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Mahinda
‘talks’ with Norway peace brokers
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Smile
for peace
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| President
Mahinda Rajapaksa is all smiles as he met Norwegian Peace
Envoy Eric Solhiem on Monday in New York (Pic by Sudath
Silva) |
COLOMBO
(AFP) — Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa held talks
with Norwegian peace facilitators, the first since Colombo
pulled out of a tattered truce in January.
Rajapaksa and Norway’s senior peace envoy Erik Solheim
discussed the military drive to dismantle the Tamil Tigers’
last bastion in the north.
The talks, which took place Monday, on the sidelines of the
United Nations General Assembly in New York, centred on the
need for sustainable peace, said a statement from the President’s
office. Having wrestled the east from the Tigers in July 2007,
Sri Lanka pulled out of the six-year Norwegian-brokered truce
in January and has since poured in a record US$ 1.5 billion
into this year’s war efforts.
Security forces say they are now on the outskirts of Kilinochchi
town, the political capital of the LTTE .
During the talks, Rajapaksa accused the rebels of using civilians
as human shields in the face of advancing troops, his office
said.
The LTTE, which has been fighting since 1972 for autonomy
in the north and east for minority Tamils, did not comment
on Rajapaksa’s remarks. There was no immediate comment
from the Norwegian government on the bilateral discussions.
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