Britain's Prince Charles arrived Monday in Sri Lanka for a brief tour of coastal areas devastated by the Dec. 26 tsunami.

The prince planned to visit the battered eastern coastal district of Batticaloa, parts of which are controlled by Tamil Tiger rebels. There were no plans for him to meet with the guerrillas - who have been banned as a terrorist organization in Britain since 2001 - according to the government's itinerary for his half-day visit.

The prince also was scheduled to meet with President Chandrika Kumaratunga and British diplomatic staff before leaving later the same day for a tour that also includes stops in Australia, New Zealand and Fiji.

Last Tuesday, the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam marked three years since they signed a Norwegian-brokered ceasefire that halted fighting and restored a degree of normalcy to the island.

Sri Lanka was one of the countries hit hardest by the Asian tsunami, with more than 31,000 dead and thousands missing.

The visit is the prince's first to Sri Lanka since 1998 when he attended celebrations to mark the former British colony's 50 years of independence. This island off the southeastern coast of India became independent in 1948 after 152 years of British colonial rule.