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Norwegian, Japanese envoys to meet govt, LTTE leaders

Diplomats step up efforts to resume negotiations

by Ranil Wijayapala

Diplomats playing key roles in the peace negotiations between the Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are set to put the temporarily suspended peace talks on track after crucial talks in Colombo and Vanni this week.

Japanese Peace Envoy Yasushi Akashi followed by Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Vidar Helgesen and Special Envoy Erik Solheim arrived in Colombo Saturday night and Sunday morning following their meetings with the Indian Government.

LTTE theoretician and Chief Negotiator Anton Balasingham was also due to arrive in Colombo this morning and proceed to Wanni to meet his leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and to hold discussions with Norwegian facilitators and Japanese Peace Envoy Yasushi Akashi.

Diplomats say Balasingham's meeting with his leader in Vanni following their temporary withdrawal from the peace talks will be crucial for them to take stock of current developments and to decide on the resumption of peace talks.

Before their arrival in Sri Lanka the Norwegians and the Japanese Peace Envoy met Indian Government officials and Foreign Affairs Minister Yaswant Sinha.

Economic Reforms Minister Milinda Moragoda and Director General of the Peace Secretariat Bernard Goonatilleke also visited India to keep the Indian Government informed about the current developments in the peace process.

Peace Secretariat Chief Bernard Goonatilleke told the Daily News that they met Indian Foreign Minister Yaswant Sinha on their visit to India. "The Japanese and the Norwegians had separate discussions with the Indian Government," he added. Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Vidar Helgesen was due to meet Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe last night and is due to visit Wanni today to meet LTTE leader Prabhakaran. He is due to leave Sri Lanka on Tuesday, diplomatic sources said.

Norwegian Special Envoy Erik Solheim and other Norwegian officials will hold discussions with LTTE Chief Negotiator Anton Balasingham on Thursday.

Akashi is expected to meet the LTTE hierarchy in Vanni on Wednesday. Prior to that he will meet Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and will visit the East part of the country with Minister Rauff Hakeem.

"The purpose of his visit is to continue his mission to contribute to peace building, rehabilitation and reconstruction," a Japanese Embassy spokesman said.

Ensuring the LTTE's participation at the donor conference in Japan is also one of his tasks. The LTTE could not participate in the Washington donor parley due to legal impediments and cited their exclusion from that meeting as one of the reasons for pulling out of peace talks temporarily.

The United States, the European Community, Japan and several other countries have urged the LTTE to return to the peace table.

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