Sri Lanka's embassy in Oslo was trashed by pro-Tamil rebel demonstrators on Sunday [AFP]
Sri Lanka's embassy in Oslo was trashed by pro-Tamil rebel demonstrators on Sunday [AFP]
Sri Lanka informed Norway of its decision on Monday, a day after supporters of the (LTTE) Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam broke into the Sri Lankan embassy in the Norwegian capital.
The Sri Lankan government has stripped Norway of its role as a mediator between the government and Tamil Tiger fighters in the country's peace process.
The Sri Lankan foreign ministry made a formal complaint to Norway following the protest.
Colombo also recently took exception to Norway arranging a telephone conversation between an LTTE leader and a UN envoy to discuss the humanitarian crisis caused by the conflict.
The move means Norway can no longer play a role as one of four mediators, alongside the US, Britain and Japan, in Sri Lanka's peace talks.
"We cannot be facilitators in a peace process which has in effect been suspended since 2006," Jon Hanssen-Bauer, Norway's special envoy to Sri Lanka, said.
Embassy attacked
Demonstartors demanding Norway help bring an end to the conflict in Sri Lanka, broke into the Sri Lankan embassy in Oslo on Sunday, smashing windows and furniture.
No one was hurt in the protests, police said, and the demonstrators, who had videotaped themselves and posted the attack on the internet, were not arrested.
Sri Lanka's foreign ministry said Norway had shown "sheer neglect" of its obligations by failing to protect the embassy despite repeated requests for better security.
Protests have been on the rise in numerous world cities where there are large Tamil populations.
"In these circumstances, the government of Sri Lanka perceives that it is no longer feasible for Norway to act as facilitator in the peace process," a statement from Sri Lanka's foreign ministry said.
Sri Lanka formally invited the Scandinavian nation to act as a mediator in the conflict in January 2000; Norwegian officials managed to secure a ceasefire which came into force in February 2002.
But the Sri Lankan government pulled out of the truce in January last year, accusing the LTTE of frequent ceasefire violations and of using the break in fighting to rearm.
Members of the Tamil community in Oslo, Norway are demonstrating in protest of the Sinhalese-dominated government of Sri Lanka. The protests are taking place peacefully on the grounds in front of the Storting, the Norwegian Parliament.
Storting on Monday. 
The demonstrators are supporters of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), popularly known as the Tamil Tigers. They criticised the Sri Lankan governments handling of Tamil civilians in the war zone in northern Sri Lanka and are attempting to get the Norwegian government to intervene diplomatically in the conflict to stop the Sri Lankan government from putting civilians at risk.

The peaceful demonstrations come the day after Tamil protesters stormed the Sri Lankan embassy in Oslo. In response, this morning the Sri Lankan government refused to let Norway continue its mediating role in the decades-long Sri Lankan Civil War; the Norwegian government, in response, has said its role in bringing the two sides to the table ended in 2006. The protest leaders have apologized for the invasion of the embassy.

The Norwegian government has given the demonstrators permission to demonstrate until Friday, but they are forbidden from staying all day or from camping on the Storting grounds.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa declared a two-day cease-fire in government operations against the LTTE, the largest group fighting against the government, on Monday for the Sri Lankan New Year, to allow civilians to leave the combat zone. Tens of thousands of civilians, many displaced by the war, are in the combat zone.

The LTTE has been campaigning violently for an independent homeland for the Tamil people in northern Sri Lanka since 1976. The Sri Lankan government has recently enjoyed a string of military successes against the LTTE, who have been driven out of all major towns they once controlled. The Sri Lankan government has stated it believes that there are now only 500 LTTE fighters remaining, intermingled with civilians in the Jaffna Peninsula.