LTTE chief to meet peace brokers

Tamil Tigers chief Velupillai Prabhakaran was set to meet Norway's Foreign Minister Jan Petersen as part of Norway's first post-tsunami attempt to salvage Sri Lanka's faltering peace process.

"He is going to meet the Norwegian foreign minister next week," Puleedevan, head of the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) peace secretariat, told AFP in an email.

Petersen and top Norwegian peace envoy Erik Solheim are due here for talks with Sri Lankan leaders as well as the rebels to try to end a 21-month impasse in negotiations.

Three days before the December 26 tsunamis, the Tamil Tigers rejected Sri Lanka's latest proposal to revive negotiations despite international pressure to save the Norwegian-backed initiative.

Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan government has refused to give clearance to the UN's World Food Program (WFP) director for a visit to the northern rebel-held town of Kilinochchi, a WFP spokeswoman said Saturday.

"We have not been given clearance to go to Kilinochchi" by government officials, spokeswoman Selvi Sachithanandam told AFP.