By South Asia analyst Alastair Lawson

The sensitivities surrounding a possible Norwegian mediation effort in the Sri Lankan civil war can clearly be seen by the reluctance of all the parties involved to speak to the media.

The Norwegian foreign ministry says only that the foreign minister, Knut Vollebaek, will be visiting Sri Lanka on Wednesday and that he will be meeting the Sri Lankan president and foreign minister.

The spokesman said that Mr Vollebaek will not be meeting with any representatives of the Tamil Tigers.

However, he confirmed that the foreign minister did hold over two hours of talks in London this weekend with a senior Tamil Tiger representative, Anton Balasingham.Mr Balasingham refused to comment on the contents of the talks.

A spokeswoman at the Sri Lankan High Commission in London also refused to comment.

Written statements

Meanwhile, reports from Colombo say that the Norwegian embassy in Colombo has received written statements from the Sri Lankan Government and the Tamil Tigers which outline the terms by which both sides are prepared to enter negotiations.

However, reports say that neither side has departed from previously stated positions.

The Tigers are not considered likely to drop their demand for an independent homeland by merging the northern and eastern parts of the island, a proposition that has been consistently rejected by the Sri Lankan Government.

It is currently drawing up a constitutional package which it says will allow some parts of the country to have more autonomy.

Most commentators agree that the most difficult task facing the Norwegian Government will be finding a middle way between the often irreconcilable demands of the two parties.