Norwegian envoys meet Kumaratunga

Norwegian peace envoys met Lankan president Kumaratunga in a fresh bid to jump-start stalled peace talks between the Govt and Tamil rebels.

Norwegian peace envoys met Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga on Sunday in a fresh bid to jump-start stalled peace talks between the Government and Tamil rebels and end decades of ethnic bloodshed.

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The Norwegian embassy described the closed-door meeting as extensive and constructive and said the talks covered all aspects of the peace process.

"It might take some time before the parties are in a position to return to the negotiation table and in the meantime it is important for both sides to respect and abide by the cease-fire agreement...," a statement from the embassy said. Norway has brokered a two-year truce between the two sides.

No other details of the talks were immediately available.

Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Vidar Helgesen, peace envoy Erik Solheim and ambassador Hans Brattskar met with Kumaratunga for several hours at a presidential retreat in the lush tea-growing region of Nuwara Eliya, about 180 km (113 miles) east of Colombo.

Solheim will meet the leader of the Tamil Tigers' political wing, SP Thamilselvan, in the rebel-held north on Monday and remain in the country until Wednesday.

Despite the two-year truce, direct negotiations to end the war have been on hold for a year amid a bitter political power struggle between Kumaratunga and her rival, former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Kumaratunga's party defeated Wickremesinghe's in elections last month, but only managed to form a minority Government, raising doubts about whether it has enough power to get the peace process back on track.

Kumaratunga said after the election that talks with the rebels should resume as soon as possible, but analysts say her coalition lacks a coherent strategy on how to take peace process forward and are not sure how it will gain the rebels' trust.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have said they will talk to anyone who has a clear mandate, but Kumaratunga has been an arch-foe since they tried to kill her in a 1999 suicide bomb attack that left her blind in one eye.

The president has given no details on how her plans would differ from those of the previous government, which she accused of giving too much to the rebels in its bid to end the war that has killed 64,000 people.

The LTTE, which has battled for an independent state in the north and east since 1983, says it will only reveal its position on resuming talks after Norway briefs them on Colombo's stance.

But the Tigers have insisted that talks can only proceed on the basis of a power-sharing proposal they put forward last year, which Kumaratunga publicly rejected before the election.

They also want to be recognised as the sole representative of Tamil people on the island, where the population is predominantly Sinhalese.

The Tigers were weakened in March when a powerful eastern commander split from the group, shattering its internal discipline. The main Tiger group smashed the breakaway faction last month, but its leader is still on the run.

The Tigers broke off peace talks in April 2003, saying the Government was not doing enough to rebuild Tamil areas ravaged by 20 years of war.