Reporters asked to move out of delegation's hotel

SWITZERLAND: Government delegates in Geneva to negotiate peace with the LTTE were under a lot of stress and wanted journalists removed from their hotel, diplomats said Sunday.

Sri Lanka's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Sarala Fernando, said she asked the Swiss authorities to evict all journalists who had booked into the same four-star hotel where the Government delegation was put up.

"The delegation was under a lot of stress," Fernando told reporters outside the hotel where the delegates were staying.

"The press is always trying to put us in trouble. We asked for all the press to be removed." She said the Swiss themselves asked the hotel to find other accommodation for reporters who were checking in.

However, a Swiss foreign ministry official said they had no role in shutting out reporters and some journalists remained despite the call to move them.

In Sri Lanka, the Daily News said the details of the accommodation of the Government team had been "leaked by irresponsible persons in Colombo" and the media presence at the same hotel was an "unnecessary infringement of their privacy, security and confidentiality."

Unlike in previous rounds, the Sri Lankan delegates stayed separately from the LTTE who were staying at another hotel nearby.

The LTTE held a formal press briefing at the end of the first day of talks. The Government delegation has not given briefings, although individual diplomats have spoken to media representatives. AFP