Former British Minister to visit Lanka on peace mission

Colombo, Nov 13 (UNI) Former British Minister for North Ireland Affairs, Paul Murphy is scheduled to arrive in Sri Lanka tomorrow on a two-day visit aimed at building peace in the region.

According to a statement from the British High Commission here in Colombo, Mr Murphy, who was closely involved in the Northern Ireland peace process and previously served as as Political Development Minister for Northern Ireland, will be accompanied by Christopher MacCabe, the British Joint Secretary of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Secretariat.

During his visit, Mr Murphy will meet a range of key constituents in the Sri Lankan peace process and share his experiences of building peace in Northern Ireland, the statement said.

The visit of the British envoy follows a meeting in August wherein British Prime Minister Tony Blair discussed with President Mahinda Rajapakse ways in which the UK could support the Norwegian-facilitated peace process.

It was not immediately known whether the envoy will undertake a visit to the rebel-held areas of Kilinochchi to hold parallel talks with the leaders of the Tamil Tiger rebels.

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