COLOMBO, Feb 17: After nearly two decades of armed conflict and a trail of broken negotiations, the unfamiliar syllables of a Norwegian name are poised to become the latest mantra for peace in Sri Lanka.Norwegian Foreign Minister and peace missionary Knut Vollebaek formally announced late yesterday that Norway has been mandated the task of initiating direct talks between the two warring sides in Sri Lanka: The Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).Vollebaek declared in a statement after a marathon four-hour meeting with President Chandrika Kumaratunga here on Wednesday that his country was ``willing to accept the challenging task of trying to bring the parties together'' for talks.A simultaneous statement from the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry reiterated Vollebaek's announcement. Both stated that ``modalities for commencing direct talks were discussed'' in the meeting between Chandrika and Vollebaek.The Norwegian statement further added that its involvement was ``upon a request from the President (of Sri Lanka) and following a wish from the LTTE''.Significantly, neither statement specified if Norway was to play the role of `mediator' or `facilitator', though much has been made in recent months by Chandrika and her Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar of the difference between the two. The daily Island today demanded to know if Norway would keep out of negotiations once the talks had commenced. ``When does facilitation end and mediation begin? Will it be natural for facilitators to become mediators?'' it asked in an editorial headlined `Facilitators, mediators and peace traps'.Although the statements from the two governments make it seem as if the Norwegian initiative is just about to begin, it is a fact that Vollebaek and his colleagues have discreetly attempted to enable negotiations between the two sides since 1997. The reasons for the sudden blaze of publicity around the Norwegian role are yet not obvious and may become clear only in the coming months.Kadirgamar described Vollebaek's 18-hour vist here as `historic' for the two countries. It may also hold significance for the region as a whole, being the first time that a South Asian country has mandated a western power to assist in a protracted internal conflict.Besides the signals it could send for western mediation in the Kashmir dispute, which India once again strongly rejected last week, the Norwegian involvement in Sri Lanka is bound to hold other implications for New Delhi, mainly on its own stand vis-a-vis the LTTE.Vollebaek himself is no total stranger to the region. A career diplomat, he was a junior official at the Norwegian embassy in New Delhi in the mid-1970s.Today, he is Norway's most popular politician, with journalists giving him top ranking in their customary Easter `report card' every year since he became Foreign Minister in 1997.Neither is Vollebaek a stranger to war and peace talks. From 1993, the war-torn former Yugoslavia has been his stamping ground, first in his capacity as deputy to United Nations mediator Thorvald Stoltenberg – also a Norwegian and Vollebaek's mentor – and later as the head of the Organisation for Security Cooperation in Europe. He has also been involved in the West Asian peace negotiations. In December, Vollebaek the peace missionary was touring Chechnya in the wake of the Russian offensive. Considered to be friendly and approachable Vollebaek is believed to be a man of honesty, integrity and high efficiency, qualities that are said to have earned him credibility not just at home, but also wherever his work has taken him.
