Friday, June 24 2005 14:43 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Colombo: Sri Lanka's Government today (Jun 24, 2005) signed a controversial tsunami aid sharing deal with Tamil Tiger rebels despite stiff opposition from the Marxists who stalled a Parliamentary debate on the issue.

Government Minister Maithripala Sirisena said that the deal was signed in the morning (Jun 24,2005) by the Government's rehabilitation Ministry secretary M S Jayasinghe.

Norwegian peace-brokers have taken the document to the northern held city of Killinochchi for the Tiger's signature after which the deal will officially take effect.

Under the deal the Colombo Government and the Tigers would jointly handle billions of dollars in foreign aid for survivors of the December 26 tsunami, which killed at least 31,000 people and displaced a million in the country.

The Government informed the Parliament of the proposed Post Tsunami Operational Management Structure (PTOMS) for the first time today after months of secret talks with the help of peace broker Norway.

However, MPs of the Marxist Janatha Vimukti Peramuna, (JVP), or People's Liberation Front, blocked Government Ministers from speaking on the bill.

The Government responded to the uproar by postponing Parliamentary proceedings until July 5. Ahead of the Parliamentary debate, police fired teargas to prevent hundreds of JVP protestors from marching to Parliament.

The PTOMS, or the joint mechanism, will be in three tiers with a three member panel at the top. There will be one each from the rebels, the Government and minority Muslim Community.