President Chandrika Kumaratunga has expressed concern over a possible tilt of Sri Lanka's policy towards the U.S. President Kumaratunga at a meeting with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe raised the issue with reference to recent remarks made by Minister Milinda Moragoda showing indications that Sri Lanka's policy was tilting towards the US.

President Kumaratunga was drawing reference to the remarks by Mr. Moragoda at a seminar in Hawaii, that the US should play its 'hegemonic' role as the world's undisputed leader and followed by a statement in Colombo where he said, "when the US Ambassador asks him to do some thing, he does not reason why, he just does it."

The President also raised the issue about reports that Japanese Special Envoy, Yashushi Akashi had been appointed as an advisor on international affairs to the Sri Lankan Government. But Mr. Wickremasinghe denied the reports saying that Mr. Akashi was mainly helping to draft certain papers to be presented at the June aid meeting in Tokyo and with matters connected with economic affairs in the North and East. He said Mr. Akashi's experience in conflict resolution was being made use of in this respect. Mr. Moragoda who was present at the meeting made an emotional explanation saying that in a democratic country one could hold his own position and in view of that he was not sure whether he should explain matters. The Minister said he would have to reconsider his position regarding public life in the context.

However the main discussions between the President and the Prime Minister centered on the incident in Delft where three LTTE cadres blew themselves up and a boat after they were detected carrying arms. The Prime Minister had raised concern about the Navy getting instructions from the Defence Ministry and the President. But the President had explained that she had stepped in as there was a delay in providing any instructions while consultations with the Scandinavian monitors and with the LTTE and government delegations in Berlin were in progress.

The President queried whether the right of the Navy to board LTTE vessels had been surrendered. But the Prime Minister denied it. Mr. Wickremasinghe had pointed out that the international community has expressed concern about the three LTTE cadres committing suicide.

Before Friday's meeting, President Kumaratunga reacting to media reports had written to the Prime Minister inquiring about Mr. Akashi's appointment. Mr. Wickremasinghe had responded saying that the President should have checked the facts before writing and maintained the dignity of her office.

The President in a strongly worded letter to the Prime Minister voiced her opposition to the speculated appointment of Mr. Akashi. The President in her letter said: "I understand from media reports that you have appointed the Special Envoy of the Government of Japan, Mr. Akashi, as the International Affairs Advisor of the Government of Sri Lanka, I am shocked at this information." The President had raised various issues related to this appointment from the sovereign status of Sri Lanka to the proud record of the status in its foreign policy.

She had pointed out that he was a Special Envoy to another state, with large business interest in the country. She concluded by saying, "I hope that my second government has not begun an irreversible trend of gradual erosion of the sovereignty and independence of the state and Government of Sri Lanka.

But the Prime minister responding said no such appointment had been made. The issue was raised when Mr. Akashi called on Opposition Leader, Mahinda Rajapaksa on Friday. Mr. Rajapaksa told The Sunday Times that he also asked Akashi whether the Japanese Government was giving the LTTE financial aid and Mr. Akashi told a news conference yesterday that talks between the Government and the LTTE were entering a difficult phase and that after the initial euphoria, the time had come to address more difficult issues. "They have to move now from generalities to specifics and questions, which affect vital interest of both parties," he said. The Japanese envoy also voiced concern that an outbreak of a war in Iraq could take away the international community's attention from the Government 's efforts to resolve the ethnic problem. "Let's only pray that these outside events will not divert attention of the world from the situation in Sri Lanka," he said.

The next round of peace talks will be held in Japan and a major donor conference for Sri Lanka will also be held in Japan in June this year. Mr. Akashi said he hoped that the Delft incident where three LTTE cadres committed suicide by blowing themselves up following attempts by the ceasefire monitors to check the boat they were travelling in, was an isolated one rather than indicating a change of the basic trend towards peace.