With the ceasefire in Sri Lanka in danger of being broken, the government and the LTTE are seriously looking for support from overseas for their respective cases.
While the Rajapaksa regime seems to have the backing of the United States, the LTTE is counting on increasing support across the Palk Strait in Tamil Nadu.
The LTTE is also reasonably sure that New Delhi will remain neutral thanks to the influence of Tamil Nadu. This was stated recently by the LTTE's ideologue, KV Balakumaran, in an interview to the Voice of Tigers radio.
Rice's assurance to Lanka
According to the State Department spokesman Sean MacCormack, the Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told the visiting Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera in Washington on Friday, that the United States "remained committed to working with Sri Lanka to defeat terrorism and to promote peace."
" She also lauded the Sri Lankan government for its restraint in the face of the Tamil Tigers' provocations," MacCormack said.
The Tamil Tigers were listed as a foreign terrorist organization in the US and the Bush administration "viewed them as such," he added.
The US spokesman however added that the Secretary of State reiterated to the Sri Lankan minister, Washington's hope that talks with the LTTE on strengthening the ceasefire could resume "soon".
{{/usCountry}}The US spokesman however added that the Secretary of State reiterated to the Sri Lankan minister, Washington's hope that talks with the LTTE on strengthening the ceasefire could resume "soon".
{{/usCountry}}Samaraweera told an interviewer that Rice had promised to do "whatever possible" to kick start the peace process in Sri Lanka.