| Donors urge immediate signing of tsunami agreement, 14 June 2005 | | "...many peace agreements are fragile and the 'peace' that they create is usually the extension of war by more civilised means... A peace agreement is often an imperfect compromise based on the state of play when the parties have reached a 'hurting stalemate' or when the international community can no longer stomach a continuation of the crisis. A peace process, on the other hand, is not so much what happens before an agreement is reached, rather what happens after it... the post conflict phase crucially defines the relationship between former antagonists..." - Walter Kemp, Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, reviewing 'After the Peace: resistance and reconciliation' by Robert L.Rothstein, 1999 | | Text of Memorandum of Understanding for Establishment of a Post-Tsunami Operational Management Structure, 24 June 2005 | | Chandrika’s Joint Mechanism & Tamil Aspirations, - J. S. Tissainayagam, 1 June 2005 "After months of dialogue, mutual recrimination and compromises, the joint mechanism for the distribution of tsunami recovery assistance awaits to be signed at the time this article is being written. But even if the government was to initial it now, which would be due only to pressure from the donor community and other international actors, the disappointment among the Tamils due to the indifference and niggardliness of the south will take a long time to assuage..." | | President gives assurance to consult Maha Sangha before signing Joint Mechanism: Fast unto death ends, , 12 June 2005 |
| Government of Sri Lanka and LTTE sign
Post-Tsunami Operational Management Structure (P-TOMS) Tamilnet, 24 June 2005 "...the legal status of P-TOMS is similar to that of the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA) of February 2002. Both agreements were signed without explicit passage through the legislative assembly of the Sri Lankan state. This is indicative of the reality that the Tamil national question can be resolved only through extra-constitutional measures..."
 Norwegian facilitators, Friday noon reached Kilinochchi with the signature of Mr. Mudiyanselage Sumanaweera Jayasinghe, Secretary of Ministry of Relief, Rehabilitation and Reconciliation, who signed on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Post-Tsunami Operational Management Structure (P-TOMS) sources in Colombo said. Mr. Shanmugalingam Ranjan, Deputy Head of Planning and Development Secretariat (PDS) on behalf of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) signed the MoU, after the Government representative had signed the treaty, sources in Kilinochchi said.
The parties signed three copies, sources said. One copy is kept by the LTTE in Kilinochchi, one by the Government of Sri Lanka in Colombo and a third copy is to be deposited in Oslo, sources added.
The signing of MoU strengthened Norwegian facilitation in the Peace Process, although critics warned that implementation of MoU still can face formidable challenges.
The preamble of the pact states that the MoU is between the two parties, the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Muslim community's interests are safeguarded by its representation in the three tiered operational management structure of the P-TOMS.
According to Political observers the legal status of P-TOMS is similar to that of the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA) of February 2002. Both agreements were signed without explicit passage through the legislative assembly of the Sri Lankan state. This is indicative of the reality that the Tamil national question can be resolved only through extra-constitutional measures, observers pointed out.
Article 7(b) of the MoU lists the creation of a "Regional Fund", the custodian of which will be a multilateral agency appointed by both parties, the GoSL and the LTTE.
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