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Sri Lanka ends Norwegian facilitation role |
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22:09, April 13, 2009 |
Sri Lanka here Monday announced it was ending the Norwegian facilitation role in the island's ethnic separatist conflict.
The government announcement came after it had summoned the Norwegian Ambassador in Colombo to lodge a protest over Tamil Tiger supporters in Oslo attacking the Sri Lankan embassy in the Norwegian capital.
"......the government of Sri Lanka perceives that it is no longer feasible for Norway to act as facilitator in the engagement with Sri Lanka in the current context", a Colombo foreign ministry statement said.
Palitha Kohona, Sri Lanka's foreign ministry secretary had earlier summoned Torre Hattrem the Norwegian Ambassador to the foreign ministry in Colombo.
Sri Lankan embassy in Oslo was stormed into by supporters of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels on Sunday. They damaged the property but no one was injured.
The Sri Lankan government contends that Sunday's attack on the embassy came after a protest held in approval of the Norwegian government. The attack was subsequent to the demonstration.
"The government of Sri Lanka deplores the failure of the Norwegian government in fulfilling its obligations under international law consequent to its sheer neglect in the provision of adequate security to the Sri Lankan mission in Oslo", the statement added.
A large community of Sri Lankan Tamil minority is living in Norway. The Scandinavian nation brokered peace between the Tamil Tigers and the government of Sri Lanka since 2002. The process came to its official end in January 2008 when the government pulled out of the February 2002 ceasefire agreement.
The Tamil Tigers in April 2003 had scuttled the process by staging a temporary pull out from the process.
The Norwegian government was invited to facilitate direct talks between the government and the LTTE in the year 2000 by the then Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga.
Source: Xinhua
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