COLOMBO -- Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers said on Wednesday they needed a response to their proposal for an interim administration in rebel-held areas before deciding if they would still boycott a donor conference next month in Tokyo.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) pulled out of the conference to raise money to rebuild Sri Lanka after 20 years of war to protest against what it says is a lack of progress in returning life to normal in Tamil areas of the island.

"A positive and constructive response from the prime minister ... will certainly help our leadership to take a crucial decision on the resumption of peace talks and participation at the donor conference in Japan," the LTTE said.

Since the rebels announced last month they had pulled out of the aid conference and suspended peace talks that started last September, they have been exchanging proposals with the government on how to get the peace bid back on track.

In addition to hurrying up the rebuilding of war-hit areas, the proposals are also seen as jockeying over who controls the aid money.

Although the present peace process has stalled, it is still seen as Sri Lanka's best chance yet to end the war that has killed 64,000 after four previous peace bids collapsed in renewed fighting.

In a letter to Norway, which brokered a cease-fire signed 15 months ago, the rebels said Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe needed to respond to the interim administration proposal.

"Since a permanent political settlement is not feasible in the immediate future, the tiger leadership proposes an interim administrative structure with greater participation of the LTTE in both decision making and delivery of the tasks of rebuilding the war-damaged economy," it said.

Japan, which failed in face-to-face talks to convince the LTTE to attend, has said it will persist with the June 9-10 aid pledging conference, which was expected to raise $3 billion in aid over three years.

But diplomats said the conference, which would have been the highlight so far of Sri Lanka's 15-month peace bid, may be downgraded from the ministerial-level meeting originally planned. bc-srilanka-peace srilanka-peace:sri lanka's tigers undecided on donor conference by scott mcdonald colombo, may 21 (reuters) - sri lanka's tamil tigers said on wednesday they needed a response to their proposal for an interim administration in rebel-held areas before deciding if they would still boycott a donor conference next month in tokyo. the liberation tigers of tamil eelam (ltte) pulled out of the conference to raise money to rebuild sri lanka after 20 years of war to protest against what it says is a lack of progress in returning life to normal in tamil areas of the island. "a positive and constructive response from the prime minister...will certainly help our leadership to take a crucial decision on the resumption of peace talks and participation at the donor conference in japan," the ltte said. since the rebels announced last month they had pulled out of the aid conference and suspended peace talks that started last september, they have been exchanging proposals with the government on how to get the peace bid back on track. in addition to hurrying up the rebuilding of war-hit areas, the proposals are also seen as jockeying over who controls the aid money. although the present peace process has stalled, it is still seen as sri lanka's best chance yet to end the war that has killed 64,000 after four previous peace bids collapsed in renewed fighting. in a letter to norway, which brokered a ceasefire signed 15 months ago, the rebels said prime minister ranil wickremesinghe needed to respond to the interim administration proposal. "since a permanent political settlement is not feasible in the immediate future, the tiger leadership proposes an interim administrative structure with greater participation of the ltte in both decision making and delivery of the tasks of rebuilding the war-damaged economy," it said. japan, which failed in face-to-face talks to convince the ltte to attend, has said it will persist with the june 9-10 aid pledging conference, which was expected to raise $3 billion in aid over three years. but diplomats said the conference, which would have been the highlight so far of sri lanka's 15-month peace bid, may be downgraded from the ministerial-level meeting originally planned. ????????????????? 14-55-32.H31 ô'?• ?'?-÷? ?????????????????