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Colombo asks Norway to clarify on Prabakaran's statement

B. Muralidhar Reddy

He has accused Colombo of having conducted "funeral rites" of the agreement

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka on Thursday sought a formal clarification from Norway on the November 27 statement made by the LTTE chief Velupillai Prabakaran that the Mahinda Rajapaksa Government had "buried" the 2002 Cease Fire Agreement (CFA).

Defence spokesperson and Minister Keheliya Rambukwella asked the visiting Norwegian Special Envoy, Jon Hanssen-Bauer, to tell the Government, in his capacity as representative of the official facilitator of peace talks, where the LTTE stood vis-à-vis the CFA after Mr. Prabakaran's speech.

Mr. Hanssen-Bauer is meeting Government officials here for a better understanding of the current situation and various issues related to the peace process. Next week, he will travel to Kilinochchi for an interaction with the LTTE leadership.

TamilNet quoted S. Puleedevan, director of LTTE's peace secretariat, and the outfit's military spokesman, Irasaiah Ilanthirayan, as saying that they jointly dismissed media reports that cited Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) officials as saying that the Tigers had conveyed a message to Colombo following the policy address by their leader.

"Our national leader, in his policy address, has clearly explained everything that was needed to be conveyed to Colombo," Mr. Ilanthirayan was quoted as saying.

The LTTE leader in his "Heroes Day" address accused Colombo of having conducted the "funeral rites" of the CFA without tearing it apart.

Disruptive acts

An official statement said Mr. Keheliya told Mr. Hassen-Bauer that the Government had taken all possible measures to address the food shortage in Jaffna and the LTTE-controlled Vaharai. There were delays in aid convoys reaching the conflict areas due to "disruptive acts" by the LTTE and bad weather.

The statement said both parties expressed concern over media policies and urged for better understanding when reporting.

The Norwegian envoy expressed concern over media reports on their role as facilitators in the peace process.

The Minister also expressed concern over the `media policy' of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission.

Norway is upset with rebel LTTE leader Karuna's interview in a State-owned daily, accusing it of favouring the LTTE.

The Sri Lanka Government is unhappy with the SLMM going to press on humanitarian related issues.

At the Consultative Committee on Humanitarian Assistance, which embodies key Ministries involved with the conflict-affected areas, the Government agreed to those agencies involved in humanitarian work in affected areas resuming their activities.

In a statement, the acting United Nations Resident/Humanitarian Co-ordinator in Sri Lanka, who chairs the Inter-Agency Standing Committee, welcomed the decision and thanked the Government for "rectifying" the situation concerning the 21 agencies.

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