Transition Initiatives: Sri Lanka Fact Sheet October 2005
Background
USAID's Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) program in Sri Lanka aims to generate greater support for a negotiated peace settlement to end the island nation's longstanding internal conflict. To accomplish this, OTI seeks to:
- Mobilize and link peace constituencies through support for inclusive, collaborative decision-making and resource allocation at the local level.
- Create awareness and increase understanding on key transition issues and change attitudes sustaining the conflict through information dissemination, advocacy, dialogue and debate.
- Capitalize on key windows of opportunity to mitigate conflict in targeted communities and generate momentum for resumption of peace negotiations, on hold since April 2003.
Working with local nongovernmental organizations, informal community groups, media entities, and local government officials, OTI attempts to identify and support critical initiatives that move the country along the continuum from war to peace. Development Alternatives Inc. (DAI) implements the $39 million small-grants program and manages OTI offices in Colombo, Trincomalee, Ampara and Matara.
Since the program began in March 2003, OTI cleared 464 small grants worth approximately $13.6 million.
OTI Program Update
With field offices in the multi-ethnic districts of Trincomalee and Ampara and an extensive network of local partners in the Southern Province, OTI was well-positioned to support the initial U.S. response to the tsunami that devastated coastal communities on Dec. 26, 2004. Responding to the need for disaster victims to take control over their own lives and the overwhelming desire of non-affected people to lend a hand, OTI used in-kind assistance, such as wheelbarrows, shovels and gloves, to leverage collaboration and cooperation among diverse peoples from different regions to clear debris in tsunami-affected communities. School buildings and grounds were a particular focus, given their integral role in normalizing the lives of a traumatized population. OTI also immediately recognized the pivotal role that civil servants in affected coastal communities would play in ensuring that relief assistance was properly targeted and promptly delivered. OTI agreed to support local government offices in five affected districts hardest hit by the tsunami with information-communication equipment, telephone and Internet access, and relevant training.
In July, OTI received an additional $20 million for tsunami recovery in affected districts. This money will help rehabilitate small-scale infrastructure, restore livelihoods and improve communication between local governments and affected communities. Within these activities, OTI seeks to strengthen foundations for peace-building and reconciliation through the tsunami recovery process by promoting inclusive participation and positive interaction among diverse groups within these activities.
In addition, OTI continues its work outside of tsunami-affected districts to garner increased popular support for a negotiated settlement to the Sri Lankan civil war. Grants that bring people together and focus attention on shared experiences of suffering, displacement and economic hardship - whether from the conflict or the tsunami - highlight common interests and opportunities available through peace. Some of these grants bring communities together around projects stemming from priorities they have identified. Others support discussions and debates, and media projects that bring a variety of perspectives on key issues facing the country as it looks to restart cease-fire discussions and peace negotiations.
With the increase in funding and the extension of the OTI program until March 2007, it has been necessary to increase OTI's capacity to respond. OTI recently brought on board several new staff members, including additional program development officers for the eastern offices, a deputy country representative, and a monitoring and evaluation specialist. In addition, a new office was opened in the Southern Province town of Matara to provide more immediate access to a tsunami-affected region previously covered by the Colombo office.
Recent Political Developments
The last few months have seen several significant events on the Sri Lankan political landscape. Presidential elections have been called for Nov. 17. The two main candidates are the current prime minister, Mahinda Rajapakse, of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, and Ranil Wickremesinghe, leader of the opposition United National Party.
Violence continues in various areas of the country. Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadiragamar, the most prominent Tamil in the Sri Lankan government, was assassinated in August in the back yard of his private Colombo residence by a sniper firing from a nearby house. Although the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) denied responsibility, police and government security forces say evidence points in their direction. During the late 1990s, Kadiragamar led a successful campaign to brand the LTTE as terrorists and swing international public opinion, which had earlier been sympathetic to the separatist cause, in the government's direction.
Sporadic violent incidents continue to plague the Northern and Eastern Provinces. Reports of grenades and gunfire exchanges are the most common occurrences. The attacks are usually between government security forces and the LTTE, or the LTTE and its breakaway Karuna faction. These incidents are occurring in the districts of Ampara, Batticaloa and Trincomalee, mainly in the coastal areas. Government deployment of larger numbers of troops, increases in the number of checkpoints, and more identity checks and house-to-house searches have increased tension in these areas.
For further information, please contact:
In Washington, D.C.: Elizabeth Callender, Program Manager, Asia and Near East, 202-712-407, ecallender@usaid.gov, 202-712-4078
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