By Frances Harrison BBC correspondent in Colombo

The Sri Lankan Government says it cannot carry out development work in the north-east of the island without the involvement of the Tamil Tigers.

Cabinet spokesman GL Peiris said there was nothing inappropriate about including the rebels in a joint meeting to appeal for international funds to be held in Norway on Monday.

Negotiators hope conflict can make way for development

However the government has been criticised for allegedly helping the Tigers gain international legitimacy when they are still banned in many Western countries as terrorists.

But Mr Peiris said it was merely facing reality and stating the obvious to say the Tamil Tigers needed to be included in discussions on rebuilding the north and east of the island.

'Terrorists'

Nevertheless, the inclusion of senior rebel leaders at this high-profile donors meeting has led the main opposition party to accuse Britain and America of double standards on terrorism.

The accusation is that these countries have outlawed the Tamil Tigers as terrorists but are now attending a meeting where they are represented as partners with the Sri Lankan Government.

The meeting in Oslo had been billed as a mini-pledging conference for quick impact humanitarian projects.

Now the government says it is basically a political conference to demonstrate international solidarity with the peace process.

The shift in emphasis seems to be because there is simply not much money around, especially as some donors want to see more progress with the peace process before making major financial commitments.

Mr Peiris said the government was looking for seed money, which would mean relatively modest sums at this stage.

But he said they had much more ambitious hopes for another pledging conference in Tokyo about six months from now, when he said the peace process would have progressed much further.