Will Norway ever ban her adopted child LTTE?

by Malin Abeyatunge

(May 25, Melbourne, Sri Lanka Guardian) May be agitation to ban LTTE in Norway would never have crossed the minds of the Sri Lankan governments or any other world-wide anti-LTTE organizations as Norway has been the adopted home of LTTE. I may be wrong as I don’t remember seeing/reading any demand to ban LTTE in Norway though there were umpteen numbers of letters/articles written against Norway and Eric Solheim for their cordial relationship with the LTTE. But it was taken for granted with Eric Solheim as a peace facilitator who has been appeasing LTTE from the very beginning, giving LTTE cadres military training, taking them around Norway’s military installations, providing them with sophisticated telecommunication equipments, millions of Krones to LTTE kitty and to TRO and other LTTE proxy fronts, there wouldn’t have been an iota of chance of LTTE being banned in Norway. Even during last days of the war, Eric Solheim, the Norwegian minister has been concurring with the UN officials (John Holmes and Nambiar) and KP to save LTTE and his Leader Prabhakaran and his family from being killed/captured by the Sri Lankan forces.

The latest being a Norwegian News Paper Afterposten alleging and revealing the involvement of the Norwegian embassy in Sri Lanka helping a group of 12 active LTTE cadres with air tickets, visas and escorting them to the airport to escape to Norway.

The SL Governments over the years were successful in getting LTTE banned in USA, UK, Canada, EU Countries, India , Malaysia except Australia to date after numerous consultations, negotiations and requests, meeting rulers of the respective countries. Anti-LTTE organizations world wide also played a major role in getting LTTE banned in these countries. Since Norway was the safest haven for the LTTE (and still is) and had the Norwegian Governments’ protection and patronage to LTTE, it would have thought that even requesting the ban of LTTE in Norway would be a fruitless effort.

Be that as may, Perinpanayagam Sivaparan aka Nediyawan, the LTTE leader in Norway had a plain and safe sailing in that country as LTTE wasn’t a banned terrorist outfit in Norway until the Dutch Police wanted him for interrogation for possible funding of the LTTE from the Netherlands for some time and he is being interrogated in Oslo District Courts.

It is now interesting to note after a couple of decades in slumber, Chairman of the Defense and Security committee of the opposition Conservative Party Peter Gitmark has open the can of worms in Norway and according to BBC reports, he has expressed it was wrong to allow the Tigers to operate in Norway. He also alleged to have said that he hoped the Norwegian Police will also be able to interrogate the man (Nediyawan- emphasis by me) and shed light on the LTTE activities within Norway. He has also alleged to have said quote“I think it is not in the interest of the people of Sri Lanka for the LTTE to raise money in Norway and other places to renew its violent struggle against the government of Sri Lanka," unquote ; Mr. Gitmarks’s good intentions had come rather late as horse has already bolted from the stable but yet again it’s never too late as it was coming from a horse’s mouth. Mr. Gitmark should ask these questions from Eric Solheim who is a minister and closely associated with LTTE to throw more lights on his comments. Norway is one of the countries that nurtured the LTTE terrorists, turned a blind eye of LTTE’s illegal operations, fund raising, extortions, drug trafficking, procurement of arms and in other words who oiled the LTTE engine continuously. However, though it’s too late as hundreds thousands of lives were lost, it is still not too late for MP Gitmark to fight the case until LTTE is banned as terrorist outfit in Norway. The LTTE remnants among the Tamil Expatriates in Norway continue to raise funds for LTTE willingly and unwillingly, thro extortions, drug and human cargo smuggling to continue until they achieve their “Eelam”. Of course, it will be a day dream only.

Mr. Gitmark needs Sri Lankan Government’s unstinted support in his endeavour to get Norway to ban LTTE as a terrorist outfit by endorsing EU stand, so that their illegal activities within Norway could be monitored. But will Norway ever ban her adopted child LTTE?