UN special envoy arrives in Sri Lanka

 


A top UN official has arrived in Sri Lanka for a week-long fact finding mission to the island, foreign ministry officials said.

Angela Kane, UN Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs, arrived in Colombo's Bandaranaike International Airport in the early hours of Wednesday, officials said.

She is to hold talks with the Sri Lankan foreign minister Rohitha Bogollagama, foreign secretary Palitha Kohona and diplomats from the European Union, Norway, India and the U.S. in addition to a meeting with the leader of the main opposition Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Officials said that Kane's visit was the result of the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon's concerns on the situation in Sri Lanka in the wake of the escalating armed conflict in the island's north and east provinces.

Kane will also meet with the all political party forum, the All Party Representative's Committee (APRC) on the Sri Lanka government's devolution plan to be put forward as a solution to end violence that has claimed over 5,000 lives in the escalation of the conflict since the end of 2005.

The government last month announced its unilateral pull-out from the six-year-old Norwegian-backed ceasefire. The decision has sparked off more violence with over 50 civilians getting killed in the month of Jnauary.