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Rajapakse, Solheim discuss revival of talks

V.S. Sambandan

Norwegian envoy to meet Prabakaran

COLOMBO: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse here on Tuesday discussed with Norwegian Minister for International Development and key facilitator Erik Solheim issues relating to the "possibility of resuming negotiations" with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

The two-hour talks were held a day ahead of Mr. Solheim's visit to the rebel held Kilinochchi. He will discuss with LTTE leader V. Prabakaran measures to revive direct talks between Colombo and the Tigers. He is associated with the peace process since the inception of Norway's role as a facilitator.

There has been considerable international pressure on the LTTE to abandon violence and resume negotiations. U.S. Under-Secretary Nicholas Burns on Monday said the LTTE would not gain any support if it continued to follow the path of violence.

He said the Tamils had "legitimate grievances," and that "we hope that the LTTE will understand that it will have no relationship with my Government and, indeed, no effective relationship with any country in this world as long as it seeks to redress its grievances through the barrel of a gun."

The deadlock in resuming the talks, which remain suspended since the LTTE's unilateral pullout in 2003, is over the choice of a venue to discuss implementation issues relating to the ceasefire agreement.

However, beyond this lie deeper issues such as the LTTE's demand for de-escalating the northern Jaffna peninsula and disarming the "paramilitaries" in the eastern district. After a round of discussions in which senior officials were present, Mr. Rajapakse and Mr. Solheim held "a lengthy and cordial discussion on current development vis-à-vis the peace process and the ceasefire agreement," the President's Office said.

Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga, senior adviser on the peace process Jayantha Dhanapala and Norwegian envoy Hans Brattskar attended the meeting.

Journalist killed

Two persons, including a Tamil journalist, were shot dead in two incidents in the eastern Trincomalee district.

S.S. Rajan (35) was a part-time provincial correspondent for Tamil newspaper Sudar Oli published from Colombo. He had reportedly received threats after his recent photo-coverage of the killings of five Tamil youths in Trincomalee. He is survived by his wife and two children. A civilian, R. Sundaralingam (59), was shot dead in the sensitive Muttur area of Trincomalee district.

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