Insight By Sunil Kumar

Jan.26th 2011

“Breaking News!” in an exclusive media report suggests that Norwegian Minister and former so called Sri Lankan peace envoy and facilitator Erik Solheim whose appointment in Sri Lanka was a total farce beyond being a paid holiday to indulge his playboy instincts and Thespian skills while surreptitiously cajoling the Tamil Tigers never gives up! On the basis that he was neither a peace envoy nor a facilitator who ended up compounding the Tamil Tiger terrorist issue by pandering to their needs ( propbably for huge payouts!) he should not even be granted a visa to ever enter Sri Lanka, in the eyes of many!

While colluding with them according to many analysts who screened him during his tenure he virtually cast many spanners in the Government’s works relative to the ongoing insurgent terrorist war during his tenure now has the nerve to offer to play the role of a ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-dialogue partnerƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ between the Sri Lankan Government and communities living in exile, possibly a reference to the Tamil Diaspora or the LTTE supporters who have formed a government in exile which realistically also needs to be disentitled and put down unless the intended location perhaps is Tamil Nadu where they in all likelihood would be accepted!!

Solheime must surely take the Nation of Sri Lanka to be imperceptive fools hardly realising the perceptions of most Sri Lankans who think of him as a duplicitous trouble maker and want no further part of his interference into any Sri Lankan Affairs knowing fully well his track record.

As far as a Wikileaks report quoted In an exclusive short interview with News Now.lk’s Chief Editor Easwaran Rutnam and senior journalist Jamila Najmuddin, Wikileaks being as contentious as the kind of leak one associates with a toilet and the names of the news carriers being a dead giveaway as to where their sympathies lie and where it seems to be coming from, one hardly needs even half as much to give an ear to the Norwegian Minister of Environment’s sales pitch. This is surely a man who has been often labeled in Sri Lanka as being pro-LTTE, where the recent Wikileaks reports on him does not prove anything, particularly that he was not biased towards one party where the Wikileaks leak seems to be tantamount to zilch and its credibility questionable what with its leader behind bars and all that!! And its high time these Wikileaks ‘leaks ‘ were plugged beyond redemption for the problems it seems to be causing in the world of today as they stink!

Suddenly Solheim who once campaigned feverishly for the LTTE seems to have rejected the idea of a separate State in Sri Lanka and urged the Tamil Diaspora to seek dialogue and work through democratic means to achieve their goals and quite an about turn for a man who once virtually carried the LTTE on his shoulders figuratively at least, in collaboration with their clandestine terrorist activities in many spheres of their dirty, mendacious operations while also using the Norwegian Embassy in Colombo as a cover to ship transmitting and other equipment to the terrorists according to intelligence reports albeit never tangibly proven where evidence of guilt through movements, actions and words has by far superceded mere speculation.

The names of the two individuals who have carried this report perhaps in some way seems to have a coincidental link sympathies notwithstanding ( justifiable speculation perhaps) to the LTTE who have recently created a government in exile, also known as the Transnational government of Tamil Ealam which demands for a separate State and obtained the support of the Tamil Diaspora especially those living in Canada. A definite felt need for its disbanding inasmuch as shouting down the Solheim rhetoric which in all probabilities has a connection!

In the face of all the circumstances which once created much anger and contempt about Solheim amongst Sri Lankans particularly the majority Sinhalese as well as some Tamils who knew the man for who he really was, a ne’er do well opportunist in quest of the good life F.O.B. in Sri Lanka, a possible visit to Sri Lanka in all probabilities should never have been discussed in the meeting with President (Mahinda) Rajapaksa last year if indeed there is any truth to this and perhaps a Presidential Faux Pas if true but there being no evidence of such a decision relative to date in any Governmental itinerary or agenda suggests that this could be speculation on the part of some who sometimes seem to think aloud for the President with intent to cause mischief.

If the President has not seen through the duplicitous backbiting nature of Solheim at the end of all his shenanigans, it seems rather surprising and it could well be that its a simple question of diplomacy and magnanimity on the part of thePresident who probably never really intends to respond to any of Solheim’s solicitations towards Sri Lanka’s internal matters as he probably also must be well aware of the hazards that could ensue based on the following!!

He is seen by many political parties ( except those ever ready to drag down the Rajapaksha administration that is, those who would curry favours with the devil himself) in Sri Lanka as a pro LTTE supporter, an image which seems to have remained since the time of the LTTE insurgency. Now that the LTTE have been defeated, is it not through duplicity and a false pretence with an obvious motive that he seems to be interested in building up a stronger relationship with Sri Lanka so that his pro LTTE image will be dropped? Not forgetting that renewed holiday in paradise?

If this statement was put before an independent jury aware of Solheims past conduct in detail during his tenure in where he says “Sri Lanka has always been high on my list of priorities. I am indeed pro Sri Lanka. Norway was asked by both the Government of Sri Lanka and LTTE to engage as a facilitator of the peace process. We agreed to act in this capacity only as long as both parties wanted to have Norway in this role. I like to think that one of the reasons we were asked to get involved was our close and good relations with all population groups in the country. I think the Wikileaks reports once and for all rejects the criticism that I was biased towards one party.” it would undoubtedly be thrown out of court and the man admonished for his blatant lies and false presentations being a known Tamil Tiger sympathiser while dragging with him also the contentious aspirations of Wikileaks to carry his false rhetoric!

Attesting to the term ‘Slick Solheim’ perfectly he has responded to the following question depicting the extent to which he is prepared to go towards creating a false impression about his empathies for Sri Lanka where his transparencies seem to stand out.

Mr Solheim,The Tamil Diaspora is very active overseas and are still aiming for a separate state in Sri Lanka…. What is your message for the Tamil Diaspora with the end of the war?

My message to the Tamil Diaspora is that they have to work through democratic means. Dialogue must be their tool. I would advice them to focus on the restoration of normality for the people living in the war ridden areas and to work within the democratic system of Sri Lanka. There is strong support for legitimate Tamils rights, but no international support for a separate Tamil state. We also encourage the Government of Sri Lanka to pursue dialogue. The war is over, now the focus should be on dialogue and reconciliation.” which all but constitutes a load of tripe and totally contradicts his once visible adamancies and resolve to propel the needs of the LTTE where they championed eachother in a near nation destructive reversible reaction which not only prolonged the insurgency but also wreaked havoc on the nation’s economy and took a needless toll of over 60.000 lives!

Now comes the biggest hypocrisy portrayed by Solheims rhetoric when asked ” Do you think the war could have ended differently and less lives lost especially during the final stages of the war? He has had the nerve once again to suggest that ” It was painful to see the last phase of the war unfold. So many people were affected. As in any war, there are two parties and both sides share the responsibility for lives lost. However, It is no secret that I had hoped that LTTE would choose a different path when the outcome seemed inevitable. That was also my main advise to them.” Really Mr Solheim?

Perhaps the slain leaders of the LTTE had they been alive would have laughed out loud at this bold and insincere statement of Solheim where the likes of Karuna and Pillayan and maybe even Douglas Devananda ( if conflicts of interest could somehow be avoided) could come forward as material witnesses to contradict Solheim! But will they?

About the role Norway will be looking at playing in post war Sri Lanka which Solheim has commented on by saying” Norway has unique ties to Sri Lanka, but we no longer have a special role. We hope to play a constructive role as a dialogue partner both with the government and peoples of Sri Lanka, including exile communities. Norway and Sri Lanka enjoy good bilateral relations. We plan to maintain development cooperation with Sri Lanka, but we also hope to attract more Norwegian private investments in Sri Lanka.” these are indeed so true but for Solheim to beleive that he should have any further role to play in Sri Lanka’s post war development and progress seems wishful thinking and a careful issue for the Administration to ponder upon while also weighing possible consequences.