Even though Sri Lanka's rebel group may boycott an upcoming international aid conference in Tokyo designed to help the nation's peace process, the meeting is still significant as it will send a strong message of support to the people of the country, according to Yasushi Akashi, Japan's special peace envoy to Sri Lanka.
"We feel that a large number of pledges to offer a better life to the people of Sri Lanka, including the people in the northern and eastern regions (dominated by the rebel forces), would send a very strong message of support," Akashi, a former U.N. undersecretary general, told The Japan Times.
Financial support will reduce poverty and improve the social and economic conditions, leading to better exchanges and cooperation across ethnic barriers, he said.