IPU Secretary General to visit Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 October 2006, 03:17 GMT]
A delegation from the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU), a worldwide organization of parliamentarians working for peace and co-operation, led by its Secretary General Mr.Anders B.Johnsson, is to arrive Wednesday in Colombo following an invitation by President Mahinda Rajapakse, poitical sources in Colombo said. The IPU delegation will assist in helping to forge national consensus in among political parties in Sri Lanka in resolving the ethnic question, sources said.

Mr.Anders B.Johnsson is scheduled to meet President Mahinda Rajapakse Thursday. He would also meet the leaders of other political parties including the main opposition United National Party (UNP), Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and Tamil National Alliance (TNA), sources said.

Mr. Johnsson worked more than fifteen years for the United Nationals High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) as a senior advisor to the High Commissioner. He also held senior positions in Honduras, Pakistan, Sudan and Vietnam, sources said.