P 130815Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY COLOMBO
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9577
INFO USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 
USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 
AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 
AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 
AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 
AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 
AMEMBASSY DHAKA 
AMEMBASSY LONDON 
AMEMBASSY TOKYO 
AMEMBASSY OTTAWA 
AMEMBASSY OSLO 
AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 
AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE 
NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI//J3/J332/J52//
CDRUSARPAC FT SHAFTER HI//APCW/APOP//

UNCLAS COLOMBO 000288 
 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR P, F, SCA, PRM, S/CRS, INL/AAE, DRL/NESCA 
STATE ALSO PASS TO USAID 
AID/W FOR ASIA/SCA, DG, DCHA CMM, EGAT, OTI 
DEPT PASS TO DOJ/ICITAP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID PREF PGOV PHUM MOPS CE
SUBJECT:  SRI LANKA: PRINCIPLES FOR POST-CONFLICT RECONSTRUCTION 
ASSISTANCE 
 
¶1. (SBU) The Ambassador and USAID Mission Director hosted bilateral 
and multilateral donors and the UN Resident Representative on March 
11 to discuss principles and plans for possible future 
reconstruction in Sri Lanka's North, where the Government of Sri 
Lanka (GSL) appears to be on the verge of defeating the Liberation 
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).  The objective of the meeting was to 
reach an early consensus among donors about the conditions under 
which donors would be willing to fund reconstruction and development 
programs.  Given that the GSL will need international support to 
undertake the massive reconstruction that is required in the North, 
a common approach on principles for engagement can give donors some 
leverage to shape the political landscape in a post-conflict North 
that promotes sustainable peace.  All who attended welcomed the idea 
and agreed broadly with the principles, which Post had prepared and 
circulated beforehand.  The principles, as revised based on input 
from the meeting, follow below. 
 
Principles for Post-Humanitarian Donor Engagement in northern Sri 
Lanka: 
 
Based on input from all participants, including the Netherlands, the 
UK, Norway, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, Japan, the EU, Asian 
Development Bank, World Bank, and the UN, the following six 
principles were, in general, agreed to: 
 
¶A.  POLITICAL TRANSITION: Transitional political arrangements in the 
North should be acceptable to residents of the North, including the 
Tamil majority and Muslim minority.  We will not provide support if 
leaders are put in place that the local population finds neither 
credible nor representative. 
 
¶B.  FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS IN THE NORTH: The GSL should provide a 
timetable and plan for the election of a new Provincial Council and 
local government bodies.  Free and fair elections should be held 
with acceptable arrangements made for IDPs to vote. The GSL should 
allow international observers to monitor the elections in the North 
and allow access for the observers during the campaign and to all 
polling stations. 
 
¶C.  CREDIBLE POWER-SHARING: The GSL should announce a credible 
proposal for power-sharing and begin a dialogue, which includes 
legitimate Tamil representatives, over future constitutional 
reforms. 
 
¶D.  PARTICIPATORY RECONSTRUCTION PLANNING PROCESS:  The GSL should 
put in place and lead a transparent participatory process to prepare 
a development plan for the North in consultation with local 
beneficiaries, legitimate civil society representatives, donors, UN 
agencies, and local and international NGOs. 
 
¶E.  SECURITY FOR CIVILIANS:  The GSL needs to control paramilitary 
organizations and ensure maximum security for civilians as well as 
aid workers as it makes the transition from military to civilian 
control and restores normalization. 
 
¶F.  RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS:  Serious human rights violations 
during the post-conflict stabilization and development phase in the 
north could impact donor assistance.  Appropriate monitoring 
mechanisms by local and international actors need to be in place. 
 
All agreed to preface these six conditions with one further caveat, 
namely that the means by which the GSL ends the war would also 
impact donor willingness to support development efforts. 
 
¶2. (SBU) The UN Resident Representative commented that development 
will be much harder in the North it was than in the East after its 
liberation in 2006, especially due to the power vacuum that will 
exist there.  He called for a more participatory approach to 
development planning in the North, rather than the top-down model 
used in the East.  Security will be critical because some LTTE 
members have made it into the camps or will remain at large, thereby 
posing an ongoing threat.  The UN ResRep noted that psycho-social 
care on a wide scale will be needed to help people cope with trauma 
from the conflict and with the transition from life under the 
authoritarian LTTE to a more normal civilian order.  He underscored 
that the GSL often sees only physical infrastructure as development, 
but there are also many "soft" components that are needed to rebuild 
war-torn provinces. 
 
BLAKE