Norway the Villain; response to Chaminda Weerawardhana

If one evaluates the cost of the war, the destruction to public buildings, destruction of airports, trains, busses and other public transport, about 30000 deaths of innocent civilians, around 30000 deaths of skilled soldiers it will run into many billions of dollars. The RNG has been responsible for this colossal damage done to our country by prolonging the war by financially and morally supporting and assisting LTTE overtly and covertly.

by Malin Abeyatunge

(May 31, Melbourne, Sri Lanka Guardian) This letter is in response to writer Chaminda Weerawardhana titled Norway the villain. Firstly , you have used your precious civil liberty in Norway to the maximum by changing my gender. Thanks for that.

For my very short letter, the writer had written a thesis in a vain attempt to white wash Royal Norwegian Government (RNG) and the so called peace facilitator Eric Solheim. Of course he may be having reasons to defend his adopted country instead of his mother country Sri Lanka which I presume.

Writer says quote” Such accusations are marked by a blatant misreading and misunderstanding of Norwegian politics, political culture, Norwegian foreign policy, immigration policy and the notion of civil liberties in the Norwegian context.” For his comment “Misreading and misunderstanding of Norwegian politics and notion of civil liberties, I have these questions for him.

•  The minority ethnic community The Sámi in Norway were ill treated and discriminated until1997. This what your King Harald has said In his speech during the official opening of the Sámediggi (Sámi Parliament) in 1997, HM King Harald V emphasized that both the Sámi people and the Norwegians are an integral part of Norwegian society, and apologized for the manner in which the Sámi people had been treated in the past.
• “The state of Norway was founded on the territory of two peoples - the Sámi people and the Norwegians. Sámi history is closely intertwined with Norwegian history. Today, we express our regret on behalf of the state for the injustice committed against the Sámi people through its harsh policy of Norwegianization.” (source-Google)
• So what’s the criteria of RNG to support LTTE separatism when the Tamils in Sri Lanka had been enjoying all the benefits that the majority Sinhalese were enjoying since acknowledging the Tamil Language an official language (only country in the world that has two official languages) in late 1950s? RNG discriminated Sámi language until 1997.
• Do the Sámi language has been accepted as an official language like Tamil Language in Sri Lanka?
• Do you have any Sámi parliamentarians represented in the NRG Parliament? Sri Lanka has Tamil political parties represented in the Parliament, Tamil and Muslim cabinet ministers, MPS from the National List, Chief Ministers in the Provincial Councils etc. Then why RNG supported the Tamil separatist movement?
• Can a non-Lutheran be a king or a head of the Norwegian Government? Sri Lankan constitution does not restrict that the head of the government should always be a Sinhala Buddhist (despite being 80% of the population) unlike that of the Norwegian constitution that the King and the Head of State should be a Lutheran.
• “quote If Norway maintained a policy that enabled LTTE activists to show their organisational strength in Oslo better than elsewhere, it is only a demonstration of the civil liberties that Norway provides to its citizens and residents."
• Does it mean that at the expense of civil liberties, RNG will even go to the extent of promoting terrorism in your country? Why RNG did not respect the civil liberties that was deprived for the Tamils living under the jackboots of LTTE tyranny and Prabhakaran? But instead RNG was supporting LTTE overtly and covertly thro her representative Eric Solheim and the Norwegian Embassy in Sri Lanka.
• The allegations I have made against Norwegian Government and their minister Eric Solheim in appeasing, mollycoddling and financing LTTE thro dubious NGO fronts have not been challenged by the writer because the facts are stubborn. Suffice also to mention here that the RNG funded Norwegian NGO Red Barna cunningly stopped the hundreds of Indian Tamil repatriates who were on their way to India under the Indian Tamil Repatriates program and settled them in Wanni to change the demography of Wanni. This is an open secret.
• I admit that I missed to mention about other countries where LTTE is banned but continue to raise funds for LTTE. May be my main focus on Norway with the current development of a Norwegian citizen Nediyawen who has been questioned by the Dutch Police for raising funds for LTTE terrorist outfit. It is a known fact that fund raising for LTTE is still going on in these countries despite being banned which show their “Double Standards”. The point I made was that Norway also should ban LTTE as a terrorist outfit for the simple reason the pro-remnants of LTTE outfit continues to raise funds unabated and unchecked in Norway like in other western countries. The arrest of an individual using nom de guerre “Saana Chandran’ (according to counter terrorism expert Shanaka Jayasekera, “Saana Chandran” happens to be the Financial controller of LTTE operating from Netherlands) is alleged to be closely associated with Norwegian LTTE leader Nediyawen is a case in point.
• If one evaluates the cost of the war, the destruction to public buildings, destruction of airports, trains, busses and other public transport, about 30000 deaths of innocent civilians, around 30000 deaths of skilled soldiers it will run into many billions of dollars. The RNG has been responsible for this colossal damage done to our country by prolonging the war by financially and morally supporting and assisting LTTE overtly and covertly. In fact, The Sri Lankan Government should seek compensation from RNG for promoting LTTE to destroy Sri Lanka. Instead RNG is dangling a carrot with petty aids to Sri Lanka under various projects which does not amount even to 1 % of the compensation Sri Lanka deserves for their citizens. Other western countries are also guilty of helping the Tamil Diaspora to raise funds for LTTE in their countries but not to the extent of what RNG has been doing.
• “If raising funds for the Tamil secessionist cause is to be read as an endorsement of terrorism, such an accusation should not be levelled at Norwegian Tamils alone. Members of the Tamil Diaspora across the world were forced to take part in LTTE fundraising campaigns, in some cases by the use of coercive methods”. I fully agree with your view that LTTE fronts of other countries like USA, UK, Canada, Norway, Switzerland, Australia and EU countries continue to raise funds with least hindrance from the respective governments.
• The writer says Quote” Similarly, Norway’s (especially Minister Solheim’s) alleged engagement with Messrs Nambiar and Holmes of the UN during the last stages of Eelam War IV to save the lives of the top LTTE leadership should not be read as an attempt by Oslo to support terrorism. It can only be read as a last, failed attempt by the Norwegians to make the LTTE surrender, and force the organization to give up its armed struggle and seek a compromise with Colombo” Unquote
• This statement is a joke. Let me remind the writer about the infamous “Toilet Diplomacy” between Kumaran Pathmanathan aka KP and UN rep Nambiar had in a BIA toilet (Bandaranayake International Airport) arranged by RNG Minister Eric Solheim conspiring to save Prabhakaran and his top men in LTTE. Having tried to negotiate with LTTE over the years and many times but miserably failed as LTTE wanted nothing short of “Eelam”, does the writer want us to believe that LTTE was ready for a compromise and that’s why Eric Solheim had discussions with UN officials. This is good for the “kondey bandapu Cheenunta” as famous sinhale saying goes. Kumaran Pathmnathan aka KP has confirmed with an interview with Indian TV channel last week, that last moment attempt was made by John Holmes, Nambiar from UN with another western country (He didn’t want to mention the country which is Norway). So is it a compromise or a conspiracy by UN and RNG to save Prabhakaran? 
• Finally I would like to ask the writer about the allegations made by a Norwegian paper that the RNG embassy in Sri Lanka has allegedly helped 12 LTTE cadres to flee from Sri Lanka by issuing prompt visa, buying air tickets and escorting them to the Airport. Is this what the writer called the RNG was trying to bring a sense of balance between the GoSL and LTTE? May be all these were done in the name of what you call “civil liberties” in the Norwegian constitution.