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KANDY, Sri Lanka (AP) - Sri Lanka's plan to jointly coordinate tsunami aid with Tamil Tiger rebels in Tamil-majority areas could be a golden opportunity to resolve the country's two-decade ethnic conflict, the president told the opening of a donors conference Monday.
President Chandrika Kumaratunga said she would go forward with the plan within weeks despite opposition within her own ruling coalition, in comments aimed as much at domestic politics as the delegates of 125 governments and aid agencies gathered to address post-tsunami reconstruction.
"The government, at least the major part of it, believes that this is a good opportunity" to bridge gaps between the Tigers and the government, Kumaratunga said. "It will open many doors for a final solution to the ethnic problem of Sri Lanka."
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