Donors warn Lanka over escalating violence

The United States, Japan, the European Union and Sri Lanka's peace broker Norway at a meeting in Washington expressed concern about the upsurge in violence on the island, said a joint statement released in Colombo.

"We note with utmost concern that while full-scale hostilities have not resumed, respect for the ceasefire agreement has been undermined by persistent violence...," said the statement, issued after Monday's meeting.

It said there had been killings of individuals affiliated with both parties and asked the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to stop murdering rivals and government and military officials.

The Tigers were also asked to stop recruiting child soldiers.

Known as the "co-chairs" of the international effort to drum up financial backing for Sri Lanka's peace process, the four also called on the Sri Lankan government "to take decisive action to ensure that killings are stopped and paramili-taries are disarmed immediately as required in the ceasefire agreement."

Tiger guerrillas have accused the government of supporting a breakaway rebel faction to lead attacks against them, sparking a wave of internecine killings, particularly in the island's embattled east.

Meanwhile, President Chandrika Kumaratunga, who has staked her government's future on a tsunami aid-sharing deal with Tamil Tiger guerrillas, is likely to survive a threatened walkout by her Marxist coalition partner, officials and analysts said yesterday.

Kumaratunga must choose between appeasing the communists or risking three billion dollars in foreign aid linked to her controversial plan to disburse relief with the help of Tiger rebels.