Peterson, Helgesen to attend Kadirgamar's funeral

[TamilNet, Sunday, 14 August 2005, 12:26 GMT]
The Norwegian Foregin Minister Mr. Jan Petersen and his deputy Mr.Vidar Helgesen will attend the funeral of Sri Lanka’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lakshman Kadirgamar Monday in Colombo a press release issued by the Norwegian Foreign Ministry Sunday said. Mr.Helgesen will meet Mr. Anton Balasingham, the chief negotiator and political advisor of the LTTE on Sunday in London, before leaving for Sri Lanka, press release further said.

The Norwgian delegation will stay in Sri Lanka till Tuesday and will have discussions with the representatives of the Sri Lanka government, the statement added.

Mr. Jan Petersen earlier condemned the killing as an "atrocious crime, and a tragedy for Sri Lanka," and urged Sri Lankan Government and the LTTE to do their utmost to comply with the cease-fire agreement.

Meanwhile, the Norwegian Foreign Ministry issued Saturday a travel advice for Sri Lanka requesting its nationals staying in Sri Lanka to maintain a low profile and be on alert.

It further requested Norwegians planning to travel to Sri Lanka to consider carefully if they need to travel, and asked them to contact the Norwegian Embassy in Colombo to obtain the latest information on the prevailing situation in Sri Lanka.