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Gun-toting Norwegian peace team delays flight

By Chris Kamalendran

A SriLankan Airlines flight to New Delhi from Colombo on Thursday night was delayed after an undeclared revolver was found in the possession of the Norwegian peace delegation led by International Development Minister Erik Solheim.

The weapon had not been declared on their arrival to the country, prompting SriLankan Airline officials to clarify with the Civil Aviation Authority whether the weapon could be taken out of the country.

The airlines’ Communications Manager, Chandana de Silva, said the flight was delayed because the Norwegian delegation did not have the required documentation to carry the weapon. He said that on arrival, the delegation had declared only one weapon, but on departure, they had two weapons.
Mr. de Silva said that airline officials had contacted the CAA Director General H.M.C. Nimalasiri to seek clarification whether permission had been granted to carry the extra weapon.

Mr. Nimalasiri told The Sunday Times last night that he ‘could not remember’ the matter, but added that the files pertaining to the incident were at his office. Norwegian embassy spokesman Tom Knappskog said, “it is a matter of security” and he could not elaborate on the issue.

The Norwegian delegation also included the new Peace envoy, Jon Hanssen-Bauer. After a delay of 20 minutes permission was granted to the Norwegian peace delegation to carry the additional weapon they had either obtained in Sri Lanka, or not declared in the first place upon entry to the country, on the Delhi bound flight UL 123.

Meanwhile, the LTTE’s official website Nitharsanam carried a news item about the Norwegian delegation carrying an additional weapon along with a picture of a weapon.

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