Japan calls for diplomacy in SLanka conflict

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Sri Lankan troops captured the Tamil Tigers defacto headquarters in Kilinochchi on Friday. [Reuters]

Last Updated: Mon, 5 Jan 2009 21:27:00 +1100

Sri Lanka's top donor, Japan, says only a political solution could resolve the island's ethnic war.

Japan provides nearly two-thirds of Sri Lanka's international aid and has sent its special envoy four times in the past three years to try to broker an end to the conflict.

A Japanese foreign ministry official told AFP news agency that Tokyo will keep encouraging the Sri Lankan government to pursue a political solution to the ethnic conflict by promoting local autonomy in the northeast region.

He said while the capture of the Tamil Tiger's defacto capital Kilinochchi holds symbolic meaning its military significance is limited.

With the conflict expected to continue in the jungles in the east he says the only real solution to the ethnic conflict is through political efforts.