Japan reiterates its continued support to the peace process

[TamilNet, Friday, 05 December 2003, 13:20 GMT]
In a statement released on Thursday, Japan's minister for foreign affairs, Ms. Yoriko Kawaguchi, said her government welcomed the continued commitment of the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE to the ceasefire, and expressed hope that the question of who on the part of the Government of Sri Lanka is responsible for the peace process would be resolved through talks between Sri Lanka's President and the Prime Minister.

Full text of the statement:

1. The Government of Japan, as one of the co-chairs of the Tokyo Conference on Reconstruction and Development of Sri Lanka, has been observing with serious apprehension the current political crisis in Colombo, because of which the peace process of Sri Lanka has been in suspension. It notes that efforts have been made through the meetings between President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as well as the discussions in the Committee of Officials. The Government of Japan strongly hopes that these efforts will create further momentum towards the prompt settlement of the current crisis and the early resumption of the peace process.

2.The Government of Japan welcomes that all the parties concerned, including the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), have reconfirmed their commitment to the peace process and full compliance with the ceasefire agreement. The Government of Japan hopes that the question of responsibility for the peace process, on the part of the Government of Sri Lanka, will be resolved through the process to settle the current crisis, and thus create a solid basis for attaining a durable peace in Sri Lanka.

3. The Government of Japan reiterates its continued determination to support the peace process in Sri Lanka, and to implement steadily its assistance pledged at the Tokyo Conference, based upon the principles of the Tokyo Declaration. The Tokyo Conference provided the people of Sri Lanka with an unprecedented opportunity to reconstruct and develop their society for the first time after two decades of damages inflicted by the civil war. The Government of Japan reminds all the parties concerned of the importance to maintain the momentum of the donor community to assist Sri Lanka, and urges them to settle the current political crisis swiftly and to resume the peace process expeditiously, so as not to miss this unique opportunity.