Colombo ends Norway's peace broker role

The Sri Lankan government has formally ended Norway's decade-long role as a peace mediator, saying they are close to crushing the rebels. Norway brokered a ceasefire in 2002 but a recent attack on the Sri Lankan embassy in Oslo angered Colombo.Sri Lanka on Monday stripped Norway of its role as broker of the island's moribund peace process, a government official told AFP.The decision comes as the Sri Lankan government says it is on the verge of totally crushing Tamil Tiger rebels, and ends a decade-long effort by Norway to bring an end to one of Asia's longest-running ethnic conflicts."The government of Sri Lanka perceives that there is no room for Norway to act as (peace) facilitator," the official said, adding that a formal letter was handed over to Norway's ambassador to Colombo, Tore Hattrem, on Monday.The dismissal of Oslo as peace broker followed an attack against Sri Lanka's embassy in Norway by Tamil demonstrators. Colombo said repeated appeals to the local authorities to protect the diplomatic compound had been ignored.The Sri Lankan government decision also removes an important conduit for communications with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) -- either from Colombo, the United Nations or other countries promoting the peace process.Sri Lanka has recently taken exception to Norway arranging a telephone conversation between a senior LTTE leader and a UN envoy to discuss the island's humanitarian crisis.Sri Lanka had formally invited the Scandinavian nation to act as peace broker in January 2000, and Oslo managed to secure a ceasefire which came into force in February 2002.