Hopes of ending a month-long deadlock in Sri Lanka peace talks were dashed yesterday, when Tamil Tiger rebels rejected a set of government proposals and demanded more administrative and economic powers.

　　The rebels said the government must set up an interim administration to handle the reconstruction and development of the country's Tamil-dominated northeast before they would resume peace talks and attend a key donor conference.

　　The government has not immediately responded to the rebels' demand, made in a letter to Norwegian peace broker Vidar Helgesen.

　　Fighting between government troops and the rebels that has killed nearly 65,000 people stopped after the parties signed a Norwegian-brokered cease-fire agreement in February of last year.

　　During a previous round of peace talks, the rebels dropped their call for an interim administration in the northeast. With the rebels again pressing this demand, diplomats said the prospect of resuming peace talks soon was shakier.

　　The rebels said yesterday that given the government's sluggishness in rebuilding the region, the Tigers needed more control over "both decision making and delivery of the tasks of rebuilding the war-damaged economy and restoring normalcy in the Tamil-speaking homeland."

　　The rebels also said such an administration would be able to disburse aid money quickly. The Tamils are seeking more direct access to some of the US billion in aid expected to be pledged at the June 9-10 donor conference in Tokyo.