The most recent Tokyo Conference on the Reconstruction and Development of Sri Lanka was held at Washington D.C., on February 17, 2004, as a follow-up meet to discuss the international community's support for Sri Lanka's peace process. The presently-stalled peace process came about as a result of the signing of a ceasefire agreement between the Government of Sri Lanka under Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe's administration and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on February 23, 2002, which committed both sides to maintaining a separation of forces, refraining from offensive manoeuvres and allowing for the unimpeded flow of items between areas under their respective control. The current peace process can be traced back to the action of the Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga and the LTTE leader, Vellupillai Prabhakaran in 2000, asking Norway to "serve as the impartial facilitator for peace negotiations."
Tokyo Conference As the name implies, the Tokyo Conference on the Reconstruction and Development of Sri Lanka was first held at Tokyo, on June 9 and 10, 2003, with the participation of representatives from 51 countries, including India, and 22 international organizations. The subsequent meetings, though held elsewhere, have been called by the same name. A notable absentee at Tokyo was the LTTE. Japan, Norway, the United States and the European Union (EU) acted as the co-chairs.
Explaining India's stand, its representative stated on the first day: "India is committed to the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka. It is our view that there is no solution to the ongoing conflict other than a political solution." He pointed out that in the bilateral aid program for Sri Lanka, India "currently extends assistance amounting to approximately US $ 200 million," which "is utilized to obtain a range of capital goods, food supplies, education and health services."
The objectives of the Conference were defined as : "… to provide the international community with an opportunity to demonstrate its strong and unified commitment to the reconstruction and development of Sri Lanka and to encourage the parties to redouble their efforts to make further progress in the peace process. While only one party to the peace process is present at the Conference, the international community takes the opportunity to demonstrate its commitment to support the establishment by the parties of the necessary administrative structure for the effective reconstruction and development of the North and East. A partnership between the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE will be necessary to rebuild these areas effectively. Adequate safeguards to secure the interests of all other communities should be included in this framework."
The Declaration added: "The Conference commends both parties for their commitment to a lasting and negotiated peace based on a federal structure within a united Sri Lanka.' This statement is important as it shows that the donors are committed to an undivided Sri Lanka with its territorial integrity intact.
The outcome of the Conference was covered under the heading "Support Indicated by the Donors" which stated: "The participating donor countries and international organizations have demonstrated their willingness to extend assistance to the entire country, to a cumulative estimated amount, in excess of US $ 4.5 billion over the four year period, 2003-2006. In addition, some countries and international organizations have offered technical support. Others have indicated that their commitments are based upon an assumption of a viable peace process."
Calling for "Balanced Humanitarian and Economic Assistance", the Declaration noted "the importance of urgent humanitarian assistance as well as medium to long-term assistance to rebuild the conflict-affected areas in the North and East, and to assist in the development of the entire country. The Conference emphasizes the importance of taking full account of the delicate ethnic and geographical balance in providing assistance. The donor community expresses its "Needs Assessment" of the North and East, which identified needs in the conflict-affected areas. The donor community expresses its willingness to extend assistance to Sri Lanka based on the source material provided for the Conference namely, "Regaining Sri Lanka', the "Needs Assessment' of the North and East, the "Needs Assessment" for the conflict-related districts adjacent to the North and East, and the Bridging Document, which links the "Needs Assessments" and "Regaining Sri Lanka".
Under "Progress of the Peace Process', the Declaration urged 'the parties to move expeditiously to a lasting and equitable political settlement. Such a settlement should be based upon respect of human rights, democracy and the rule of law."
Under "Linkage between Donor Support and Progress in the Peace Process", the Declaration provides that 'Assistance by the donor community must be closely linked to substantial and parallel progress in the peace process towards fulfillment of the objectives agreed upon by the parties in Oslo. The Conference encourages the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE to enter into discussions as early as possible on a provisional administrative structure to manage the reconstruction and development aspects of the transition process. The process would need the expeditious development of a roadmap with clear milestones indicating the path towards a mutually acceptable final political solution. With this in view, the international community intends to review and monitor the progress of the peace process closely….", and the Declaration went on to refer to ten objectives and milestones.
The Declaration stated under "Monitoring and Review" that, "With full regard to the position of Norway as the facilitator, Japan, in cooperation with the United States and the European Union, will undertake necessary consultations to establish the modalities for this purpose as early as possible."
First Follow-up Meet The first follow-up meet after the Conference at Tokyo was held on September 12, 2003, at Colombo and was chaired by Yasushi Akashi, Representative of the Government of Japan. He was assisted by the EU and the USA. Twelve donor countries and seven international organizations attended. Though the LTTE was invited to attend, as also the Government of Sri Lanka, the former again declined to participate. While the participating countries and international organizations "welcomed the continuing commitment of both parties to the peace process and their continued efforts to resume peace talks," they "also urged strict adherence to the Memorandum of Understanding."
The issues discussed included: implementation of donor assistance after the Tokyo Conference; development policy and capacity building by both parties; interlinkage between progress in the peace process and implementation of donor support, future assistance by the donors and follow-up modalities. While reaffirming "the importance of urgent humanitarian and rehabilitation assistance in the North and East," the participants "reiterated their intention to fulfill the commitment to extend assistance to the entirety of Sri Lanka to a cumulative estimated amount in excess of $ 4. 5 billion as expressed at the Tokyo Conference, based upon the principles described in the Tokyo Declaration."
The participants pointed to paragraph 18 of the Tokyo Declaration and made clear that "assistance by the donor community must be closely linked to substantial and parallel progress in the peace process." They proposed that the next Consultative Group meeting would be held sometime in the middle of this year and progress in the peace talks would decide the "exact timing." Immediately before the Consultative Group meeting, there would be a monitoring and review meeting.
Another Follow-up Meet Unlike at the other two meets, Sri Lanka was not invited to attend the follow-up meeting held at Washington D.C., on February 17, 2004. This meeting was attended by representatives of the Co-Chairs (USA, European Union, Japan and Norway). The US was represented by the Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage who chaired the meeting and its delegation included Christina Rocca, Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs. The European Union was represented by Noel Fahey, the Irish Ambassador to the US, the Japanese delegation by Ambassador Yasushi Akashi, Special Representative to Sri Lanka ,and Norway by Eric Solheim, Special Envoy.
In the joint press statement issued after the meeting, the Co-Chairs noted that "in cooperation with the Sri Lankan Monitoring Mission, the parties have largely upheld the ceasefire in Sri Lanka for two years. With each passing month more displaced persons return to their homes and more humanitarian demining occurs." The Co-Chairs agreed that the parties to the peace process needed to take action for "…the earliest possible resumption of peace talks, which have been suspended since April 2003".
After expressing "their disappointment at the breakdown of 'co-habitation' efforts,' they called for "all political figures to work to ensure that parliamentary elections scheduled for April 2 are free, fair, and peaceful, and conducted in an atmosphere free of political violence throughout the country." Linking the peace process and the scheduled April 2 general elections, the Co-Chairs urged that after the elections concluded the political parties should "work expeditiously to establish clarity of responsibilities, so that the peace process - and the entire process of governance- can resume, regardless of the outcome of the elections."
With regard to the commitment of $ 4. 5 billion pledged at the Tokyo Conference, the Co-Chairs made "clear that assistance by the donor community must be closely linked to substantial and parallel progress in the peace process." However, "in the meantime, mindful of the Tokyo Declaration, the Co-Chairs recognize that there are particularly urgent needs for assistance for people in the war-torn areas and throughout Sri Lanka." Therefore, "the Co-Chairs call on all donors to continue delivering humanitarian relief and rehabilitation assistance to all needy areas of the country." The joint press statement concluded with the statement that the Co-Chairs would convene a meeting "at an early date after the elections."
Conclusion In light of the above, it becomes clear that the international commitment of $ 4. 5 billion pledged at the Tokyo Conference in June 2003 for the reconstruction and development of Sri Lanka is presently "on-hold" due to the stalled peace process. The peace process can get back on track again only when the political landscape of Sri Lanka becomes clearer after the April 2 general elections. This could happen only if either the Chandrika Kumaratunga-led SLFP-JVP combine or the UNF-front led by Ranil Wickremasinghe emerges victorious with a clear mandate. Till now, all the main political parties of Sri Lanka and the LTTE have issued statements that they are committed to this process. However, with poll-related violence escalating to 153 as of March 1, 2004 and the shooting to death of Sinnathamby Sunderampillai, UNF candidate for Batticaloa District on the same day, it is a big question mark as to whether the general elections in Sri Lanka could be categorised as "free, fair, and peaceful, and conducted in an atmosphere free of political violence throughout the country," as called for by the Co-Chairs of the Tokyo Donors Conference.
Another uncertain factor is the likely attitude of whichever party emerges victorious after the elections to the LTTE's proposals for an Interim Self-Governing Authority which virtually seeks for it de facto sovereignty. Finally, the implications for India of the Co-Chairs of the Tokyo Donors Conference offering such large sums and making their actual disbursements conditional on the progress in the peace talks need to be carefully examined. To what extent the US, the EU and Japan are trying to acquire for themselves a certain manoeuvrability to be able to influence developments in Sri Lanka in a direction favourable to their respective economic and strategic interests? If so, could this be detrimental to India's interests?
(The writer holds a doctorate from the Pondicherry University and is a Research Fellow in the Chennai Chapter of the Observer Research Foundation (ORF).
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