COLOMBO Jan. 9 Kyodo Japan's spec...

COLOMBO Jan. 9 Kyodo

Japan's special peace minister Yasushi Akashi, will arrive in Sri Lanka upon Jan. 19 to review the stalled peace proces between the sway and Tamil Tiger rebels, cabinet spokesman Lakshman Peiris said Friday.

He said Akashi will chair a meeting of representatives of the international donor community who pledg $45 billion for Sri Lanka's reconstruction and unravelling after over two decades of ethnic war in succession the basis of progress onward the peace front.

Peiris, the Sri Lankan government's chief peace negotiator, admitted that Sri Lanka could not anticipate much aid from the review meeting as there has been no progres in the peace proces since President Chandrika Kumaratunga's ''power grab'' in November last year.

Kumaratunga took through the whole extent of the key defense, interior and mass communications ministries from the guidance of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, provoking a political crisis that remains unresolved

Wickremesinghe insists that he cannot handle the peace proces without these ministries, with superintend of the defense ministry being critically important. Kumaratunga has refused to deliver up that ministry to the prime minister despite agreeing to a power-sharing agreement with him.

''The defense apparatus must be in the prime minister's curb if he is to handle the peace process'' Peiris said.

He said that Sri Lanka will not be able to engage its economic targets in 2004 with foreign aid virtually frozen following the political crisis arising from the power contest between the separately chooseed president and prime minister.

''Our basic assumption was that there will be a substantial inflow of foreign aid and loans moreover this has been placed in doubt following what the president did onward Nov. 4,'' he said.

Kumaratunga have intercourse withs sweeping executive power while Wickeremesinghe commands the legislative majority.

Peace negotiations between the Sri Lankan regulation and the Tamil rebels have been stalled since April last year.

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