LTTE team meets senior Norwegian officials

A senior delegation of the Liberation Tigers met with senior Norwegian officials and politicians in Olso following the successful negotiations with the Sri Lanka government in Geneva last month.

Last Friday, Mr. S. P. Tamilselvan, head of the LTTE’s Political Wing, met with Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahre to discuss developments since the talks in Switzerland on February 22 and 23.

The LTTE’s Southern Forces Commander Colonel Jeyam, the Head of Thamileelam Police Mr. G. Nadesan and the Director of LTTE’s Peace Secretariat S. Puleedevan participated in the meeting.

The LTTE also met the Former Foreign Minister, Jan Petersen, Chairman of Defence Committee, and the Former Prime Minister Thorbjørn Jagland who is the President of the Norwegian Parliament (Storting) on March 01

On February 28, the LTTE delegation met with the Norwegian State Secretary for International Development, Anne Margareth Fagertun Stenhammer and State Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Raymond Johansen.

Norway’s Minister for International Development, Mr. Erik Solheim, chaired the hardfought negotiations in Geneva. Mr. Solheim has been Oslo’s Special Envoy to the Sri Lankan peace process for almost eight years. He became a minister after his party, in a coalition, won last year’s elections in Norway.

The LTTE delegation also paid a visit to the Norwegian Nobel Institute and met the Director of the institute Geir Lundestad.

Mr. Tamilselvan also met various party officials including Norwegian Labour Party MPs, Christian Democratic Party MPs and the right wing Progressive Party MP Morten Høylund, who is a (FrP) Foreign Affairs Committee member.

Speaking to Norwegian Foreign Minister Gahre, Mr. Tamilselvan conveyed LTTE leader Vellupillai Pirapaharan’s congratulations to Norway’s new Government and expressing appreciation on behalf of the Tamil people to the continued Norwegian engagement in facilitatiting the peace efforts and monitoring the February 2002 Ceasefire Agreement.

The disarming paramilitary cadres in Sri Lanka Army (SLA) controlled areas would be the key in demonstrating Colombo’s commitment, he said, discussing developments since Geneva.

“We also emphasized the humanitarian situation prevailing in the Tamil homeland. We also brought to focus the fate of war affected, war displaced and the tsunami ravaged people in our homeland,” LTTE’s political head also said adding that the dialogue between the LTTE delegation and the Norwegian Foreign Minister was constructive.

The LTTE delegation was scheduled to return to Sri Lanka on Tuesday this week, having returned to Switzerland from their visit to Norway.

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