The Hindu : International : No plans to replace Norway: U.N. official

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Friday, Sep 09, 2005

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International

No plans to replace Norway: U.N. official

V.S. Sambandan

We are not for a job: Annan's aide

COLOMBO: : The U.N. Secretary-General's special adviser on conflict resolution, Lakhdar Brahimi, on Wednesday said the global body had no plans to replace the role of the facilitator, Norway, in the Sri Lankan peace process.

Concluding a four-day visit to Sri Lanka, Mr. Brahimi said there was "no question" of the U.N. replacing Norway as the facilitator. He was responding to reports in the Sri Lankan media that said the global organisation would play a larger role.

"No one has asked us and we are not looking for a job," Mr. Brahimi, who will submit a report to Secretary-General Kofi Annan, said.

He described his visit as one that was based on a request by President Chandrika Kumaratunga in the aftermath of the assassination of Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar on August 12.

In addition to Ms. Kumaratunga, the U.N. special adviser met a cross-section of political leaders and representatives from civil society.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam on Thursday rejected a Norwegian suggestion that the talks between the Government and the rebels to review the ceasefire be held at the Bandaranaike International Airport.

The international airport "cannot be a venue for meaningful political discussions," LTTE's political wing leader S.P. Tamilselvan told the Norwegian facilitators, who met him at Kilinochchi in the rebel-held northern Sri Lanka on Thursday.

The airport was suggested as the venue by the Norwegians to resolve a standoff between the Government and the LTTE on where the talks should be held. While the LTTE wanted Oslo, any other international venue where the rebels were not banned, or Kilinochchi as a venue, the Government said it should be held in Sri Lanka and proposed Omantai in the no-man's land as an alternative to Colombo.

Norway, in a statement on Wednesday said the international airport was the feasible venue as the LTTE used it to transit to its overseas destinations in the past and hence would allay its security concerns.

The Government on Wednesday evening agreed to the proposal that the international airport, which is on the outskirts of Colombo, would be the venue to hold talks to review the practical functioning of the ceasefire agreement.

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