Sweden's Foreign Minister Carl Bildt says he has been refused entry to Sri Lanka as part of a European mediating mission. Bildt was scheduled to visit the country Wednesday with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband and French counterpart Bernard Kouchner. Bildt has told The Associated Press that Sri Lankan authorities did not give him permission to enter the country, but that Miliband and Kouchner would be admitted. He says no reason was given for the decision. The aim of the trip is to increase pressure on an immediate cease-fire between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tigers. EU foreign ministers on Monday called for a cease-fire so the U.N. can coordinate evacuation of civilians caught in the war zone.
