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CBK eager for deal, Clinton backs her
By Chandani Kirinde
President Chandrika Kumaratunga is eager to implement the Joint Mechanism to share aid for tsunami recovery and has his strong backing for the move, former US president Bill Clinton said yesterday.

He said that President Kumaratunga told him during talks that she wanted to talk with her coalition allies who were opposed to it and those in the opposition who ought to support it before finalising a deal.

"Devolving some of the decision making on post-tsunami reconstruction to a district level is a political matter. I strongly support the President's call for this Joint Mechanism. I would like to urge all political parties to address the issue on merit," he told a news conference at the end of his 30-hour visit to Sri Lanka.

President Clinton arrived in Colombo on Friday as special United National envoy for tsunami relief efforts and toured Kalmunai, a predominantly Muslim area in the Ampara district, one of the worst hit by the tsunami.

He said he did not see a political role for himself in the Sri Lanka peace process but he believed the JM might have a positive effect on the process because "anytime people do things together without screaming at each other, good things happen."

President Clinton said he would like to see the reconstruction proceeding and services available to people in one area of the country should be available to people in all parts of the country, including those not under government control and that his job is to help remove barriers that was stopping this.

He said once the JM was implemented, there would be representatives at local levels and it would make distribution of aid and services better than now. The former president said he was impressed with the progress that the country had made since his last visit in February and there were many reasons to be hopeful. "You have not lost any children to starvation and disease. You have had no mass outbreaks of epidemics as a result of the destruction of your water and sanitation facilities," he said.

Asked about continuing child abductions by the LTTE after the tsunami, Mr. Clinton said it was "hideous" and a "crime" but added, "I don't know what I can do about it." He said he was concerned about the welfare of the children in general and the paintings done by tsunami-affected children he saw the last time he was in Sri Lanka had made a big impression on him.

Mr. Clinton said he had discussions with government officials on speeding up the setting up of more comfortable temporary housing for affected persons and he was concerned about them living in temporary transitional houses which were hot and uncomfortable.

He said the buffer zone was another issue he had discussed with the Government and there seemed to be more flexibility on the issue. "There are areas where it is physically not possible to impose the buffer zone and you have to see what can be done about it," he said.

During his visit to Kalmunai earlier in the day, Mr. Clinton met community leaders in the area. Asked whether the Muslim leaders had expressed reservations about the JM, Mr. Clinton said he had a feeling that some of them were not sure if (the JM) would work in a fair way to all. He said the President's policy was to ensure dignified representation to all communities. After his visit to Kalmunai, he met President Kumaratunga and several senior government ministers in Colombo.

Among the ministers who joined the President at the meeting with Mr. Clinton were Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, Finance Minister Sarath Amunugama, Health Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva, Housing Minister Feriel Ashraff and Urban Development Minister Dinesh Gunawardena.

Several senior officials involved in the post-tsunami reconstruction work were also present at the meeting following which the President hosted Mr. Clinton for lunch at the Janadhipathi Mandiraya.

Tight security was imposed in Kalmunai during Mr. Clinton's visit with more 300 STF commandos and around 200 regular policemen on duty. Rehabilitation and Reconstruction chief Harim Peries and UNDP Resident representative Miguel Bermur were present at the occasion.

This is Mr. Clinton's second visit to Sri Lanka, the first being in February when he came here along with former President George H. Bush as special envoys of President George W. Bush. He arrived in Colombo after a tour of tsunami-affected areas in India .He flew to the Maldives yesterday. From there he will travel to Indonesia.

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