December 27, 2005
Tuesday

The United States is concerned about the erosion of the four-year-old cease-fire in Sri Lanka and the increase in violence between the government and rebels, according to a statement by State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli on December 27th.

The statement said that on December 24th, representatives of the some of the co-chairs of the Sri Lanka Donors Group met with rebel group leaders to urge an end to violence and positive engagement in peace talks. The State Department said December 27 that the United States, as one of the donors' group co-chairs, "reiterates this message in the strongest possible terms."

The Sri Lanka Donors Group, founded in June 2003, consists of four members: the European Union, Japan, Norway and the United States. The group meets periodically to coordinate efforts to fulfill its responsibility under the Tokyo Declaration of 2003 to monitor reconstruction assistance to Sri Lanka and the peace process. Sri Lanka has been involved in a civil war for the last 20 years.

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