CIAO DATE: 05/2009
April 2009
Once the current fighting in the northern Vanni region ends, the Sri Lankan government and donors should not repeat mistakes made in the Eastern Province, where violence continues despite development activities. Development Assistance and Conflict in Sri Lanka: Lessons from the Eastern Province, the latest report from the International Crisis Group, says the east is far from being the model of democratisation and post-conflict reconstruction that the government claims and offers important lessons for the north. “The twin humanitarian crises in Sri Lanka’s north – more than 100,000 civilians trapped in fighting between government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and over 60,000 housed in militarised camps – require urgent and coordinated international action”, says Robert Templer, Crisis Group’s Asia Program Director. “When the fighting concludes, government calls for large-scale international humanitarian reconstruction and development assistance in the north will soon grow louder”.
Resource link: Development Assistance and Conflict in Sri Lanka: Lessons from the Eastern Province [PDF] - 722K