The government says is it has not yet been able to set up a joint mechanism to fund the North and East, and is waiting for a word from the LTTE top brass.
“There is a draft text that has been worked out but is not yet finalised. The LTTE leaders that are dealing with this are not back yet from abroad and we have not yet had their response,” Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lakshaman Kadirgamar said on Thursday.
The state has been trying to set up a joint funding mechanism including donors and the LTTE to fund long term reconstruction in the North and the East after last December’s tsunami.
“There is no question of people in those areas being aliens. You have to strike a balance and deal at least partly with the kind of body you wouldn’t deal with under normal circumstances,” Kadirgamar said.
The proposal has gone back and forth and sparked controversy over who will have control over aid flows into the region and how it is spent.
“There is no question of an agreement being signed tha