Japanese Envoy in Sri Lanka

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Japanese envoy in Sri Lanka talks

Mr Akashi has been involved in the peace process since 2002

A Japanese envoy has met Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse as part of efforts to restart stalled peace talks.

Yasushi Akashi will now travel to Tamil Tiger-held territory on Tuesday, despite reports that rebel leader Prabhakaran is refusing to see him.

"I am going to Kilinochchi tomorrow anyway and going to find out whom I can meet," Mr Akashi told reporters.

The rebels pulled out of security talks with the government in Geneva last month amid worsening violence.

We hope to be able to open the [Jaffna] entry and exit points very soon

Defence spokesman Prasad Samarasinghe

The authorities have imposed a curfew in northern Jaffna peninsula ahead of planned anti-government demonstrations.

The move came after the rebels accused the security forces of involvement in the disappearance of eight Tamil men from a Hindu temple in Jaffna over the weekend - a charge the military denies.

In the east the rebels say their camps were attacked by a breakaway faction.

They accuse the government of supporting the splinter group, which the authorities deny.

Deadlock

Mr Akashi, who has been visiting Sri Lanka since the 2002 truce, has already held talks with the head of the government's peace secretariat, Palitha Kohona.

He had hoped to have talks with reclusive rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, but the Tigers have said he can meet the head of their political wing.

The BBC's Dumeetha Luthra in Colombo says Mr Akashi's trip comes as Sri Lanka is experiencing its worst period since the ceasefire was agreed four years ago.

More than 100 people have been killed in the last month in direct violation of the truce.

So far international efforts have failed to break the impasse blocking a second round of peace talks in Geneva.

Our correspondent says that, privately, diplomats question whether either side is prepared to make the necessary concessions.

The situation on the ground has left the ceasefire in a shambles.

Violence in Sri Lanka has intensified in recent weeks, with a suicide attack on the army headquarters last month.

The government retaliated with air strikes against rebel positions in the east of the island.

The Tigers have been fighting for an independent homeland for more than two decades.

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Personally, I want to see the Tigers get their freedom.