Monitoring Mission Chief arrives Colombo

[TamilNet, Saturday, 02 March 2002, 12:06 GMT]
The Head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), Retired Norwegian Army General Trond Furuhovde arrived in Colombo Saturday morning, accompanied by four other Norwegian monitors. Monitors from Finland and Sweden are also expected to arrive shortly, government sources said. The sixteen-member Monitoring Mission comprising officials from Nordic countries was set up according to the permanent cease-fire agreement signed between the Sri Lanka government and the Liberation Tigers last month.

The Head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), Retired Norwegian Army General Trond Furuhovde met LTTE's chief negotiator Mr.Anton Balasingham in London, Wednesday, 27 February.

Soon after his arrival in Colombo, Gen. Tront Furuhovde met Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe and exchanged views regarding the monitoring of ceasefire under the terms of the ceasefire.

Last week he met the LTTE's chief negotiator and political strategist, Mr. Anton Balasingham in London.

"I am expected to visit the north by Wednesday to make arrangements to monitor the ceasefire now in force," Trond Furuhovde told press later.

The SLMM will maintain a presence in the districts of Jaffna, Mannar, Vavuniya, Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Ampara.