Colombo, Sept 03: Norway and Japan are due to step up their diplomatic moves to revive Sri Lanka's faltering peace process, officials said today. Japan's special peace envoy, Yasushi Akashi is due to arrive here shortly, followed by Norway's deputy foreign minister Vidar Helgesen and special adviser to the Norwegian foreign minister Erik Solheim.
The Norwegians will be visiting Colombo to coincide with the first round of face-to-face peace talks in Thailand last year between September 16 and 19.
Both Japan and Norway have been accused by President Chandrika Kumaratunga of overstepping their brief, but the government of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe have been encouraging their increased participation.
Diplomats said the visit comes after the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) last week concluded an internal meeting in Paris on formulating a response to the Colombo government's latest offer to revive talks.
The LTTE abandoned negotiations in April after accusing the Sri Lankan government of rescinding promises made in six rounds of talks since September last year.
The Tigers have also been accused of killing more than 40 political rivals, Muslim civilians and members of the police and military intelligence units despite the ceasefire.
The United States, European Union states and Japan have asked the Tigers to strictly follow the truce and warned them against jeopardising the fragile peace process.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe vowed "peace with full security" earlier Monday, amid fears the peace process was in serious trouble.
Bureau Report