By Noor Nizam, Peace and Political Activist and Political Communication Researcher.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa demanded on Sunday, November 16^th, 2014 that the Norwegian government must probe the funding of the LTTE during the island’s three-decade civil war, alleging that Norway financed the ethnic Tamil militant group while addressing a political gathering in the northwestern town of Kurunegala. This statement has gone viral on social media and had been picked up by many news agencies the world over especially the Tamil digital media. It gained enough coverage and headline publicity in the local media and abroad. With an expected Presidential election, the date to be declared this week and the common opposition preparing for a political on slaughter against the incumbent President, it really carried the news value of a good dateline from Colombo.

The President’s statement was (according news published in the national press and other electronic media publications),

Quote:

the Norwegian government must probe the funding of the LTTE during the island’s three-decade civil war, alleging that Norway financed the ethnic Tamil militant group. They gave money to the LTTE. The Norwegian government must investigate. We have evidence on how they funded the terrorists,” He specifically blamed former Norwegian minister and peace facilitator Erik Solheim for backing the LTTE.

*This man Solheim is now planning to give evidence against us in Geneva,” Rajapaksa said referring to the ongoing UN Human Rights Council’s investigation on war crimes committed by both the LTTE and government forces during the final phase of the civil war that ended in 2009. He alleged that Solheim and the Norwegians discouraged him on pursuing the war saying the LTTE was an invisible military outfit that could never be defeated. Unquote.

This brought forth a strong response from the former Peace negotiator Erik Solhiem, a former Norwegian Minister who reacted immediately via”twitter”. Solheim in a Twitter message said the Sri  Lankan President is lying as the election is approaching and he will reveal the truth on Monday. Come Monday and this is what the Erik Solhiems revelation of the truth was. (Read full statement in https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/reply-to-rajapaksas-allegations-full-text-of-statement-by-erik-solheim/).

A s a freelance journalist and a political communication researcher, what concerns me is the media metaphor” that Erik Solhiem has used in his twitter message, attempting to disgrace a elected President of  a sovereign nation, The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, inferring  that HE. Mahinda Rajapaksa is a damn liar”. Yet – come Monday and what Erik Solhiem states is completely contradictory to the TRUTH. For one thing, the President did not state in his speech made at Kurunegala that Erik Solhiem personally funded the LTTE then. The President had alleged that Norway financed the ethnic Tamil militant group the LTTE during the island’s three-decade civil war. Then Erik Solhiem goes on to say that President Mahinda Rajapaksa was fully aware of the funding made to the LTTE by Norway and that Norway as a 3^rd., party facilitator, also supplied a radio transmitting unit and  high powered communication equipment. These sensitive equipments were later identified as a VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) communication unit and a Radio Data System (RDS) capable of sending data from point to point with a spot frequency of 98 Mhz allocated. The gut TRUTH is that the President did not in any way know about these things as it was during the Premiership of Hon Ranil Wickremesinghe that these matters were taken care of very secretively. HE. Jon Westborg and Erick Solhiem directly handled the funding (US. 93,265), the shipment and clearing of these items duty free as Norwegian diplomatic cargo. A letter dated 3^rd., January 2003 addressed by the then PM Hon. Ranil Wickremesinghe to the then President Chandrika Bandaranaike self explains the facts – http://1paththiram.wordpress.com/category/ltte/. Thus, once again Erick Solhiem has attempted to ridicule the general public and the social media in trying to propagate his lies against the present President of Sri Lanka.

But it is proper just now, that the citizens of Sri Lanka and the International community should know the facts. The President was very correct in his statement he made at Kurunegala on Sunday that Norway during the Prime Ministership of Hon. Kjell Magne Bondevik and FM official Mr. Vidar Helgesen and former Norwegian Minister and Sri Lanka Peace facilitator Erik Solhiem had funded the then LTTE with funds from Norway (apart from allowing Tamil Diaspora funding also channeled). The total funding has been to the tune of Rs. 1800 Million during the period 2008 – 2010. The web sites: http://www.sundaytimes.lk/070415/News/111.news.html

http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=14631, http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=39007

will give a much larger picture of what amounts of funding from Norway were channeled during the ruthless LTTE war against civilians since 1983 to 2009.  http://indianrealist.com/2009/02/26/how-norway-funds-terror/ has more authentic information to provide.

The self biography Nærmere” which means close or near” which was published in 1999, Erik Solheim writes about some of his life incidents such as how he served in the air force artillery and his task was to defend airports and shoot down enemy air planes. The military task he described as boring and was mostly maintaining of artillery pieces. He states he started his military service in Bodin” military camp in Bodø (Northern Norway). Later Solheim was transferred to Stavern in Southern Norway for specialized education. In Stavern he became a trouble maker. He ignored orders and preferred to read theory for his driving license test before he was charged for theft of uniform effects from an officer. Mr. Solheim acknowledges the charges against him was correct and was sentenced to 14 days in prison. He did not like the sentence and appealed to the military HQ, but they agreed with the military camps commanders that he should go to military prison for 14 days. It is beyond doubt that a personality of this stature and a thief of military uniform effects and found guilty and sentenced, no doubt has stooped to the level of lying about his involvements with the LTTE then. The President was only right in stating that Norway, during the three decades of war, supported the LTTE. It is now for the present Norwegian government to set-in-motion an investigation as demanded by President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

*As for matters pertaining to Solhiem planning to give evidence against Sri Lanka in Geneva and Solhiem and the Norwegians discouraging the President on pursuing the war saying the LTTE was an invisible outfit that could not be defeated, has to be dealt with in length, thus the focus on both those matters have been dropped out in this article.

Noor Nizam.