A Norwegian diplomat met with a leader of the Tamil Tiger rebels on Thursday to discuss escalating violence that threatens to derail Sri Lanka's fragile cease-fire, officials said, according to AP. Hans Brattskar, Norway's ambassador to Sri Lanka, was expected to take a «strong message» to the rebels' political chief, S.P. Thamilselvan, «to stop the killings and cease-fire violations,» government spokesman Nimal Siripala de Silva told reporters in Colombo. Brattskar left in a government helicopter for the northern rebel-held capital of Kilinochchi early Thursday, said embassy spokeswoman Kjersti Tromsdal. Details of the talks were not immediately available. «The government is always ready and willing to talk,» de Silva said, expressing hopes for a return to peace negotiations which have stalled since 2003 over the rebels' demands for wider autonomy.
