Colombo, Aug 12: A Norwegian special envoy, who arrived in Sri Lanka today to help revive peace talks between the Sri Lankan government and Tamil Tiger rebels, had discussions with the Indian High Commissioner on the issue. Eric Solheim, who helped cobble together a February 2002 cease-fire between the government and the rebels, briefed Indian High Commissioner Nirupam Sen for more than an hour on Tuesday about the efforts to restart peace talks, said Indian embassy spokeswoman Reenat Sandhu.

Solheim will meet with government officials, rebel leaders, European truce monitors and Colombo-based diplomats, said a Nigerian embassy official who didn't give her name.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam abandoned the talks in April, saying that the government was not working fast enough to redevelop the war-affected northeast, where most of the country's 3.2 million minority Tamils live.


The Tamil Tigers began fighting for a separate state in 1983, accusing 14 million majority Sinhalese of widespread discrimination. About 65,000 people were killed the conflict before the truce, which paved the way for six rounds of peace talks.
Bureau Report