Mar 20, Colombo: The Sri Lankan government yesterday said that 'high profile visits to the Wanni' had not yielded any tangible progress in taking the Peace Process forward.

In response to the demands and concerns raised by a visiting high level European Union delegation, the Foreign Ministry said that such visits are used by the LTTE for propaganda purposes.

“On the contrary, it had been observed that the LTTE had cynically used high profile visits by foreign dignitaries to the Wanni, for propaganda purposes,” the Foreign Ministry noted.

The EU delegation on Tuesday said it had demanded from the government to provide access for the Co-chairs and the Norwegian facilitators to the Wanni to meet the LTTE.

The Foreign Ministry said Sri Lanka appreciated the important and constructive role played by the EU as one of the Co-Chairs of the Peace Process and also underscored the useful contribution of Norway as the facilitator.

A six member delegation from the EU Troika held talks with the government officials on March 17th and 18th on current issues including human rights.

The Sri Lanka delegation briefed the Troika on the progress of the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) towards achieving a political settlement to the current conflict.