Row over Sri Lanka peace monitor

Sri Lanka's president is calling for the Norwegian general who heads the island's peace monitoring mission to be sacked, accusing him of bias towards Tamil Tiger rebels.

Mrs Kumaratunga is critical of the handling of the peace process

President Chandrika Kumaratunga has written to the Norwegian Government, demanding that Major-General Tryggve Tellefsen be withdrawn.

A senior presidential aide told the BBC that peace monitors had helped frustrate navy attempts last week to seize a rebel ship suspected of ferrying arms.

"The impartiality and objectivity of Major-General Tellefsen... have caused serious doubts," a statement from the president's office said.

'Salmon-eating busy-bodies'

Mrs Kumaratunga has long been critical of the way the peace process has been handled under Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe, who is also her political rival.

In May her party branded peace broker Norway a nation of "salmon-eating busybodies".

The attack came after Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik reportedly said he hoped some politicians could be more flexible in dealing with the Tigers.

In her letter to Mr Bondevik, Mrs Kumaratunga accuses the monitors of leaking information to the Tigers about last week's navy operation, allowing the rebel ship to escape.

The Norwegians have confirmed receiving the complaint.

"It will be answered through official channels," Erik Solheim, a Norwegian peace envoy, said in Oslo.