Transition Initiatives: Sri Lanka Field Report
August 2003
Program Description
USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives (USAID/OTI) program has the
goal of supporting the peace process in Sri Lanka. To do this, OTI has two main
objectives: to enhance citizen support for a negotiated settlement and to assist
targeted vulnerable communities.
Based on these objectives OTI provides grants that: support positive, community-based
interaction among diverse groups of people; promote citizen involvement in community
decision making, particularly for rehabilitating community-based infrastructure;
improve livelihoods and provide skills training; and, increase dissemination
of balanced information and differing points of view.
Working with local NGOs, informal community groups, media entities, and local
government officials, OTI identifies and supports critical initiatives that
will move the country further along the continuum from war to peace. Development
Alternatives, Inc. (DAI) implements the $3.5 million small grants program and
manages USAID/OTI offices in Colombo, Trincomalee and Ampara. Since program
start-up in March 2003 through the end of August, OTI has approved support for
47 small grants worth approximately $1.2 million.
Country Situation
LTTE MEETING ON INTERIM ADMINISTRATION—During August
the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) held a ten day meeting in Paris to
formulate a response to the Government of Sri Lanka’s (GoSL) “Discussion
Document for the Provisional Administrative Structure” that was given
to them in July. The meeting was attended by top LTTE political and military
officials, as well as prominent Tamil legal and constitutional experts. Media
reports after the meeting suggested that the talks were positive and that the
group had developed a clear counterproposal to the GoSL. It appears likely the
LTTE will discuss their proposal with a number of European governments before
seeking clearance from their leader, Prabhakaran. Assuming the vetting process
moves according to plan, it is expected that in October the counterproposal
document will be passed to the Norwegian facilitators for forwarding to the
GoSL. At that point it is hoped the stage will be set for the resumption of
direct negotiations between the GoSL and the LTTE.
LTTE CONTINUES TO DEFY SLMM OVER CONTROVERSIAL CAMP—The
LTTE maintained its refusal to dismantle its Trincomalee military camp located
in government-controlled territory, despite a July ruling by the Sri Lanka Monitoring
Mission (SLMM) ordering them to do so. The LTTE stance directly contradicts
a signed commitment to respect SLMM rulings as outlined in the February 2002
Ceasefire Memorandum of Understanding. The LTTE intransigence on the issue is
undermining the credibility of the SLMM as an arbiter of the peace process,
and has also left the Sri Lankan Prime Minister open to opposition attacks on
his willingness to yield to the LTTE on key security issues.
A MONTH OF TENSION IN EASTERN SRI LANKA—During August
at least four Muslims were killed in the east in incidents attributed to the
LTTE. Seen as linked to LTTE efforts to more widely tax the Muslim community,
the killings led to a number of daylong work stoppages that created tension
in eastern districts. While the GoSL responded by increasing the number of security
forces in the area, the opposition pointed to the violence as a sign of the
Prime Minister’s inability to maintain security for all Sri Lankans. Also,
Muslim political leaders increased calls for Muslim representation, distinct
from the government’s negotiating team, at future peace talks. Segments
of the Muslim community are becoming uneasy as the GoSL and the LTTE get closer
to resuming negotiations that are expected to bargain a power sharing agreement
over areas in eastern Sri Lanka where Muslims represent a significant minority.
STILL NO PA-JVP POLITICAL PACT—Against the backdrop
of a large rally in Colombo that was attended by supporters of the People’s
Alliance (PA) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), the two opposition groups
remain unable to cement a political pact that has been under discussion for
the past nine months. In many ways a marriage of convenience is seen as a key
step toward ousting the current government; a reported stumbling block is the
JVP’s much more strident opposition to Norway’s facilitation of
the peace process. There are reports that another PA-JVP meeting will be held
by mid-September with the aim of reaching an agreement by the end of the month.
It has been suggested the PA-JVP will agree to a loose alliance without any
strict electoral arrangement.
OTI Highlights
A. Narrative Summary
In the past six months, the USAID/OTI program has put in place the Colombo-based
infrastructure needed to oversee a $3.5 million grants fund, which is expected
to increase in the 2004 fiscal year. The program has also opened two USAID/OTI
field offices in Trincomalee and Ampara. The Trincomalee office has been able
to sign a total of six grants in July and August while the Ampara office signed
its first two grants in August. While the Trincomalee office was not affected
in any major way by the Muslim-Tamil tensions during August, the OTI staff in
the Ampara office were restricted from traveling freely given security concerns
in their area of operation. Both offices continue to face constraints in recruiting
a full staffing contingent but it is hoped that all available positions will
be filled by the end of September.
In August, following May floods that were characterized as the worst in fifty
years, the OTI program maintained a focus on the affected southern districts.
The goal of this post-flood initiative continues to be the identification of
community infrastructure rehabilitation and livelihood-related initiatives that
can be seen as “peace dividends” to help people as they return to
devastated communities. A total of eleven grants have been signed in flood affected
areas over the past three months. New August grants included two grants in the
traditionally under-resourced Deniyaya area and a grant to rebuild micro-hydro
facilities in four southern districts.
August was the third month in a row without short-term program staff support
from OTI Washington, a clear indication that the Sri Lanka program is reaching
the end of its start-up phase. Relying on a relatively new team that is almost
completely staffed, the OTI program developed 11 new grants in August worth
approximately $302,932. There were no national initiatives during the month
with the bulk of the new grants going toward more localized activities in the
east and south. OTI’s Trincomalee office signed three grants for livelihood
and community infrastructure rehabilitation initiatives while the Ampara office
signed one grant related to community infrastructure rehabilitation and one
grant for a conflict mitigation initiative targeting youth. Two grants were
signed for work in the north-central part of the country, with both initiatives
related to community-level rehabilitation initiatives.
B. August 2003 Grants Activity Summary
| Community Impact Projects |
16 |
$509,675 |
| Livelihoods |
14 |
$483,592 |
| Media and Information |
9 |
$183,240 |
| Conflict Mitigation |
8 |
$101,152 |
| Total |
47 |
$1,277,659 |
C. Indicators of Success
The first phase of the ‘Deniyaya Housing Challenge’ – the
simultaneous construction of 100 houses in 60 days – formulated by the
Low Country Community Based Organization (CBO) Consortium of Deniyaya and funded
by OTI was launched on August 7. Out of 290 houses totally destroyed by the
recent devastating floods and earth slides in the Kotapola division, 100 families
consisting of 557 Sinhalese and Tamils from the poorest strata have been chosen
without regard to creed, cast, or political or ethnic background. Eight CBO’s
out of 26 in the consortium are mobilized to lend impetus to the program. Fifteen
male and female youth volunteers between the ages of 18-22 from the area who
have been trained in rural leadership and team building skills will be placed
at the ten construction sites. One hundred local masons have received special
training before being contracted to each house. The beneficiaries are contributing
sand, rubble and their labor for the construction of their own homes. Leaflets
are to be handed out to the population of the area stressing the fact that an
enterprise of such nature was possible due to the prevailing peace in the country.
In terms of operations, the functioning offices of Trincomalee and Ampara are
a clear indication of success to date. As the OTI program becomes more well-known
in the east, both offices are reporting an increasing flow of inquiries and
project proposals. The Trincomalee office has noted a rising number of invitations
to international and local NGO functions as well as a growing interaction with
local government officials. The Ampara office is in the process of visiting
each of the government divisional offices in Ampara District and is reporting
positive responses from both local officials and local community-based organizations.
D. Program Appraisal
As noted above, the OTI management team in Sri Lanka feels that the program’s
start up phase is drawing to a close as the Trincomalee and Ampara field offices
become fully operational. These offices have signed a total of eight grants
in the past two months and are helping the overall program move forward towards
its monthly funding goals. The August troubles in the east remain a major concern
and the management team continues to monitor the security situation in the area.
By the end of August the situation had calmed and it is hoped the current cycle
of violence and recriminations is over.
Next Steps/ Priorities
Following two strategy sessions in June and July, in August OTI Sri Lanka
submitted a draft strategy document to OTI Washington that is clearly linked
to a USAID Sri Lanka Special Objective entitled “Supporting the Peace
Process.” The strategy is currently being reviewed by the Washington office.
In September a Washington-based staff member will join the OTI Sri Lanka program
team to review the strategy and formulate a monitoring and evaluation plan.
Programmatically, both the Trincomalee and Ampara offices have noted that the
coming rainy season means there is added urgency to completing the implementation
of infrastructure-related grants. Given that all Trincomalee and Ampara-based
staff are new to OTI, two Colombo-based management staff will spend a total
of three weeks in September working with field office staff on both programmatic
and implementation issues.
_____________________
For further information, please contact:
In Sri Lanka: Justin Sherman, Sri Lanka Country Representative, jsherman@usaid.gov
In Washington, D.C.: Rachel Wax, Asia and Near East Program Manager, 202-712-1243
rwax@usaid.gov
Visit the OTI website at: http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/cross-cutting_programs/transition_initiatives/
For information on USAID/OTI’s program in Sri Lanka, visit:
http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/cross-cutting_programs/transition_initiatives/country/srilanka/index.html
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