Norway moves to avert full-scale war in Lanka

Sri Lankan soldiers patrol along the sea shore in Colombo yesterday amid stepped up security following fears of Tamil Tiger attacks. At least four people were killed in the island's restive east even as peace broker Norway mounted a fresh bid to try and save a faltering ceasefire. PHOTO: AFP

Oslo's International Development Minister Erik Solheim arrived Friday morning and went directly to meet the president. Talks lasted longer than scheduled, diplomats said.

"They had a long meeting, but I cannot comment on the contents of their discussions," Norwegian embassy spokesman Erik Nurnberg said. "The minister is meeting with some religious leaders before he leaves for New Delhi today."

The president's office said the two sides had "extensive discussions on the current situation."

The talks lasting more than two hours occurred against a backdrop of further violence. At least four people were killed Friday in two separate incidents in the island's east, security officials said.

Three men from a breakaway rebel faction were shot dead by the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the district of Trincomalee while a government official was shot dead in neighbouring Batticaloa, police said.

With a daily death toll reported from the island's north and east, international concern has mounted that Sri Lanka was returning to full-scale war, which had ended when both sides signed a ceasefire in 2002.

But Scandinavian monitors have said that truce is now in force only on paper after about 600 deaths since December. Most have been civilians.

Solheim's deputy, Jon Hanssen-Bauer, would remain on the island for direct weekend talks with leaders of the rebel movement, which is fighting for a minority Tamil homeland.

The chief Norwegian peace emissary to Sri Lanka was expected to brief New Delhi on his efforts to bring the LTTE back to the negotiating table they left in April 2003.

Hours before Solheim landed, a Claymore mine killed a soldier and a civilian Thursday night in the northern peninsula of Jaffna, the military said.

Another Claymore attack in the island's east damaged a military vehicle Friday, but there were no casualties, the army said.

Ahead of his visit, Solheim tried to play down expectations of a breakthrough.

He held talks with Tiger rebels in January and brought both sides together for truce talks in Switzerland on February 22. But a second round has been put off indefinitely as the death toll mounts.

"The situation in Sri Lanka is complicated, and it is important not to have unrealistic expectations of the meetings," Solheim said Thursday in a statement.

Police banned vehicles entering the main financial centre of Colombo on Thursday fearing a rebel car bomb attack, but lifted the restriction on Friday.

The 39-storey World Trade Centre (WTC) complex in the heart of Colombo blocked all vehicles, fearing a repeat of a 1997 truck bomb attack there that killed 20 people and wounded 100.

Solheim said the Norwegian effort was an important part of preparations for a meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday of Sri Lanka's key international financial backers, who are to review their support of a faltering peace process.

With violence escalating, the government said Friday it was setting up temporary shelters for civilians displaced by the unrest.

"The temporary open relief centres will commence operations within the next few days to accommodate the immediate needs of the displaced people," a statement said.