The European Commission is to give Sri Lanka €1.8 million to finance measures to ensure the ceasefire between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) holds.
|
|
The delegation representing the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri Lankan government negotiators at the peace talks in Pattaya, near Bangkok.
|
A European Commission statement this morning said the funds will be administered through the Rapid Reaction Mechanism, the Commission's body for overseeing civilian crisis management.
The money follows a European Commission assessment mission earlier this year, and the August 14th agreement between the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE to start formal peace talks today.
Included in the funding measures are:
- the rehabilitation of schools that had been used for military purposes before being vacated as agreed under the ceasefire.
- the rebuilding of electricity lines between the zonal checkpoints to improve the movement of people between the former conflict zones by allowing checkpoints to be operational on a 24-hour basis.
- support for activities of the Human Rights Commission aiming at raising awareness among the population of human rights, and minority rights in particular.