COLOMBO, Jan 19: Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger guerillas have warned that their cease-fire could collapse due to a power struggle between the president and the prime minister and urged foreign aid donors to pressure the government to resume peace talks.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) told representatives of donor countries and international aid agencies on Monday that the tug-of-war between the president and the prime minister could undermine the truce.

LTTE political wing leader S.P. Thamilselvan noted that President Chandrika Kumaratunga had sacked three ministers just four days after the rebels unveiled their blueprint for a deal to end three decades of bloodshed.

An LTTE statement quoted Thamilselvan as saying Kumaratunga's actions against the government of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had seriously affected the Norwegian-backed peace bid.

"Hardly a week passed and the executive president, under the guise of a security threat to the nation, took over three key ministries - vital to the maintenance of the cease-fire agreement - from the legislative prime minister leading to a virtual political crisis.

"This arbitrary action of the executive has created problems of vast magnitude vis-a-vis the integrity of the Cease-fire Agreement and the progress of the political negotiations," Thamilselvan said.

He told the representatives meeting at the rebel-held town of Kilinochchi, 330 km north of here, that the government which should be taking the peace process forward was now in trouble.

"Governance of the legislature and the powers of the executive are heavily polarised and diametrically opposed in a game of power struggle," he said."This, no doubt, is an imminent threat to the maintenance of the cease-fire."

He told donors to exert pressure on Sri Lankan leaders to resume the peace process and ensure civilians enjoyed the benefits of the cease-fire. "International aid promised to Sri Lanka is pre-conditioned to run parallel to the progress in the peace process. The underlying theme, therefore, is for the international community of donors to bring about meaningful pressure on the government to recommence negotiations," he said.

International donors pledged 4.5 billion dollars in aid to rebuild Sri Lanka when they met in June last year in Tokyo, but the release of that money over a three-year period was subject to progress in the peace process.

The key figure behind the Tokyo aid conference, Yasushi Akashi, who is also Japan's Special Peace envoy to the island, was due to arrive late Monday and was expected to review the peace process, diplomats said.

They said Akashi was expected to meet Sri Lankan leaders, including Tiger rebels. The LTTE initially pulled out of the peace process in April, accusing the government of failing to deliver on promises made at six rounds of talks since September 2002.

The guerillas, however, agreed to re-enter talks in October after handing over to the government their plan for a political solution to a conflict which had claimed more than 60,000 lives since 1972. However, the power struggle here prompted peace broker Norway to suspend its role in November saying it was not clear who was really in charge in Colombo.

Tigers had earlier warned that unless the majority Sinhalese leaders sink their differences, the minority Tamils would have no option but to secede.

Meanwhile, Kumaratunga's party is set to sign a deal on Tuesday with the radical leftist group, the JVP, or People's Liberation Front, which is opposed to any concessions to Tiger guerillas.-AFP