Chief Negotiator of Tamil Tiger Returns to Sri Lanka

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, March 26, 2002

Chief Negotiator of Tamil Tiger Returns to Sri Lanka

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The self-exiled chief negotiator of Sri Lanka's separatist Tamil Tiger rebels, Anton Balasingham, returned home on Monday to meet rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran for preparation of peace talks with the government, government officials said.

Balasingham who lived in London and suffers from a serious kidney ailment, flew in on a seaplane accompanied by Norwegian peace facilitators directly from the Maldives to a rebel-held area in north of the country and the seaplane landed in an irrigation tank at Iranamadu.

Meanwhile, a Norwegian delegation also arrived by helicopter in Kilinochchi. It included Norwegian peace envoy Erik Solheim, Norwegian Ambassador to Sri Lanka John Westborg, head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission Trond Furohovde and another member of the monitoring team, the Tamilnet website said.

After a meeting between Thamil Chelvan, the political wing leader of the rebels and Balasingham, the two rebel officials had a lengthy discussion with the Norwegian delegation.

On Tuesday, Prabhakaran, Balasingham, Thamil Chelvan and the Norwegian delegation will discuss matters related to the permanent ceasefire between the rebels and the government as well as other political matters.

The government and the Tamil rebels signed an indefinite ceasefire last month which has paved way for direct talks between the two sides.

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