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Swedish envoy in Sri Lanka

B. Muralidhar Reddy

COLOMBO: Amid violence which claimed four more lives including three soldiers on Wednesday, Ambassador-at-Large of the Swedish Foreign Ministry Anders Oljelund held talks here with the Government on the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM).

The SLMM, assigned to monitor the faltering ceasefire in force since 2002, faces an uncertain future after the LTTE set a September 1 deadline for exclusion of the E.U. from the mission. The LTTE has contended that after the E.U. countries proscribed the organisation in May, its members cannot be part of the SLMM.

The demand would mean the departure of 37 members of the 57-member SLMM at a time when the monitors have asked for a 25 per cent increase in their number. Nordic countries, which met in Oslo last month to assess the implication of the LTTE's demand, did not arrive at any decision. Mr. Oljelund's visit is seen as a fresh effort by Sweden to breathe life into the SLMM. He would meet the tiger representatives on Thursday.

Mr. Oljelund met officials of the Sri Lankan Government's Secretariat for Peace Process (SCOPP) and Foreign Secretary H.M.G.S. Pallhakkara on Wednesday.

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