Geneva talks on Feb 22, 23

[February 7, 2006 - 4.50 GMT]

The Government and LTTE will meet in Geneva on February 22 and 23 for talks on strengthening the Ceasefire Agreement signed between them on February 22, 2002, a statement from the Norwegian Foreign Ministry said, ending much speculation on the date of the talks.  Both the Sri Lanka Government and the LTTE have asked Norway to facilitate the Geneva talks.

After much international pressure on the LTTE to reduce the level of violence that had escalated since December last year, killing at least 80 security services personnel and many civilians, it was announced in January that talks between the two sides will be held in Geneva in February. This followed a meeting with the Norwegian Special Envoy for Peace in Sri Lanka Mr. Erik Solheim with President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran late last month.

The statement said both parties will discuss how they can improve the implementation of the Ceasefire Agreement. This is the first time in three years that the parties meet face-to-face at such a high level.

Peace talks between the Government and the LTTE were unilaterally suspended by the LTTE in April 2003 after six rounds of talks. However, the ceasefire continued, but with increased violations of it by the LTTE. More than 4,000 incidents of ceasefire violations by the LTTE, many of them of a serious nature, have been recorded by the Scandinavian ceasefire monitors, the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM).

Norwegian Minister of International Development and Special Peace Envoy Erik Solheim said: "It is very positive that the parties have agreed to meet at high level to discuss how to improve the serious security situation. He added that Norway, in its role as facilitator will do its best to help the parties find a practical solution to relieve the pressure the ceasefire has come under. 

The Sri Lankan delegation to the Geneva talks will be led by Minister of Health Care and Nutrition, Mr. Nimal Siripala de Silva, a senior minister in the Government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. 



 

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Last Updated Date: February 7, 2006 - 4.50 GMT