Solheim meets Sri Lanka's Opposition Leader

[TamilNet, Saturday, 18 September 2004, 03:10 GMT]
Norwegian special peace envoy Mr. Erik Solheim met with the Opposition Leader and former Prime Minister, Mr.Ranil Wickremesinghe, at the latter's official residence Friday evening, on the eve of his departure after a five day stay in Sri Lanka, sources said.

Mr. Solheim and Mr. Wickremesinghe held discussions on the current political situation in Sri Lanka and the latest developments in resuming the stalled peace talks between the present Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), sources said.

The discussions followed the meetings Mr.Solheim held with the LTTE Head of Political Wing, Mr.S.P.Thamilchelvan, and Sri Lanka's President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunge, Thursday.

Mr. G. L. Peiris, Constitutional Affairs minister in the former United National Front government, who led the UNF delegation in the UNF-LTTE peace talks, was associated with Mr. Wickremesinghe at the meeting, sources said.

The main opposition United National Party (UNP), led by Mr.Wickremesinghe, said that it is willing to support the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) if the Alliance spoke with one voice in support of the resumption of peace talks based on the LTTE's Interim Self-Governing Authority (ISGA) proposals.

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