Thousands of Marxist supporters marched through the streets of the Sri Lankan capital and staged an impromptu rally outside the Norwegian embassy to protest Oslo's renewed moves to broker peace on the island. An estimated 7,000 to 8,000 people, led by the Marxist JVP, or People's Liberation Front, and including Buddhist monks, shouted anti-Norwegian slogans outside the embassy at Colombo's Ward Place diplomatic quarter on Tuesday. The JVP, now in talks to form an alliance with President Chandrika Kumaratunga, opposes Norway's efforts to bring an end to the island's separatist conflict that has claimed more than 60,000 lives since 1972. Kumaratunga has also voiced disapproval of the handling of the peace process by her cohabitation government led by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

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