Norway says Sri Lanka mediation ended long ago

Jon Hanssen-Bauer, Special Envoy for the peace process in Sri Lanka.

Norway has not been able to have a mediation role in Sri Lanka’s civil war since the peace process broke down three years ago, a top Norwegian diplomat said April 14.

“We cannot be facilitators in a peace process which has in effect been suspended since 2006,” Norway’s special envoy to Sri Lanka Jon Hanssen-Bauer said. 

Hanssen-Bauer spoke after the Sri Lankan government & aposs announcement that Oslo had been stripped of its role in brokering a ceasefire. 

Sri Lanka on Monday stripped Norway of its role as peace broker, a government official had told AFP. The officer said: “The government of Sri Lanka perceives that there is no room for Norway to act as (peace) facilitator,” the official said, adding that a formal letter was handed over to Norway’s ambassador to Colombo, Tore Hattrem, on Monday.

The dismissal of Oslo as peace broker followed an attack against Sri Lanka’s embassy in Norway. Sri Lanka has recently taken exception to Norway arranging a telephone conversation between a senior LTTE leader and a UN envoy to discuss the island’s humanitarian crisis.

Source: AFP / Tamilnational.com