Norway is sending a top envoy for another attempt to save Sri Lanka's faltering peace process amid fears that Tiger rebels may return to their protracted armed struggle, diplomats said Sunday. Envoy Erik Solheim is due here in eight days to try and get talks back on track after both Colombo and Tiger rebels insisted they were sticking to their guns on pre-conditions for resuming dialogue, diplomats said.
"The visit is almost considered a routine monthly touch-base sort of exercise, but this time it assumes more importance given the deterioration of the overall situation," a Western diplomatic source said.
Prospects for ending the three-decades of Tamil separatist conflict dimmed further last week after the government of President Chandrika Kumaratunga rejected Tiger demands for reopening the stalled talks.
Retired air force chief Harry Gunatillake said Solheim's visit would help keep up appearances, but the entire process was in trouble.
"It is important for the Norwegians to remain engaged, but they know the difficulties," Gunatillake said. "Unless the government sorts out its own internal problems, the talks will not start."
Press reports here said the government's main Marxist coalition partner, the JVP, or People's Liberation Front, had written to the Norwegians saying the government lacked confidence in Oslo as a peace broker.
The JVP, which opposes any concessions to Tigers, has been critical of Norway's efforts and also dubbed the Oslo-arranged cease-fire which has been in place since February 2002 as a violation of the island's sovereignty.
Tension soared in the island's embattled northern and eastern regions after last week's commemorations by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) of their war dead, adding to the concerns for the fragile truce.
Military officials said Sunday that they have had several meetings with Scandinavian truce monitors in a bid to ensure the cease-fire is respected despite growing tensions.
LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran said in an annual policy statement late last month that Colombo should end the deadlock in peace talks by agreeing to negotiate on his proposal for an Interim Self-Governing Authority (ISGA).
"If the government of Sri Lanka rejects our urgent appeal and adopts delaying tactics, perpetuating the suffering of our people, we have no alternative other than to advance the freedom struggle of our nation," he said.
Tigers suspended their participation in the peace talks in April last year after six rounds of face-to-face meetings, but vowed to uphold the cease-fire despite allegations of violations by both sides.
Colombo Wednesday rejected Prabhakaran's latest stand as unacceptable.
"A call, couched in threatening language, from the LTTE for a resumption of negotiations without conditions, while setting conditions itself by insisting unilaterally on a single agenda item, is scarcely conducive to good-faith negotiations," the government said.
Although Colombo said it was still committed to a negotiated settlement, its JVP partner totally opposes starting talks based on the interim self-govering proposal.