Sri Lankan Marxists stage anti-Norway rally amid fresh peace bid

COLOMBO, Aug 12 (AFP) - Thousands of Marxist supporters marched through the streets of the Sri Lankan capital Tuesday and staged an impromptu rally outside the Norwegian embassy to protest Oslo's renewed moves to broker peace on the island.

An estimated 7,000 to 8,000 people, led by the Marxist JVP, or People's Liberation Front, and including Buddhist monks, shouted anti-Norwegian slogans outside the embassy at Colombo's Ward Place diplomatic quarter, witnesses said.

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The JVP, now in talks to form an alliance with President Chandrika Kumaratunga, opposes Norway's efforts to bring an end to the island's separatist conflict that has claimed more than 60,000 lives since 1972.

Kumaratunga has also voiced disapproval of the handling of the peace process by her cohabitation government led by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

The JVP said it organised the rally to drum up opposition to a proposed interim administration for the island's embattled northeast where Tamil Tiger rebels would have a lions' share of authority.

The JVP believes the interim administration would pave the way for a separation of the country.

The protest came as Norway's special peace envoy Erik Solheim arrived here Tuesday in a bid to help break the deadlock in the peace process and woo the Tiger rebels back to the negotiating process.

The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the government have been observing a ceasefire since February last year, but the Tigers withdrew from peace talks on April 21, accusing the government of failing to deliver on promises. The rebels made the establishment of an interim council a precondition of resuming dialogue.

The JVP argues the Tigers are demanding an "interim state administration" and are strengthening themselves politically, economically and militarily to achieve a separate state of Eelam.

At previous rounds of talks, the LTTE gave up their demand for a separate state in favour of greater autonomy.

The JVP led armed insurrections in 1971 and 1987, but entered mainstream politics in 1994 and now have 16 seats in the 225-member national parliament.

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