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Norwegians coming today

by N.M. Ameen

A three-member Norwegian delegation comprising Deputy Foreign Minister Vidar Helgesen, special envoy Erik Solheim and Foreign Ministry official Kjersti Tromsdal will be in Colombo today to meet Government leaders with the objective of moving the peace process forward, diplomatic sources told the Daily News last night.

The Norwegian delegation, which will also include Ambassador Jon Westborg, will meet President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Foreign Minister Tyronne Fernando and other political party leaders, the sources said.

This follows their meeting with LTTE theoretician Anton Balasingham in London last week and separate requests by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam leader Velupillai Prabhakaran to Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik to continue his country's peace role.

Prime Minister Wickremesinghe telephoned his Norwegian counterpart last month and followed it up with a letter. He briefed Bondevik on the Government's plans to revive political negotiations with the LTTE.

"We would very much like to have the continued assistance of the Royal Norwegian Government in a similar capacity to carry on the task embarked upon by the previous Sri Lankan Government," he told Bondevik. He thanked the Royal Norwegian Government for the assistance provided so far to Sri Lanka in the search for a political solution.

Prabhakaran also complimented the Royal Norwegian Government for its impartial and neutral approach in the facilitator process.

In his letter to Bondevik, Prabhakaran said he was seeking Norway's "continuous engagement as the facilitator to help to find a stable peace and a permanent settlement to the ethnic conflict".

The Government has reciprocated a ceasefire announced by the LTTE on December 24 with a Cessation of Hostilities. Premier Wickremesinghe has told the UNP Parliamentary Group that the Government expects to announce a Cessation of Hostilities on a common basis under a framework agreed upon the facilitation of Norway.

"The LTTE has declared a ceasefire on one basis and the government announced a Cessation of Hostilities on another basis. We now hope to announce a Cessation of Hostilities on a common basis," Prime Minister Wickremesinghe has said.

The Prime Minister said steps will be taken to remove restrictions on fishing and despatch essential goods to the North. A ban on goods to the North (except for six banned items and restricted items like diesel/petrol) will be lifted on January 15. Minister Milinda Moragoda inspected the checkpoints through which the goods would be sent, on a recent tour of Vavuniya.

During his recent tour to India, the Prime Minister briefed the Indian leaders on the steps taken by the Government to pave the way for peace talks. The Prime Minister told the media at a recent news conference that peace talks with the LTTE could probably take place in March. He said Premier Bondevik would be closely involved with the peace process.

President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, who participated in the SAARC Summit in Kathmandu, also briefed the South Asian leaders on the peace process and pledged her fullest support to the United National Front government's peace efforts.

The government has appointed a committee comprising Ministers G.L. Peiris and Milinda Moragoda to act a focal point for the peace process. A peace secretariat has also been established under an experienced diplomat. 

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