Akashi to visit Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Monday, 25 October 2004, 11:29 GMT]
Yasushi Akashi, Government of Japan's special peace envoy to Sri Lanka is to visit Sri Lanka Wednesday to meet with the leaders of Sri Lanka's main political parties and with the leaders of Liberation Tigers, said a press release from Embassy of Japan issued in Colombo Monday.

Full test of the press release follows:

Mr.Yasushi Akashi, Representative of the Government of Japan will visit Sri Lanka from Wednesday 27th October to Tuesday 2nd November 2004, to follow up his continued mission and to persuade the Government and the LTTE to resume peace talks as soon as possible. This is his 8th visit to Sri Lanka since he was appointed as the Special Representative of the Government of Japan in October 2002 to contribute to the peace process in Sri Lanka.

During his visit this time he is scheduled to meet Her Excellency President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse and other relevant officials of Sri Lanka to discuss the current situation of the peace process. Continuing his mission to contribute to peace building, rehabilitation and reconstruction in Sri Lanka, Mr. Akashi will also visit Kilinochchi and meet with the leaders of LTTE.