Despite efforts by the visiting Norwegian peace envoy the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tigers are unlikely to reach accord soon on a joint tsunami relief mechanism, political sources said Tuesday.

Erik Solheim, the Norwegian special peace envoy, is currently in the island holding talks with the government on the possibility of reaching agreement on a mechanism to ensure co-ordination of tsunami relief supplies to the north and east regions.

He is due to leave here on Thursday and Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga who is on a private tour overseas is not due before his departure, the officials added.

Solheim held talks with the Head of the government's peace secretariat Jayantha Dhanapala on Monday. It was revealed that no decisions could be taken until Kumaratunga's return to the country.

However the Norwegian efforts are continuing and Norwegian Foreign Minister Jan Petersen has urged the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam(LTTE) to show more flexibility in the negotiation process to formulate the mechanism.

The Tamil language daily "Sudar Oli" in a report here Tuesday said that the Norwegians have come up with a new draft of the mechanism and have asked for the LTTE's co-operation towards the implementation of it.

Press reports said that the main Muslim party, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), had opposed the mechanism being extended to cover areas not affected by the Dec. 26 tsunamis in the war ravaged north and east provinces.

The SLMC, reports said, wants the mechanism limited to the coastal areas in the northern and eastern provinces ravaged by the tsunamis.

The Tamil Tigers blamed the government of discriminating the Tamil regions when supplying Tsunami relief assistance, a charge denied by the government.

Following unprecedented international pledges to rebuild the devastated regions, the international donor community has pressed upon the need to enter a better coordinated mechanism with the government and the Tigers becoming party to it.

More than 30,000 people died in the entire country as a result of the tsunami attack. Reconstruction is expected to last over several years according to the government blue prints.
 
(Xinhua News Agency April 20, 2005)