Colombo, Oct 29: Nordic nations said they will re-assess their role in Sri Lanka as President Chandrika Kumaratunga refused to budge from her demand for removal of the head of the chief Scandinavian truce monitor. In a statement issued through the Norwegian Embassy here, Norwegian Foreign Minister Jan Petersen said they had recalled Truce Monitoring Chief, Major General Tryggve Tellefsen, for consultations on the latest crisis.
He said Norway will consult with Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Sweden about their contributing observers to the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in the wake of Kumaratunga's complaint that Tellefsen jeopardised Sri Lanka's national security.
Kumaratunga demanded that Tellefsen be removed claiming he favoured the rebels by telling them of a navy plan to raid a rebel ship suspected of smuggling arms. The alleged warning, she said helped the ship avoid capture.
Norway "will consult closely with the governments which participate in the SLMM in order to jointly assess the situation and the implications for the presence of the international monitors in Sri Lanka," the statement said.
It added, however, that the SLMM will continue to monitor the ceasefire between government forces and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) pending Oslo's own inquiry.
Bureau Report