Sri Lanka’s main foreign donors last week declined to issue a statement, but also decided against sanctioning Sri Lanka for its human rights abuses.
Top diplomats from Japan, Norway, the United States and European Union - known collectively as the Co-Chairs - meet in Oslo Tuesday last week at a time when Sri Lanka's relations with the international community are increasingly strained.
Among the items discussed at the June 25 meeting was the possibility of sanctions against Sri Lanka, diplomatic sources said.
However, Japan and the United States had argued strongly against such a move. And as a result, the co-chairs agreed to give Sri Lanka more time, political columnists from Colombo quoted diplomatic sources as saying.
This latest phase of the war has been marked by widespread human rights abuses, for which most blame has been laid at the government's doors.
"Human rights and humanitarian affairs are definitely the issues of the day," Reuters quoted a foreign diplomat as saying on condition of anonymity.
"It's fair to say that some of the Co-Chairs are still very much concerned about the situation in those fields today and will be focusing on that in the time to come."
For the first time, the co-chairs did not issue any public statement after their consultations, which were described as a ‘working meeting’ to exchange notes in the wake of several recent high profile visits to Sri Lanka.
"The Co-Chairs will explore ways and means in which the group, as a whole or as individual countries, can continue helping the parties to cease violence and return to the negotiating table," Eric Solheim, Norwegian Minister for International Development and the host of the meeting, said in a statement prior to the meeting.
However, observers said one reason donors did not comment publicly after the meeting is that they could not agree among themselves on how far to openly pressure the government, Reuters reported.
The co-chairs also agreed to ask the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers to return to peace talks, stressing that they did not support a military solution to the conflict.
At the same time, the US, Japan, the European Union and Norway decided that it was time for Norwegian diplomats to resume playing the role of active peace facilitator in the seemingly never ending conflict, IANS reported.
This decision follows a statement by Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa last week that while the Norwegians were encouraged to get the LTTE to agree to talks, they should not think about making a trip to the Vanni to meet then directly.
“President Rajapaksa was of the view that Norway should make contact with the LTTE leadership from Oslo since a visit at this juncture would not be opportune,” the Sunday Times reported last week, of a meeting between Mr. Rajapaksa and Norewegian Minister for International Development Erik Solheim.
The co-chairs will also privately call for an end to human rights abuses and access to the northeast for humanitarian workers, IANS reported.
The co-chairs feel that even if the Tigers are pushed out of the east completely, there can never be a military solution to the conflict and that both parties will have to return to talks to arrest the rapidly deteriorating situation, the IANS agency said.
“At the same time, Sri Lanka seems to have no system or plan in place for talks. The military is also gung ho about its victories and strongly feels there should be no let up in the pressure being put on the LTTE,” the newsagency reported.
Another factor the co-chairs called for is the formulation of a “credible” Political Package to end the conflict, the Sunday Times reported.
“The Co-chairs have expressed the view that parties can be brought to the negotiation table by them provided the commitment to peaceful negotiations first comes from the Government,” the Sri Lankan weekly reported.
“They are of the opinion that proposals formulated by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) which incorporates devolution at district level will only move the peace process backwards rather than moving forward,” the paper said.
Though Indian officials from New Delhi were invited, their envoy in Oslo was expected to attend the meeting as an observer, the Sunday Times reported before the meeting.
Besides Solheim, those who took part in the talks included US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher, Special Representative Yasushi Akashi of Japan, Andreas Michaelis from the European Union presidency and Acting Deputy Director General James Morran of the European Commission.
The Oslo meeting was the first of the co-chairs after November 2006 when the grouping met in Washington.
Diplomats and analysts say Sri Lanka is increasingly at risk of isolation over human rights abuses, Reuters reported.
The government was forced into an embarrassing U-turn earlier this month after authorities forcibly evicted nearly 400 Tamils from the capital citing security concerns - prompting international outrage and a Supreme Court ruling blocking such evictions.
Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the President's brother, openly accused Western countries of bullying the government on human rights, saying they are misinformed and Sri Lanka does not depend on them.
He also justified evicting Tamils from Colombo, saying all measures were fair to defeat terror. He also accused United Nations agencies who expressed their concerns of having been infiltrated by the LTTE.
Also, international experts have criticised a presidential probe into a series of abuses, including the massacre of 17 local staff of aid group Action Contre La Faim in August which Nordic monitors have blamed on security forces.
The experts have said the probe fails to meet international standards and is headed for failure.
And with nearly a dozen media worker murders since 2005, international press freedom groups have described Sri Lanka as one of the world's most dangerous places for journalists, accusing the state of failing to probe the killings and intimidating reporters.
The government has rejected calls for a United Nations human rights monitoring mission, instead vowing to destroy the Tigers militarily.
Top diplomats from Japan, Norway, the United States and European Union - known collectively as the Co-Chairs - meet in Oslo Tuesday last week at a time when Sri Lanka's relations with the international community are increasingly strained.
Among the items discussed at the June 25 meeting was the possibility of sanctions against Sri Lanka, diplomatic sources said.
However, Japan and the United States had argued strongly against such a move. And as a result, the co-chairs agreed to give Sri Lanka more time, political columnists from Colombo quoted diplomatic sources as saying.
This latest phase of the war has been marked by widespread human rights abuses, for which most blame has been laid at the government's doors.
"Human rights and humanitarian affairs are definitely the issues of the day," Reuters quoted a foreign diplomat as saying on condition of anonymity.
"It's fair to say that some of the Co-Chairs are still very much concerned about the situation in those fields today and will be focusing on that in the time to come."
For the first time, the co-chairs did not issue any public statement after their consultations, which were described as a ‘working meeting’ to exchange notes in the wake of several recent high profile visits to Sri Lanka.
"The Co-Chairs will explore ways and means in which the group, as a whole or as individual countries, can continue helping the parties to cease violence and return to the negotiating table," Eric Solheim, Norwegian Minister for International Development and the host of the meeting, said in a statement prior to the meeting.
However, observers said one reason donors did not comment publicly after the meeting is that they could not agree among themselves on how far to openly pressure the government, Reuters reported.
The co-chairs also agreed to ask the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers to return to peace talks, stressing that they did not support a military solution to the conflict.
At the same time, the US, Japan, the European Union and Norway decided that it was time for Norwegian diplomats to resume playing the role of active peace facilitator in the seemingly never ending conflict, IANS reported.
This decision follows a statement by Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa last week that while the Norwegians were encouraged to get the LTTE to agree to talks, they should not think about making a trip to the Vanni to meet then directly.
“President Rajapaksa was of the view that Norway should make contact with the LTTE leadership from Oslo since a visit at this juncture would not be opportune,” the Sunday Times reported last week, of a meeting between Mr. Rajapaksa and Norewegian Minister for International Development Erik Solheim.
The co-chairs will also privately call for an end to human rights abuses and access to the northeast for humanitarian workers, IANS reported.
The co-chairs feel that even if the Tigers are pushed out of the east completely, there can never be a military solution to the conflict and that both parties will have to return to talks to arrest the rapidly deteriorating situation, the IANS agency said.
“At the same time, Sri Lanka seems to have no system or plan in place for talks. The military is also gung ho about its victories and strongly feels there should be no let up in the pressure being put on the LTTE,” the newsagency reported.
Another factor the co-chairs called for is the formulation of a “credible” Political Package to end the conflict, the Sunday Times reported.
“The Co-chairs have expressed the view that parties can be brought to the negotiation table by them provided the commitment to peaceful negotiations first comes from the Government,” the Sri Lankan weekly reported.
“They are of the opinion that proposals formulated by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) which incorporates devolution at district level will only move the peace process backwards rather than moving forward,” the paper said.
Though Indian officials from New Delhi were invited, their envoy in Oslo was expected to attend the meeting as an observer, the Sunday Times reported before the meeting.
Besides Solheim, those who took part in the talks included US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher, Special Representative Yasushi Akashi of Japan, Andreas Michaelis from the European Union presidency and Acting Deputy Director General James Morran of the European Commission.
The Oslo meeting was the first of the co-chairs after November 2006 when the grouping met in Washington.
Diplomats and analysts say Sri Lanka is increasingly at risk of isolation over human rights abuses, Reuters reported.
The government was forced into an embarrassing U-turn earlier this month after authorities forcibly evicted nearly 400 Tamils from the capital citing security concerns - prompting international outrage and a Supreme Court ruling blocking such evictions.
Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the President's brother, openly accused Western countries of bullying the government on human rights, saying they are misinformed and Sri Lanka does not depend on them.
He also justified evicting Tamils from Colombo, saying all measures were fair to defeat terror. He also accused United Nations agencies who expressed their concerns of having been infiltrated by the LTTE.
Also, international experts have criticised a presidential probe into a series of abuses, including the massacre of 17 local staff of aid group Action Contre La Faim in August which Nordic monitors have blamed on security forces.
The experts have said the probe fails to meet international standards and is headed for failure.
And with nearly a dozen media worker murders since 2005, international press freedom groups have described Sri Lanka as one of the world's most dangerous places for journalists, accusing the state of failing to probe the killings and intimidating reporters.
The government has rejected calls for a United Nations human rights monitoring mission, instead vowing to destroy the Tigers militarily.
