H. L. D. Mahindapala

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The Vadukoddai War declared on May 14, 1976 is not yet over.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The Vadukoddai Resolution which laid the foundations for the Vadukoddai War opened up two fronts: 1. the military front on the ground where the Tamil youth were asked to take up arms and never ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-flinchƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ until they reach Eelam and 2 the ideological front encapsulated in the Vadukoddai Resolution which is still exploding at selected flash points.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The first front on the ground was defeated comprehensively at Nandikadal on May 18, 2010. The second front ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” the ideological front ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” is still alive and kicking globally. It is yet to be defeated. It exploded in full force at Oxford. Another part of this front has set up the Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) with its self-appointed ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-prime ministerƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚, Visvananthan. Rudrakumaran, USA, in a Cabinet of eleven, including three deputy prime ministers located in Australia, Europe and Canada.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Yet another part of this front is in Norway headed by Nediyawan who works hand in glove with Fr. S. Emmanuel, former Vicar General of the Catholic Church in Jaffna, now residing in Germany. There is also the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-KPƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ group headed by Pathmanathan, the arms procurer for the LTTE. But this group has joined the government and is working closely with the Ministry of Defence in Sri Lanka.

The international offensive is waged by the overseas groups which constitute the main ideological front. These divided groups are driven by the Vadukoddai ideology. Their high-flying rhetoric is identical to that of the Vadukoddai Resolution. This is reflected in RudrakumaranƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s wording of two of TGTEƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s main political goals: 1. ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Laying the groundwork for the TGTE to evolve as a power center to be in symmetry with the Government of Sri Lanka on the international arena; 2.Creating an environment for the TGTE to become an important and stabilizing factor in the geopolitics of South Asia and Indian Ocean.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ In other words, TGTE, though it is located in the never-never land, is the base for the establishment of a Tamil Eelam in an elusive future without a date. The TGTE, of course, is an extension of the Tamil imagination exaggerated to the nth degree. It is a reincarnation of Eelam which the Tamil leadership never had a chance of attaining fully, though they did get somewhat close it through Ranil WickremesingheƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s, ill-conceived, ill-fated Ceasefire Agreement. The issue, however, is not in the pie-in-the-sky TGTE announced by the frenetic fringe of exiled Tamil politics but in the political space given by USA, UK, Norway and Australia to a banned terrorist organization to actively set up organizations threatening ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” however remote it may be –the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka. All these countries profess to be friendly towards Sri Lanka.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ In innumerable public speeches, particularly on official and ceremonial occasions, all these countries that host agents of Tamil Tigers, proclaim loudly and clearly their historical bonds that tie each other as friendly nations. That apart, international law and UN Security Resolutions insist that friendly nations should desist from engaging in hostile activities detrimental to members of the international community who, despite their size or power, share equal status in the international arena. So why are these agents of a banned terrorist organization allowed free movement as legal entities to engage in hostile activities against a fellow-member of the family of nations?

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The international law relating to this aspect is quite clear. In the Declaration on Friendly Relations in Charter of the UN the following paragraph states explicitly the role of ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-friendly nationsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚: ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Nothing in the foregoing paragraphs shall be construed as authorizing or encouraging any action which would dismember or impair, totally or in part, the territorial integrity of political unit of sovereign and independent States conducting themselves in compliance with the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples as described above and thus possessed of a government representing the whole people belonging to the territory without distinction as to race, creed or colour.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Every State shall refrain from any action aimed at the partial or total disruption of the national unity and territorial integrity of any other state or countryƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Just in case those who clutch at straws should cling on to the phrase ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-self-determination of peoplesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚, India made it clear at the UN that ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-the right of self-determinationƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ applies only to those countries under colonial regimes. By and large, the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-right of self-determinationƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ does not entitle a separate state to every ethnic community ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” a proposition that would split India and the rest of the world into infinitesimal and unmanageable fragments.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ If this is the law then how can any friendly nation support, either directly or indirectly, moves by a banned terrorist organization to divide Sri Lanka? It is significant that a ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-power center to be in symmetry with the Government of Sri Lanka on the international arenaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ has not been set up in India. India, of course, learnt its lessons after Mrs. Indira Gandhi mothered, with a copious supply of milk of kindness, the Tamil Tigers who paid her back by assassinating her dear son, Rajiv Gandhi. Nor has TGTE any chance of picking a deputy prime minister or a minister from China, Middle East or any other power bloc. The bases of the Tamil Tigers have always been in the West. These are all nations that never tire of preaching to small nations that they are lands of laws. So under what national or international laws are the Western ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-democraciesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ giving oxygen to agents of the banned Tamil Tigers?

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Rudrakumaran, Fr. S. J. Emmanuel, who elevated Prabhakaran to the status of Jesus, and Perinpanayagam Sivaparam (alias Nediyawan, the Tall Man) have publicly declared their hostility towards Sri Lanka and are committed to the division of the nation based on the Vadukoddai ideology. As of now they are not a threat. They are more of a nuisance value. But it is the Western countries that pose a threat. They keep these anti-Sri Lankan agents as ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-sleepersƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ to be used as low-intensity weapons to strike back at Sri Lanka at the appropriate times, or to put pressure on Sri Lanka by activating them from time to time, or meddle in the domestic affairs of Sri Lanka.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Norway presents the worst case scenario. Norway is also billed to stage a come back after leading the biggest fiasco ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” next to the Middle East– in their adventures of so-called peace-making. How can Norway come to help Sri Lanka when it is seedbed for homegrown anti-Sri Lankan political outfits? Take the case of Nediyawan who runs his Tamil Coordinating Committee (TCC) in Oslo. TCC is virtually the European nerve centre for Tamil Tiger activities. Nediyawan, who claims relationship with Prabhakaran through marriage, is also claiming to be the successor to Prabhakaran after he betrayed ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-KPƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ to the Sri Lankan authorities. TCC is also the financial centre which is loaded with millions of kroner collected from the Tamil diaspora. All this is known to the Norwegian authorities. Why is Nediyawan allowed to roam around freely in Norway, making it the base to throw his thuggish weight around to target Sri Lanka and his rivals in Europe?

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Norway has not lifted a finger so far to restrain or prevent Nediyawan from running the most aggressive anti-Sri Lankan political gang in Oslo. Erik Solheim is reported to be hobnobbing with Nediyawan turning a blind eye to his activities. It seems to be a repetition of the earlier relationship with his boozing buddy, Anton Balasingham. Norwegian Parliamentarians whom I met in Oslo scoffed Solheim as an incompetent, ill-equipped interloper with no diplomatic skills in handling sensitive strife-torn hot-spots. He is known to Sri Lankan negotiators as the obnoxious ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-facilitatorƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ who openly sided with Balasingham at peace talks. He even had the gumption to bluntly warn President Mahinda Rajapakse .that he canƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t beat the Tigers, according to Lalith Weeratunga who was a witness to the conversation. H. L. de Silva was livid with SolheimƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s partisan role at the negotiating table. Gomin Dayasiri, who was also a delegate to negotiations in Geneva, will testify to the naked bias of Solheim who had no qualms about taking the side of Balasingham which was partly the cause of talks going nowhere. He is also well known to the Sri Lankans in Norway and Sinhalese generally complained that they were given the cold shoulder while he went out of the way to warmly embrace the Tamils.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Sri Lanka kicked him out on earlier occasions and knowing his tendencies to plug the anti-Sri Lankan line can we expect him to change his spots so soon? Let us also not forget that he was in cahoots with the Indians to force the CFA down the throat of Sri Lanka. Whose side will he take when he comes in January? He, no doubt, will bring gifts. But his gift will be in the form of a Trojan horse. Are we going to be sold down the river for a fistful of dollars?

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Besides, he was also a partner in the crimes committed against the nation by his buddy, Ranil Wickremesinghe. Oslo happens to be the first port of call for Wickremesinghe when he goes abroad. So isnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t Solheim coming to gain under cover of peace what he couldnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t with the Tamil war-mongers? Is opening the doors to Solheim going to be another Oxford ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” i.e, running into an open trap knowingly? From Red Barna to smuggling of highly sophisticated electronic equipment to the Vanni the Norwegians operatives located in Sri Lanka have used their diplomatic cover and duplicitous charades of peace to favour you know who? Must we at this stage go out of our way to handpick these Nordic snakes and put them inside our sarongs?

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The record of Norway is pretty simple. Solheim did gang up with the West, India and Balasingham to force Sri Lanka to give into extreme demands which were written down in the CFA. Even at the UN, where Norway wields a considerable clout behind the scenes, the talk in the corridors of power was that it was manipulating to put Sri Lanka on the mat. Furthermore, in the last stages of the war Norway was a prime mover in trying to save Prabhakaran. In short, Norway has done everything possible, overtly and covertly, to undermine the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Sri Lanka.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Of course, much publicity will be given to NorwayƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s investment in Sri Lanka. But so far not much publicity has been given to NorwayƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s investment in NediyawanƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s group and TamilNet etc. Taking all these factors together, doesnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t the Norwegian investment in Nediyawan etc., outweigh its likely investments in Sri Lanka? Also can Norwegian aid match the millions funneled by Nediyawan to anti-Sri Lankan activities? Norwegian policy of rocking the cradle and pinching the baby is not going to take Sri Lanka very far. To change the metaphor, Norway cannot ride two horses simultaneously, however good they may be in equestrian skills. To change the metaphor again, Norway should have learnt the lesson expressed in the ancient Indian saying that he who rides the tigers ends up in the belly. Besides, instead of waiting for handouts in the form of aid from Norway, action should be initiated to claim war reparations for prolonging the Vadukoddai War with its partisan and misguided role which caused the death and destruction costing billions.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ If against all this evidence Sri Lanka is to let Norway in it must prove its bona fides on two fronts: 1. it must put an end to all anti-Sri Lankan activities based in Norway and 2. launch an international campaign, particularly in the UN and the West, aimed at stopping moves to penalize Sri Lanka for ending a 33-year-old Vadukoddai War with the minimum of casualties and putting and end to gross violations of human rights. Norway must also admit its contribution to the worsening of the crisis because of its partisan and foolish strategies. Furthermore, if Sri Lanka went all out to grab ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-KPƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ in Malaysia then it must at least insist on extraditing Nediyawan. His European organization, his millions, his gangs are a serious threat to Sri Lanka. He cannot be allowed run riot under the very noses of the Norwegian authorities whose intelligence network must be better informed than that of Sri Lanka. This will test the genuineness and the real intentions of Norway and, above all, its willingness to abide by international laws ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” a theme they din into the ears of non-Caucasian nations regularly.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It is clear as daylight that Norway cannot bring about reconciliation or .communal harmony in Sri Lanka when it is stoking the fires of separatism on its own soil. Norway is the leading base for the second front opened by the Vadukoddai war mongers. TamilNet , the leading anti-Sri Lankan propaganda machine, operates from Norway. Most of the anti-Sri Lankan activities in Europe, controlled by TCC in Oslo, receive funding from the Norwegian government in the name of various welfare fronts. The agents of Tamil Tigers have wormed their way into the body politic of Norway and they use their vote bank to either manage or manipulate practically everything from the market place in Oslo to Norwegian MPs in parliament. So when Solheim comes in January is he hoping to perform the impossible task of eating the cake and having it?

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Tamils opposed to Tamil Tigers are persecuted under the nose of the Norwegian authorities who are accused by Tamil victims of turning a blind eye. When I was participating in the World Alliance for Peace in Sri Lanka (WAPS) conference held in Oslo ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” the only organization to beard the Nordic beast in his den ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” Tamils, who were vilified and hunted by the dominant Tiger agents, pressed me to make representations to Solheim on their behalf. When I spoke about their plight to Solheim he told me he would look into it if they would meet him directly. I informed these Tamils and they met him but nothing happened to change their conditions, I was told later.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Solheim was a key player at the height of the Sri Lankan crisis interpreting and reporting events according to his Nordic gospel to the Co-Chairs and the international community, including India. His anti-Sri Lankan and pro-Tiger stance helped to strengthen the intransigent positions taken by the Tigers to pursue their politics of brutal violence. If Solheim could play a pro-Prabhakaran line openly ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” didnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t confess that he was misled by Balasingham? ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” why canƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t he now prove his bona fides by forthrightly promoting the larger interests of all communities just not with donations of cash or aid but with diplomatic initiatives to clear the image of Sri Lanka in West. He could begin by making some unambiguous statements on Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s positive gains and advances towards reconciliation in the post-Prabhakaran period. But will he?

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ What is etched indelibly in my mind is how the Norwegian Foreign Ministry got Jehan Perera to smear the (WAPS) conference which was held in Oslo. Jehan Perera who is in Norwegian governmentƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s pay roll, obliged willingly by labeling the participants ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” Prof. Peter Chalk of Rand Corporation, journalist Stewart Bell, an authority on the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-White TigersƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ of Canada, Paul Harris, the Defence Correspondent of JaneƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Weekly, Prof. Asoka Bandarage of Georgetown University, Washington DC. etc.,– as ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-extremistsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚. The Norwegian media is not known to have branded Anton Balasingham or Prabhakaran as ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-extremistsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚. Jehan, predictably, was paying pooja to his patron saints in Norway. With NGO lackeys waiting with their stretched hands for Norway to return there is no doubt that the anti-Sri Lankan lobby will gain additional momentum. As it is Norway is the most entrenched and untrammeled base for the Tamil diaspora to launch their missiles against Sri Lanka. Solheim will undoubtedly play a subtle role as the mouthpiece to this anti-Sri Lankan lobby promoted and protected in Norway. The NGOs, TNA and the Tamil diaspora know that they have in Solheim the best man they can hope to have from the international community to revive their brand of divisive politics and plunge Sri Lanka once again into decades of disastrous wars.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ So what can we expect from Norway other than a few dollars? The invitation extended to Solheim to visit Sri Lanka involves great risks. Though Norway fancy itself as a great peace-maker its record in the Middle East and Sri Lanka proves that the Norwegians have been a part of the problem rather than the solution. Solheim, in particular, ended up in going to bed with Prabhakaran and Wickremesinghe which is the nearest thing of lying in the middle of two porcupines. He will, of course, arrive here with his baggage full of pressures: 1. domestic pressures filled by the Tamil voters in Norway; 2. Western pressures because Norway has been the front for many fishing expeditions of the West; 3. pressures arising from a lack of credibility after protecting the Vanni villains, 4. pressures arising from his failed past as a ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-facilitatorƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ and, above all, 5. pressures of trying to convince the nation that he is not to be blamed for misleading the nation into the most disastrous political agreement in its recent history that led the Tamil people into the bloody waters of Nandikadal.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The ultimate test will be his attitude towards Nediyawan, the hardliner who leads the most virulent anti-Sri Lankan campaign with a nudge-and-a-wink from the Norwegian government. He cannot talk of peace and harmony in Sri Lanka when Nediyawan is running campaigns to push the Tamils back to war. The contradiction is too stark to be ignored. Solheim failed by clinking glasses with his boozing buddy Balasingham. Is he now hoping to make miracles in Sri Lanka by clinking glasses with Nediyawan of Norway?