A Norwegian peace broker met with a Tamil Tiger rebel leader Wednesday in the latest effort to revive long-stalled peace talks between the guerrillas and the Sri Lankan government. Erik Solheim arrived at the northern rebel-held town of Kilinochchi and began discussions with the insurgents' political chief S.P. Thamilselvan, a spokesman at the rebel office said. The meeting was delayed a few hours after Solheim's helicopter was forced to land in bad weather, said Norwegian Embassy spokeswoman Kjersti Tromsdal. Solheim met Tuesday with the head of a European team monitoring a February 2002 cease-fire between the rebels and government troops. Talks aimed at ending two decades of civil war in this South Asian island nation came to a halt in April 2003 when the Tigers withdrew, demanding more autonomy for areas dominated by the ethnic Tamil minority. Stubbornness and distrust on both sides have blocked international efforts, led by Norway and Japan, to bring the two sides back to the negotiating table. Meanwhile, ambassadors of Japan, the European Union and the United States said in a joint statement Wednesday that they've expressed concern to President Chandrika Kumaratunga over her Marxist coalition partner's opposition to the Norwegian-brokered peace process. The Marxist People's Liberation Front, dominated by the Sinhalese majority, opposes any concessions being given to the rebels, and accuses Norway of siding with the Tigers. The group has 39 members in the 225-seat parliament. The Tigers warned last month that unless talks resume immediately based on their proposal for self-rule _ which calls for a largely independent territory for Tamils _ the insurgents will resume their "freedom struggle." The government, however, says talks must also involve exploring a permanent settlement along the lines of a federal solution. Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam began their violent campaign in 1983 to create a separate state for ethnic minority Tamils accusing the Sinhalese of discrimination. About 65,000 people were killed in the conflict before the cease-fire.
