Foreign envoys leave for talks at LTTE stronghold in Lanka
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
New Delhi, April 10, IRNA
Sri Lanka-LTTE-Foreign envoys
Ambassadors from the European Union, Japan and Norway left for a Tamil Tiger stronghold to urge the guerrillas to peacefully settle Sri Lanka's more than two-decade-old conflict.
Tom Knappskog, the spokesman for the Norwegian Embassy, said the ambassadors departed for Kilinochchi, 275 kilometers north of Colombo, where they will meet the leadership of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), media report said here.
The envoys expressed concern yesterday about the commitment of both the Sri Lankan government and LTTE to 19-21 April peace talks in Geneva, Switzerland, after an earlier round in February this year.
The two sides agreed at those talks to scale down escalating violence that threatened to scuttle a three-year-old, Norwegian-backed cease-fire.
Despite the pledges made in February, violence has escalated.
The European Union, Japan, and Norway are Sri Lanka's top financial donors and backers of the peace process with Tiger rebels.
The envoys will "underline the need for the LTTE to live up to its commitments made at the February Geneva meeting, and for a strong and positive LTTE engagement to make the upcoming talks a success," a statement said on Sunday.
Today, the Sri Lankan military reported suspected rebels wounded two civilians with gunfire on Saturday near the eastern town of Valaichenai, the Media Unit of the Defence Ministry said.
Soldiers on patrol also found 25 kilograms of gelignite in the northeastern port town of Trincomalee on Saturday.
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