities, agricultural support and income-generation schemes. Evidence of the agency's enthusiasm came with the Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, swiftly dispatching the socio-economic assessment team here in response to a request from the Sri Lankan Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe

The team toured the conflict areas extensively and held meetings with officials and the LTTE. A separate U.N. team, led by Kofi Asomani, was also here last week to study issues relating to refugees. ``It will be useful to present this issue at the first stage of the peace process,'' Mr Asomani told journalists here.

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