1.   The Government of Japan is observing the current development in Sri Lanka with concern. The Government of Japan wishes that all the parties concerned including President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe will cooperate with each other in a constructive and practical manner, respecting the functioning of the democratic institutions, with a view to settling the current situation swiftly and promoting the peace process.

2.   The Government of Japan is aware that the LTTE (the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) submitted on 31 October a counter-proposal to the proposal previously submitted by the Government of Sri Lanka regarding an interim administration. The Government of Japan understands that this LTTE counter-proposal differs in some fundamental aspects from the proposal of the Government of Sri Lanka, and strongly hopes that the peace talks will be resumed promptly, so as to bridge the gap between both parties through direct negotiations.