Norwegian envoy visits Tamil leaders for talks скачать в хорошем качестве

Norwegian envoy visits Tamil leaders for talks

(13 Nov 2003) PLEASE NOTE PICTURE QUALITY AS INCOMING 1. Helicopter touches down in a football pitch 2. Various of police on the ground 3. Norwegian delegation gets out of helicopter 4. Delegates shake hands with Tamil Tiger representatives 5. Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Vidar Helgesen and special envoy Erik Solheim shake hands with Tamil Tiger leaders Sutha (only name given), Deputy leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) political wing, and Pullithevan (only one name given), head of the LTTE Peace Secretariat 6. Norwegians and Tamils get into cars 7. Convoy drives into jungle road STORYLINE: Tamil Tiger rebels said on Thursday they were committed to a Norwegian-brokered ceasefire, allying fear that a power struggle between Sri Lanka's president and prime minister would plunge the tropical island back into war. A pro-rebel Web site quoted S.P. Thamilselvan, the Tiger's political wing leader, as saying the February 2002 truce that halted two decades of fighting will be honored. The statement came after two Norwegian peace envoys met Sri Lanka's reclusive rebel leader, Vellupillai Prabhakaran in a northern rebel town on Thursday. Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Vidar Helgesen and special envoy Erik Solheim arrived in Kilinochchi (about 275 kilometers / 170 miles north of Colombo), the rebel's capital in northern Sri Lanka, by helicopter. The Norwegians, who have played a crucial role in efforts no end Sri Lanka's bloody 19-year civil war, met with President Chandrika Kumaratunga in Colombo on Wednesday. Kumaratunga last week wrested control of the ministries of defense, interior and media from her rival Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, claiming he has made too many concessions to the Tamil rebels. The president also suspended Parliament and briefly declared emergency rule, triggering fear that this tropical island would be plunged back into war. A Norwegian-brokered cease-fire in February 2002 halted fighting between government and Tamil Tiger rebel forces that has killed 65,000 people since 1983. The truce led to six rounds of peace talks between the government and rebels. But the rebels walked out of the talks in April, demanding broader administrative powers in Tamil-majority areas of the island. Kilinochchi, where Thursday's meetings were scheduled to take place, is about 275 kilometers (170 miles) north of Colombo. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...