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Position on Norway stays: Colombo

V.S. Sambandan

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka on Thursday said there was no change in its position on facilitator to the peace process Norway. "Our position remains unchanged," Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, Media Minister and Cabinet spokesperson told a press conference here.

"It is up to the various political parties to air their demands," Mr. Yapa said when asked about the demand by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna that Norway be "immediately removed" as the facilitator.

The Norwegian facilitation is a frequent political issue, particularly raised by the JVP and the Jathika Hela Urumaya.

For the past five years, the issue has been hitting the political debates, particularly in the run-up to elections. Polls to the local bodies are scheduled to be held on March 30.

The JVP's demand is on the ground that members of the LTTE negotiating team had visited Oslo after last month's Geneva talks.

The JVP objected to the visit charging Norway with a "pro-terrorist" role.

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