NORWAY: Diplomats arrived in Sri Lanka yesterday with a draft agreement that could pave the way for talks to end more than two decades of ethnic strife and a permanent ceasefire monitored by Scandinavian observers.
The talks with Tamil Tiger rebels would be the first in seven years and the Colombo government said it hoped to have the agreement signed before two unilateral truces expire on February 24th.
"We are very satisfied with the way things are going right now and we hope to get the agreement signed before the ceasefires end," the Constitutional Affairs Minister, Mr G.L. Peiris, told a weekly news conference.
A Norwegian embassy statement said the visit by the deputy foreign minister, Mr Vidar Helgesen, would signal that a solution to the conflict was up to the government and rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
"Norway will continue to assist the parties in the process, but has no positions as regard substantive elements of a future negotiated settlement between the parties," the statement said. It added that Mr Helgesen hoped "that further discussions with the government and the LTTE will lead to a formalised ceasefire".
A source close to the talks said the draft contained provisions for Norway to appoint the head of the monitoring mission who would answer to the Norwegian government. "The Sri Lanka monitoring mission shall be composed of representatives from Nordic countries," the source quoted the agreement as saying.