Tigers Urged to Attend Funding Meeting
The United States has urged Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels to attend an important donor conference in Japan next month. US Assistant Secretary of State Christina Rocca said it would help the peace process as a whole if the Tigers were at the meeting. Japan has given the rebels until Wednesday to decide if they will take part in the Tokyo conference. The BBC’s Frances Harrison in Colombo says the Tokyo conference is crucial as it is expected Sri Lanka will attract up to three billion dollars of aid if the Tigers show they can work with the government they fought for so many years. Rebel officials earlier pulled out of the proposed discussions and suspended peace talks. Full Story