Sri Lanka says Japan is not about to cut aid

Feb 02, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka's foreign ministry says it has received assurances from Japan that aid will not be cut, after reports that Japan would review its aid policy to the island. Japan's special envoy to Sri Lanka's peace process Yasushi Akashi visited the island just as the government pulled out of a ceasefire with the Tamil Tigers last month and said aid would depend on how the government acted in the future

Media reports Thursday quoted Akashi as saying in Tokyo that Japan was considering a review of its aid policy if the war intensifies.

"We could be forced to review our aid policy if military action keeps escalating, although Sri Lanka wants Japan to continue it," Akashi told reporters.

"Unless the government and the LTTE choose peace, appeals from the outside world, no matter how many are made, will fall on deaf ears," Akashi said.

But Sri Lanka's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said its secretary Palitha Kohona has been assured by Akashi that Japan's aid policy remains unchanged.

"In a telephone conversation with Foreign Secretary Kohona, Ambassador Akashi, the Japanese peace envoy, vehemently denied that Japan was reconsidering its aid pol