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Norwegian Envoy to Visit Sri Lanka This Week
Norwegian peace envoy Erik Solheim will visit Sri Lanka this week in a bid to revive stalled peace process in the war-torn country following new demands tabled by separatist Tamil Tiger rebels recently, The Island newspaper reported on Sunday.
Solheim is expected to hold talks with President Chandrika Kumaratunga during his upcoming visit here, the paper said.
It is reported that Solheim, who has paid several visits to the country in recent months, met with Anton Balasingham, spokesman and theoretician of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in London on Thursday.
During their meeting Balasingham insisted that lifting the ban of LTTE and removal of restrictions on the transport of cement and fuel to rebel-held areas in the north are required before talks with the government.
Meanwhile, a delegation of Catholic bishops in the country will start their peace mission in Wanni, the rebel headquarters in the north, on Tuesday. They will meet leaders of the Tamil political parties before their trip and visit refugee camps in Wanni.
The LTTE rebels are observing a unilateral ceasefire which started on Christmas eve last year. They extended the truce every month ever since then. The ceasefire is due to end on Tuesday.
The rebels have been fighting against government forces since 1983 for a separatist Tamil homeland in the north and east of the country. The bloody war has claimed over 60,000 lives.
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