KOBE -- The United States demonstrated its serious commitment to the Sri Lanka's peace drive by hosting an international seminar on Sri Lanka's reconstruction and development on Monday at the U.S. State Department in Washington. But the U.S. decision to exclude Tamil Tiger rebels from the donor conference has injected new tensions into the island's separatist conflict.
The U.S. deputy secretary of state, Richard Armitage, explained the decision to bar the Tamil Tiger rebels from the meeting, a precursor to the Tokyo "Aid Lanka" conference to be held in June.
"Our position is crystal clear. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) must unequivocally renounce terrorism, in word and in deed," Armitage said.