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Norwegin Envoy in Sri Lanka to Push Peace Process
Norwegian peace envoy Erik Solheim arrived here on Sunday in a fresh effort to revive peace process in Sri Lanka following the British ban on separatist Tamil Tiger rebels, the Norwegian embassy said.
The embassy said that Solheim was due to hold talks with President Chandrika Kumaratunga and other government officials but gave no further details.
Solheim's visit came only four days after Britain included on Wednesday the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in a list of 21 "foreign terrorist organizations" under the new anti-terrorism law which went into effect on February 19.
The LTTE rebels, in a statement issued from their International Secretariat in London shortly after the British ban, warned that the ban would adversely affect the peace process in the country but said they would continue with the process and cooperate with Norwegian facilitatory efforts.
President Chandrika Kumaratunga said late last month while paying a visit to neighboring India that negotiations between her government and the LTTE rebels could take place within about two months.
The LTTE rebels extended their unilateral ceasefire which started last December for a second time till March 24 and requested the government to reciprocate their truce offer.
Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar reiterated on Friday that the government would not impose a ceasefire until substantive talks between the two sides had commenced.
The LTTE rebels have been fighting against government forces since 1983 in the north and east of the country for a separate Tamil state. More than 60,000 people have been killed in the bloody war.
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