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| Sunday, 17 October 2004 |
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Akashi due too From Deepal Warnakulasuriya in Tokyo Japanese Government Special Envoy to the Sri Lankan peace process Yasushi Akashi will arrive in Colombo on October 27 for an official visit, a top official from the Japanese Government confirmed in an exclusive interview with "Sunday Observer". He said that Akashi will also meet Indian leaders and diplomats who are concerned about the Sri Lankan issue on his way back to Japan. The official revealed that Akashi will be meeting Government and Opposition politicians in Colombo and LTTE representatives in Kilinochchi as arranged by the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM). He will also be meeting diplomats of concerned countries in Sri Lanka including several representatives from international organizations. The official who talked to the Sunday Observer also confirmed that Akashi will urge both parties to come to the negotiation table as soon as possible. He will also raise the issues of child soldiers, individual killings in North-East as well as in Colombo, when he meets the LTTE representatives. He also said that the Japanese Government is optimistic given the Sri Lankan government's sincere efforts to achieve a concrete peace in the country and pledged continuous assistance for reconstruction and development programs. "While promoting peace in Asian countries, Japan is more interested in domestic peace in Sri Lanka which could be accepted by all communities", he said. |
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