COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, June 5 (UPI) -- Delegations from the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam have left for Oslo for talks on the Sri Lankan Monitoring Mission.
The state-run Sri Lankan Broadcasting Corporation said the LTTE delegation, led by the chief of its political wing, S.P. Tamilselvan, flew to Colombo on board a military helicopter accompanied by members of the monitoring mission en route to Oslo.
The government delegation is led by the head of the secretariat for coordinating the peace process, Palitha Kohona.
"The talks are the first international travel by the LTTE after the EU listed it as a foreign terrorist organization last month and imposed a ban on its fundraising activities. A freeze on its assets across Europe has also been passed by EU parliament," Kohona said.
Official Sri Lankan radio quoted Kohona as expressing his hope that the talks, suggested by truce facilitator Norway in the aftermath of a foiled LTTE attack on a troop carrier last month, would be fruitful.
The Hindu newspaper said Monday that the talks, scheduled for June 8 and 9, mark the third direct negotiations between Colombo and the armed rebels since 2002. Earlier negotiations were suspended following the LTTE's unilateral breaking of the cease-fire agreement.
In related news, Sri Lankan troops on duty in the northern Jaffna peninsula were fired upon by LTTE rebels who withdrew when troops began retaliatory fire.
