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Norway fails to secure deal to lift Jaffna siege.

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Norway fails to secure deal to lift Jaffna siege.

Sri Lanka's peace broker Norway has failed to secure an agreement to end a blockade on the Jaffna peninsula where nearly half a million people are trapped by fighting, officials said.

The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said Friday they told a Norwegian envoy to persuade the government to open the land access to the embattled north without conditions.

The government had asked Jon Hanssen-Bauer to secure a deal with the Tigers to allow a convoy of some 400 trucks to travel through rebel-held territory, but the Tigers rejected a one-off convoy.

Instead, the LTTE political wing leader S. P. Thamilselvan told Hanssen-Bauer the government must open the disputed A-9 highway to Jaffna, as well as another highway to the island's east.

"He asked for the unconditional opening of the A-9 access to Jaffna and the A-15 access to Vaharai (in the east)," LTTE spokesman Rasiah Ilanthiriyan told AFP. "If the government agrees, that would be a confidence-building measure."

There was no immediate comment from the Norwegians, but diplomats close to the process said the envoy failed to end the deadlock.

The defence ministry said the government was not ready to consider the unconditional opening of the highways, fearing the Tigers could use them for military purposes.

The envoy travelled to the rebel-held northern town of Kilinochchi on Friday to discuss faltering peace efforts and the situation in Jaffna, amid fears of full-scale war.

"We are ready with 400 trucks to take supplies to Jaffna and we asked Mr. Hanssen-Bauer to get agreement from the Tigers for this convoy to go through an area held by them," Policy Planning Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said.

The main road to Jaffna has been cut since heavy fighting erupted along a de facto front line in August. Civilians are living under virtual siege conditions.

More than 3,400 people have died in the ethnic conflict this year as peace talks have collapsed and the rebels have hardened their demands for a separate state.

President Mahinda Rajapakse said last month essentials had been shipped to Jaffna, 400 kilometres (250 miles) north of the capital, but the LTTE had forced retailers to close down, leaving only state-run stores open.

The LTTE has ignored government supply plans and demanded that the main road to Jaffna be reopened by the military, which has also prevented journalists from travelling to the northern outpost.

Neighbouring India has offered to send 7,000 tonnes of food to Jaffna, which is currently supplied by ship from Colombo.

AFP

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