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Provisions of joint mechanism stayed

V. S. Sambandan

Supreme Court suspends regional fund; JVP claims victory

COLOMBO: The Sri Lankan Supreme Court on Friday stayed critical operational clauses of the Post-Tsunami Operational Management Structure (P-TOMS) signed by Colombo and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) last month.

In an interim injunction, the court stayed "till final determination" critical operative elements of the Regional Committee that was formed as one of the three tiers under the P-TOMS.

Unanimous decision

The three-member Bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva unanimously stayed the project approval and fund management functions of the committee — the most critical element of the joint mechanism at the regional level.

The court did not object to the other two tiers — the national and the district committee — and made it clear that the interim order "is not granted in respect of the entirety" of the MoU establishing the P-TOMS. "The structure as provided in the MoU consisting of committees may be established and become functional subject to the restrictions imposed by the judgement," the ruling said.

Friday's ruling was in response to a petition filed by the former ruling ally, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), which quit the Government in protest against the P-TOMS, signed as a mechanism for the joint involvement of Colombo and the LTTE for reconstructing the tsunami-devastated coastline in the northern and east.

The JVP, which wanted the P-TOMS to be ruled as illegal and unconstitutional, took particular objection to the clauses relating to the regional committee in the three-tiered structure.

"We have succeeded in our struggle. There is nothing in the agreement now," Vijitha Herath, international secretary of the JVP and former Cabinet Minister, told The Hindu immediately after the Supreme Court's ruling.

The most significant clause stayed by the court is the suspension of the regional fund. The P-TOMS agreement provided for the creation of a post-tsunami coastal fund and had provided for a "suitable multi-lateral agency" to be its custodian.

According to indications, the World Bank was likely to be the custodian of the fund.

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