They said EU member states had decided to send second-level representatives to the meeting which opened here yesterday because they were unhappy with the government's human rights record and stepped up military action.

The United States, broke ranks with its European Partners, and sent ambassador Robert Blake, but his remarks were stinging and the government delegates privately told reporters that they were "disheartened." Blake, while saying that the US was supporting Sri Lanka's military to defend against terrorism, also warned the government that there was no military solution to the island's drawn out Tamil separatist conflict.

The World Bank and Japan, two main aid donors, issued similar warnings and the government was "very upset" by their speeches, officials attending the meeting said.

Sri Lanka asked donors not to link aid to progress in the faltering peace process, but diplomats said they wanted to make sure that their cash was not going to boost the military.

India was represented at the meeting by a senior official, additional secretary to the External Affairs Ministry, Dinesh Kumar Jain.