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| Thursday, 20 November 2003 |
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Norway denies putting pressure on Lankan leaders by Manjula Fernando Norwegian special envoy Erik Solheim has denied in India that they expected to put pressure on the Sri Lankan political leaders to reach a consensus soon with their action to temporarily pull out of the Sri Lankan Peace Process, Indian newspapers reported yesterday. Speaking to Indian reporters, special envoy Solheim who is in India to brief its leaders of the recent developments on the peace front including their temporary withdrawal as facilitators, has said that the decision to put their role on hold was taken merely until the present political uncertainty in the South clears. He has said that they do not intend to interfere with the current situation in the island. Solheim met Indian Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal on Monday where he reiterated their commitment to the Sri Lankan peace bid. Earlier, Norwegian Deputy foreign Minister Vidar Helgesen and Solheim arrived in Colombo on November 10 on a pre-scheduled visit to make arrangements for a preliminary meeting between the LTTE and the Government before the next round of formal peace talks. The Norwegian facilitators at the end of their last week's visit declared at a media conference in Colombo that they have decided to put their role temporarily on hold until the political crisis is resolved. |
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