Cablegate: Sri Lankan Post-Tsunami Reconstruction Update
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000792
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR EB A/S ANTHONY WAYNE; SA/INS FOR J. BRENNIG, N.
DEAN; PLEASE PASS TO TSUNAMI RECONSTRUCTION TASK FORCE;
TREASURY FOR C. CARNES
SENSITIVE
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID ECON PGOV CE MV
SUBJECT: SRI LANKAN POST-TSUNAMI RECONSTRUCTION UPDATE
(APRIL 27, 2005)
1. (U) This cable contains an action request, please see
para 7. Post-tsunami transition from relief to
reconstruction continues. The pace and organization of
tsunami relief and reconstruction remains on par with
SIPDIS
previous reporting.
Joint Mechanism with LTTE: Going nowhere fast
---------------------------------------------
2. (SBU) The mood surrounding a potential joint mechanism
for tsunami aid distribution in the north and east is
increasingly negative. The Government's coalition partner,
the Marxist-Nationalist Jamuna Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP),
continues is criticisms of a potential mechanism, though we
hear differing reports about whether they have threatened
to pull out of the governing coalition over this issue.
Charge plans to meet the Norwegian Ambassador this week to
discuss Norway's impressions, though during Special Envoy
Eric Solheim's recent visit the Norwegians were very
positive about progress on the joint mechanism. President
Kumaratunga's return from vacation is a key factor here.
Septel to follow later this week.
Temporary Shelter: USAID/DART Survey
------------------------------------
3. (U) USAID/OFDA is bringing in an OFDA Urban
Planning/Urban Disaster Mitigation specialist to monitor
the transitional shelter program, examine its relationship
to the larger efforts to build permanent housing, and
promote coastal zone management. The issues plaguing the
transitional shelter process continue to be slow land
allocation (primarily in the east, a large area of land was
cleared for the south last week) and a generally tight
market for building supplies.
GSL HR Commission Consultant: Aid Distribution Fair
--------------------------------------------- ------
4. (SBU) In a recent conversation with Poloff, Lionel
Fernando (a retired, senior civil servant who has
previously served abroad in diplomatic assignments and as
Foreign Secretary), who was appointed by the Human Rights
Commission to review aid programs in the North and East,
reported that aid was being distributed fairly in the
tsunami affected areas of the North and East. He opined
SIPDIS
that while progress on the political front in Colombo has
stagnated, cooperation between the various actors in the
field has continued, although predictably not as
efficiently as immediately after the tsunami hit.
100 Meter Zone: GSL Needs Face Saving Way Out
---------------------------------------------
5. (SBU) The 100/200 meter coastal exclusion zone remains
an impediment to rebuilding, but has the support of the
President and, by extension, the rest of the GSL.
Nonetheless, continued problems in finding land to relocate
affected persons, as well as haphazard enforcement of the
rules, has brought pressure on the Government to ease its
restrictions. This has become a hot-button political
issue, however, with opposition politicians calling for the
GSL to remove the exclusion zone, and the President digging
in her heels over the issue.
6. (SBU) In our discussions with senior GSL officials on
the exclusion zone, they generally recognize that they have
an intractable problem and acknowledge there will be need
for flexibility in implementation. Some continue to hold
to the fallacy that there is a "scientific" rationale for
the exclusion zone, though no explanation based on
scientific evidence has ever been provided. Visits to the
affected areas indicate that enforcement is spotty, with
the exclusion being outright ignored in several areas.
Further, the way the regulation was written, which allows
homes or institutions that were not damaged beyond 40
percent to remain, creates an equity issue that could
inflame tensions on the ground.
7. (SBU) While on the one hand the donor community is
stymied in its efforts to move forward with implementing
projects, particularly on the housing front, as a result of
this regulation, we think that any approach to the
Government on the issue has to be handled with sensitivity
to the President's primary concern that a public reversal
would be used by the opposition to score political points.
As we have seen on many other fronts, this Government in
general (and the President in particular) does not respond
well when cornered. Therefore, we suggest the following
path, and request Department and other agency support as
required:
--We believe it could be useful to host a small digital
video conference (DVC) with key government players to
discuss the coastal exclusion zone concept. From the US
side, we believe representatives from FEMA, USGS and other
agencies that might have a perspective on coastal zone
management would be useful. Our initial discussions with
representatives from the Tsunami Warning Center and other
tsunami threatened areas have revealed that many coastal
SIPDIS
areas do not enforce building zones, per se, but instead
focus on creating evacuation zones, with emergency
preparedness efforts designed to removed people from harm's
way in the event of an impending emergency. This DVC
should not be widely publicized, but merely provide input
to Government decision makers to help increase their
understanding of best practices.
--We should avoid publicly chastising the GSL on this
matter, but should look for ways to promote a proactive
move by the Government, to abandon the zones in favor of
another approach, at least in some areas, not just as a
result of pressure from the opposition and the
international community. It could be couched in a decision
to apply best practices, and could be touted as the result
of consultations with affected communities and the need to
be sensitive to their needs. Such an approach could be
pursued by the Ambassador and others at Post with key GSL
officials, including the President, and should be followed
by an effort to provide public support from key members of
the international community for the decision. But any
effort needs to be quiet and discreet devoid of public
statements and chastising. We imagine the exclusive zone
will be discussed considerably at the mid-May development
forum.
8. (U) Post appreciates Department's consideration of this
idea and requests support in the development of an
appropriate DVC program.
ENTWISTLE