Colombo, June 08: Apparently unhappy over her "exclusion" from the foreign donors conference Japan was hosting for the war-ravaged country, Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga has refused to send her recorded message to the meeting. A spokesman for Kumaratunga's office said she refused to send a message because she felt that she had been excluded from the decision making process of the donor conference from which Colombo expects three billion dollars.
"She refused to record a video clip to be played at the Tokyo meeting after an address by the Japanese Prime Minister," a spokesman for her office said. "But she has asked Lakshman Kadirgamar, her international affairs advisor and former foreign minister, to send a message instead." Kumaratunga's arch political rival, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is leading the country's delegation to the two-day donors conference and expressed the hope of mustering international financial backing for the peace process.
The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are also boycotting the donor conference to protest the alleged slow delivery on promises made to them by the Colombo government during six rounds of talks since September. With the LTTE not attending the Tokyo meeting, India has upgraded its participation to deputy head of mission in Tokyo, diplomats here said.
They said India had refused to participate at a "high level" if the Tigers, banned by New Delhi, were present at the meeting. Bureau Report