A
year ago, a conference at which ministers
from the Government of Sri Lanka and representatives
of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
(LTTE) were sitting together at the same
table would have been unthinkable. That
this is happening today, in front of the
international community and under the
spotlight of the world’s media, is
a testament to the strong desire for peace
among all communities within a country
that has suffered far too long and too
deeply.
Minister
Peiris and his colleagues from the Sri
Lankan government, Dr. Balasingham and
his LTTE colleagues, Canada commends you
for your commitment to ending, for all
time, a war that has ravaged your country
and your peoples. We recognize the tremendous
leaps of faith and the significant risks
taken by both parties to ensure there
is no turning back on the road to permanent
peace. As a friend and partner of Sri
Lanka for more than fifty years, and as
a country that has become home to at least
200,000 people of Sri Lankan origin, Canada
is proud to take part in this historic
peace conference.
To the
Government of Norway, we thank you for
your dedication and commitment to helping
both parties reach this point and for
your determination to stay the course.
Thank you as well on behalf of Canada’s
delegation for your superb organization
of this conference.
We recognize,
as both parties have said, that a durable
peace requires more than the absence of
war. Simply stated, the often referred
to “peace dividend” must bring
better lives for all the peoples of Sri
Lanka regardless of their ethnic, religious,
and linguistic backgrounds. During my
own visit to Sri Lanka last March, the
Hindus, Tamils, Muslims, Singhalese, and
Christians we spoke with were all of one
voice: the war has gone on far too long
and the current peace process is the last,
best chance a peace for a long time to
come.
Even before
landing on a Sri Lankan Airways flight,
the flight attendants talked of all Sri
Lankans’ intense desire to create
better lives for their children. In the
Eastern Province, as we Canadians saw
both the devastation brought about by
the war, as well as the intense hope vested
in this process, it could not have been
more clear that we cannot allow this process
to fail.
The priorities
identified in the appeal of the Sub Committee
on Immediate Humanitarian and Rehabilitation
Needs in the North and East seem pragmatic
and reasonable. We agree with targeting
pressing needs of the most vulnerable
populations but with an eye to setting
in place the building blocks for longer-term
reconstruction. The Sub Committee’s
guidance will help set priorities for
Canadian assistance in the war-affected
areas.
North and
East
Throughout
the conflict, Canada has been active in
the North and East. During the difficult
times prior to the cessation of hostilities,
when very little outside aid was reaching
the people of these regions, Canada provided
approximately one-fifth of the humanitarian
relief.
The kind
of projects we have been supporting are
in line with the priorities the Sub Committee
has identified. For example, a highly
effective and long-running project implemented
by the World University Services Canada
(WUSC) supports vocational training and
the development of business skills among
unemployed youth throughout the North
and East. Equally important is meeting
the needs of vulnerable women and children,
as well as providing assistance for economic
revitalization. We are also considering
new initiatives focused on raising awareness
of the peace process, promoting reconciliation,
and encouraging the development of a "culture
of peace."
Canada,
as one of the world’s most inclusive
multicultural societies, as well as a
nation which has long had a policy of
official bilingualism, has offered to
share our experiences in managing the
challenges of respecting diversity. We
have extensive experience in learning
how multi-level governance enables peoples
of diverse ethnic, religious, and linguistic
backgrounds to prosper and live together
in peace. In further support of the peace
process, Canada has offered technical
advice on practical workings of various
forms of federalism. Both parties would
be able to draw upon Canadian and international
experts according to their own needs.
We recognize
the urgent humanitarian challenge presented
by the spontaneous return of internally
displaced persons (IDPs) to areas that
remain contaminated by landmines. The
continued success of the peace process
is in part dependent on clearing the vast
quantity of anti-personnel mines. Canada
has recently provided funding for the
establishment of a Mine Action Resource
Centre in Colombo. Last week, Canada's
former Chief of Defence led a mission
to Sri Lanka to examine the nature and
the scope of the landmine problem.
We welcome
the encouraging words we heard this morning
from the Prime Minister regarding the
Ottawa Convention and are very hopeful
that the Government will ratify the Convention
as soon as possible. At the same time,
we also strongly urge the LTTE to commit
to the principles of the Convention by
signing an alternate formal agreement.
This show of good faith would enable Canada,
and other members of the international
community, to undertake more concrete
efforts.
Pledge
of Support
Canada
is pleased to pledge today $2 million
in new funds to further support the peace
process in the immediate term. We are
also prepared to respond to the Tokyo
Reconstruction Conference re-scheduled
for 2003 as the peace process advances.
We have
just recently been informed about the
North East Reconstruction Fund (NERF)
and look forward to learning more about
it. For the time being, Canada is not
in a position to channel funds through
the Fund, nor to delegate to the Sub-Committee
the responsibility to select implementing
partners for Canadian aid projects. We
will endeavour, however, to coordinate
our activities in the North and East with
the work of the Sub-Committee.
If the
NERF is to become a model of cooperation
between the Government and the LTTE, it
will be important to ensure that you develop,
in cooperation with beneficiaries, community-level
groups, and civil society, a set of guiding
principles for humanitarian and development
assistance in conflict-affected areas,
based on key tenets of international humanitarian
law. These principles include:
·
ensuring respect for human rights, non-discrimination,
the rule of law, and norms of good governance
in all rehabilitation operations;
·
protecting the independence of humanitarian
organisations in conducting needs-assessments;
·
selecting beneficiaries on the basis of
need; and
·
ensuring the unlimited access of humanitarian
organisations to the general population
and project participants.
Needs of
the South
While most
of our focus today has been on reconstructing
the war-torn areas of the North and East,
Canada has long supported development
of all parts of the island. Almost two
decades of conflict have taken their toll
on the South as well. We recognize that
the benefits of peace must be felt equally
by all Sri Lankans.
Since the
Colombo plan of the early fifties, Canadians
have remained partners in development
with all Sri Lankans. We have been there,
we are there, and we will continue to
be there.
Culture
of Peace
This is
the fourth serious attempt to bring peace
to your resplendent island. This time,
your step by step approach seems to be
working. To the Government of Sri Lanka,
we commend your courage in implementing
important confidence-building measures.
To the LTTE, we are heartened by your
constructive statements to date, especially
Dr. Balasingham’s this morning that
“as solemnly pledged in the truce
agreement, we will not resort to war or
violence.”
All Sri
Lankans deserve nothing less than a permanent
culture of peace.
Thank you.
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