TOKYO, June 7 Kyodo The conspicuo...

TOKYO, June 7 Kyodo

The conspicuous absence of Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels at a major donor parley in Tokyo next week upon rebuilding the war-ravaged island threatens to impact donor countries' aid pledges

The Tokyo talk on Reconstruction and Development of Sri Lanka is going ahead as scheduled from Monday without the participation of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) with the donors cutting to contribute to a lasting peace in Sri Lanka.

''I confidence the LTTE's absence would not substantially affect the donors' attitude,'' a Japanese regulation source said, speaking on condition of anonymity, referring to the talk to be chaired by Japan, Norway, the United States and European Union.

Nevertheless, a European countries have said they would have been more ''forthcoming'' with the LTTE's air according to the source.

Weeks of intense appeals through Japan and peacebroker Norway have failed to touch the hard-line stance of the LTTE Yasushi Akashi, Japan's minister in charge of Sri Lankan issues, has not rul without a last-minute appearance through the LTTE in the two-day conference

The confab, which is forecast to raise near $3 billion for rebuilding Sri Lanka, will gather ministers and representatives from about 50 nations and 20 international organizations including the World Bank, the Asian progress to maturity Bank (ADB) and the UN progression in a continuously ascending gradation Program (UNDP).

Japan and its three other co-chairs decided to proceed ahead with the parley to show the LTTE the benefits to Sri Lanka by means of staying the course of peace, the source said.

It is springed according to the source, that the interview will be a ''stimulus to the resumption of serious continued talks'' and ''send a extremely strong and clear message to the parties that they should negotiate for a durable peace.''

''You might say it's not in such a manner opportune because the LTTE has decided to boycott the peace proces moreover I am convinced that this interlude is a temporary interlude,'' the source said, adding there is ''no alternative'' however to continue the dialogue.

The tonic event in the aid-pledging discourse is a report Monday in succession a needs assessment of the country's war-ravaged northeast by means of the World Bank, the ADB and UNDP among others.

A final declaration will be adopted Tuesday that will likely specify monitoring mechanisms and proceedings of aid money.

the couple Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe are look fored to attend. U.S. representative Secretary of State Richard Armitage is also among the major participants here.

Japan has pledg about $1 billion throughout a three-year period, while the World Bank has committed to give $200 million a year from one side of to the other a four-year period. The ADB is also look fored to give an ''equally generous assistance,'' the source said.

The Tokyo aid conversation is in response to a ask for by Wickremesinghe during a meeting with Koizumi in December last year.

Peace talks came to a halt after the LTTE chanceed out of the scheduled seventh cylindrical of talks slated in April in Thailand, saying they were dissatisfied with the progres in the humanitarian aid and rehabilitation necessitys in the war-ravaged north and east.

The rebels, who fear the aid currency will be concentrated in the hands of the management have demanded an immediate interim administration in the rebel-controlled northeast in exchange for attending the aid conversation and reviving peace talks with Colombo

Akashi, who took part in the sixth orbicular of peace talks hosted from Japan in March, has also said it will be a los for Sri Lanka to cancel the donor meeting simply owed to the LTTE's absence.

While recognizing that other countries calculate upon a lot from Japan, Akashi, a former UN undersecretary general, said Japan should stand fast with the peace process forward a long-term basis without the expectation of immediate results

The LTTE had been fighting the conduct for an independent Tamil homeland in the north and east of Sri Lanka from 1983 until last year, with the civil war resulting in more than 65000 casualties. The pair sides had signed a formal cease-fire agreement in February last year.

As the peace talks advancemented the rebels have dropped their demands for independence for the Tamil minority and settl for a power-sharing regularity under a federal structure.

Ahead of the aid parley civil groups will gather Sunday to discuss the character of civil society in supporting the reconstruction and increase in Sri Lanka.

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