Norway says SLanka report on mediator is "lies"

COLOMBO, Nov 29 (Reuters) The Norwegian government has angrily rejected a report in a state-owned Sri Lankan newspaper that its peace mediator and International Development Minister Erik Solheim had given money to a top Tamil rebel leader.

The Daily News, a government mouthpiece, published an interview on Monday with a breakaway former rebel commander called Karuna, who said the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had also given Solheim money.

''The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is surprised to see that a respected and responsible paper like the Daily News is spreading obvious lies about Mr Solheim,'' the Norwegian ministry said in a statement faxed to Reuters today.

''It is unfortunate that the Daily News is printing obvious lies and ill-founded allegations about Norway and Mr Solheim,'' it added.

Oslo would continue to assist both the government and the rebels as an impartial facilitator for as long as they are requested.

The Daily News quoted Karuna as saying Solheim had given shadowy rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran advice on how to govern and a 6 ft television, while Solheim had given Tiger ideologue Anton Balasingham millions of kroner which were later used to buy weapons.

The report came after a top UN envoy and Nordic truce monitors had criticised the government and military.

The Daily News did not contact Solheim for comment.

Government officials said Solheim had the right to reply but had no further comment today.

Norway was originally invited to help Sri Lanka broker peace in the 1990s because of its experience in West Asia peace efforts and its perceived neutrality, but has been repeatedly lambasted since.

While a 2002 truce is still technically in force, the peace process has fallen apart at the seams, with around 3,000 civilians, troops and rebel fighters killed so far this year alone in military clashes, aerial bombings and ambushes.

Prabhakaran declared on Monday the Tigers were resuming their struggle for an independent state in Sri Lanka's north and east, where they already run a de facto state.

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