News: 'Talks' Again

President, Govt remain ready to bring conflict to end through talks
Kohona slams Norwegian diplomat’s irresponsible statement :
COLOMBO: Foreign Secretary and Secretary-General of the Peace Secretariat Dr Palitha Kohona yesterday expressed regret at remarks made by an unnamed Norwegian Diplomat which tantamounted to belittling President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s efforts towards achieving a negotiated settlement to Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict.
A foreign news agency quoted the diplomat, who it described as an official involved in the Norwegian led peace effort, as having stated that neither the Government nor the Tigers were interested in paying anything more than lip service to the peace process and the 2002 ceasefire.
While expressing his regret at the statement, Dr. Kohona also took umbrage at the manner in which the LTTE had been made an equal player alongside the Government as is evident from the unnamed diplomat’s statement.
Dr Kohona said: “I do not believe that any serious diplomat would have said such a thing. In fact if it had been made, this statement is a matter for great regret.
It is to be remembered that the Government and in particular President Mahinda Rajapaksa had over and over again stressed that the Government remains ready to bring this conflict to an end through negotiations so that a just and sustainable peace could be realised.”
The Secretary-General pointed out that it was unfortunate that the LTTE continued its campaign of violence and terrorist activities and refused to respond to the Government’s position.
Commenting further, Dr. Kohona said: “The circumstances to cynically place both the Government and the LTTE in the same position is irresponsible.”
The Norwegian diplomat who had asked not to be named had also told the news agency: “The Norwegians are only acting as facilitators, not to impose anything. But, at the present time they are not being asked to facilitate anything. What we can expect over the coming months is more tit-for-tat violence, Government Forces pushing into LTTE territory and the Tigers carrying out more high-profile attacks.”