Norwegian embassy in Colombo closed after anthrax scare

The Norwegian embassy in Colombo shut down yesterday after an anthrax scare while Oslo's peace envoy failed to convince the Tamil Tigers to resume talks.

The Norwegian mission based in Colombo yesterday received a letter containing white powder prompting the officials to immediately shut down the embassy and called for further investigation of the powder.

The powder was immediately taken to the garden of the embassy for investigation while those who had gathered to obtained visas were directed to return another day. Police immediately stepped up security around the mission.

Both, Norway and the US embassies in Colombo have had anthrax scares earlier, but both were found to be hoaxes.

Responsibility

The anthrax scare came as Norwegian special envoy Erik Solheim returned from the northern Wanni region with more pressure from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) that it was the government's responsibility to resume the peace talks.

LTTE's political wing leader S.P. Thamilselvan, after a meeting with Solheim in the north on Wednesday, told journalists that the responsibility of resuming the stalled peace process is entirely with the government in ensuring that its coalition partners reflect the thinking of the president.

"The Norwegian delegation was unable to give an assurance that the Sri Lanka Government will take any constructive steps to take the peace process forward," Thamilselvan said.

Meanwhile, the Marxist ally of the ruling coalition yesterday strongly denied allegations by the foreign aid donors that it was scuttling the peace process.

They were reacting to comments made by the Colombo-based Ambassadors of Japan, the United States and the European Union, who are co-chairs co-ordinating Sri Lanka's aid for rehabilitation and reconstruction activities.