Chandrika warns of war

Kumaratunga's People's Alliance (PA), which sits as the opposition in parliament, said it wanted the government to ensure that security forces were capable of meeting any security threat.

"We want to be sure that the security apparatus can face any situation that the country may face in the near future," PA spokesman Sarath Amunugama told reporters here.

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Talks between Colombo and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have remained deadlocked for over seven weeks with no sign of an end to the impasse.

Last week, the PA warned that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is leading the government's peace drive, could fall victim to a rebel assassination bid.

"I hope and pray sincerely that he does not have to pay the price," said former foreign minister and Kumaratunga's international affairs advisor, Lakshman Kadirgamar.

Despite the deadlock in the Norwegian-backed peace process, both the government and the Tamil Tigers have pledged to honour a ceasefire that has been in place since February 23 last year.

Meanwhile, the United States Friday asked Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels to end their boycott of peace talks and immediately resume negotiations with the Colombo government.

The US embassy said the Tamil Tigers missed an "important opportunity" by staying away from a crucial donors' conference, which closed in Tokyo Tuesday with Sri Lanka getting pledges of 4.5 billion dollars in aid.

"The issues that this organisation continues to raise through public announcements are exactly the types of issues that should be settled around a negotiating table," embassy spokeswoman Cody Taylor said.

She said the US and the other co-chairs of the Tokyo donors' conference -- Japan, Norway and the European Union -- had urged the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to attend the "highly successful donors conference".