CLASSIFIED | POLITICS | TERRORISM | OPINION | VIEWS





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A Norwegian faults Oslo

by a special correspondent, The Island

Falk Rovik, founder President of Norwegians Against Terrorism, was in Colombo to speak on 'Norway's involvement with terrorism' last week. His presence in Colombo created much unease for the Norwegian Embassy, which issued a series of communications referring to Rovik's past, including criminal activity. The following is the full text of an interview with Rovik,

Could you tell us a little about your organization, Norwegians Against Terrorism (NAT)?

It was formed two years ago by a small group of people who were concerned about terrorist groups operating openly on Norwegian soil. For example, Mullah Krekar, the leader of the terrorist organization Ansan Al Islam, operates from Norway. The LTTE has the largest presence among terrorist organizations in Norway, raising funds for arms procurement and engaging in numerous criminal activities openly. The Norwegian government is aware of all this but not only turns a blind eye, but actively supports the LTTE. Norwegians Against Terrorism was formed by a group of people who object to their tax money being channeled to such organizations.

What are the principal activities of NAT?

As I said, we are a small organization. Right now we are concentrating on the LTTE. We have been investigating the LTTE and its operations worldwide, especially in Norway, Canada, Australia and Southeast Asia. We are investigating its extortion operations in the Tamil Diaspora as well as its criminal activities. We talk to Tamils living in these countries, the law enforcement and intelligence institutions and others to gather relevant information. We also investigate how the LTTE infiltrates the police, intelligence and immigration agencies in various countries.

What are your main findings?

We have evidence of large scale extortion. The Tamil community, by and large, is helpless in this regard. While some may identify with the LTTE and its cause, there are countless others who do not but are forced to 'contribute'. It is not just extortion. The LTTE will not tolerate any kind of dissent from Tamils. A recent LTTE newspaper, in its editorial, openly stated 'Tamils who work against the LTTE should be burnt alive.'' They have a strange argument: 'we made you a refugee and made it possible for you to come here and enjoy a good life; now you have to pay us.'

Apart from this, the LTTE has an extensive criminal network. They are involved in credit card scams, and drug trafficking, passport rackets. American Express has stated that only Nigerians engage in more credit card scams than the LTTE does. Their forged passport operations is a serious global threat because it makes national boundaries porous and allows any criminal, any terrorist access to countries which would not want to have them.

They also run commercial vessels which are actively involved in smuggling. A significant part of the cargo of these vessels is illegal. The LTTE also cooperates with other criminal organizations; therefore its threat is not limited to Sri Lanka and the Tamil Diaspora but extends to the entire world. In fact more and more countries are becoming aware of the threat posed by the LTTE.

It is of course true that arms procurement has become increasingly difficult for the LTTE following 9/11. They can purchase small arms easily. For US $300, anyone can buy a weapon in the Russian Market in Cambodia. However, procuring more sophisticated weapons has become a problem for the LTTE.

A lot of these allegations are well known. They have been documented and there has been a crackdown on the LTTE in many countries, most recently in France and some Southeast Asian countries. What then is the purpose of your investigations?

Well, as I stated earlier, we have a problem about what our government does with our tax money. We find two problems with the Norwegian Government with regard to its dealings with the LTTE. First of all it directly funds the LTTE's front organizations in the name of providing for cultural/educational activities. In Sri Lanka, hundreds of thousands of kroner to purchase 'goodwill' which makes it possible for Norway to be considerably insulated from criticism. In Norway, the government allows the LTTE to engage in extortion with impunity. Funds channeled to legitimate organizations can be audited and accounted for, but when cash is collected, it can be used for anything. The evidence clearly points to the LTTE engaging in numerous activities that facilitate arms purchases.

Take the TRO (Tamil Rehabilitation Organization) for example. They get a lot of money from all kinds of sources, including the Norwegian Government which obviously considers it a safe conduit to channel funds to the LTTE. Some of the money is used for admirable purposes like humanitarian relief. This should continue. However, the TRO does a lot of fundraising in the Tamil Diaspora which is not accounted for.

The second issue is my government's stand on terrorism. On the 11th of September, 2006, in an interview with the newspaper 'Dagsavisen,' Erik Solheim stated 'The LTTE will never be listed as a terrorist organization by Norway'. When the journalist asked Solheim to define terrorism, he replied 'terrorism is planned attack on civilians'. The LTTE has carried out countless 'planned attacks' on civilians from all communities in Sri Lanka. Maybe Solheim believes the LTTE when they issue statements denying involvement, but that would mean that he is extremely naive.

Our position is that the Norwegian Government should have stopped funding the LTTE when they carried out the first political killing after the CFA was signed. Since then hundreds of people opposed to the LTTE have been killed. The records show that funding has actually increased as the number of killings went up. The incidence of torture, murder and other atrocities as well as abductions and forced recruitment of children for military purposes has escalated since the CFA was signed. What this means is that Norway is rewarding terrorism. In short, after 9/11 and as the LTTE's true face has become more visible, they are finding it extremely hard to operate. Whereas every country is a friend to Sri Lanka and more or less views Sri Lanka favourably, the LTTE only has Norway.

Are you saying, then, that Norway has no role to play in resolving the Sri Lankan conflict?

No, I am not saying that. We have nothing against facilitating negotiations and a negotiated settlement. However, in order to do that, Norway has to be impartial. It is wrong for Norway to use my tax money to fund LTTE propaganda operations, encourage terrorism by being silent and by pretending that the LTTE is not a criminal organization. Recently 250,000 Kroner was given to make a the film titled 'My daughter the terrorist'. A similar amount was provided by a Norwegian NGO called 'Free Speech Foundation'. This was not a documentary. It was a one-sided and unabashed glorification of terrorism. They featured two Catholic 'Black Tigers,' obviously trying to win sympathy from the world's Christian community. Supporting such projects can only compromise Norway's ability to play the role of a facilitator.

What is Norway's interest in Sri Lanka, in your opinion?

Well, Norway wants to build an image as a peace-maker. All efforts in this regard have resulted in failure. In fact Oslo's involvement has for the most part exacerbated situations. They are badly in need of a success story. They are facing a huge dilemma in Sri Lanka, because for one they are dealing with a ruthless terrorist organization which will not be convinced to adopt democratic ways and, worse, they are in fact helping the terrorists. This way they will never win the trust of the people of Sri Lanka. In this situation they can never resolve anything.

You are aware of course that the Norwegian Government has been circulating a lot of literature pertaining to you, claiming that NAT is a one-man organization and referring to your past and an alleged criminal record. What do you have to say to all this?

Yes, I am aware of all that, and I find it very amusing. I don't want to comment on the reference to my past. I have notified my lawyers because I believe that the Norwegian Government has done something illegal here. If NAT is a one-man operation and of no significance, isn't it strange that the Norwegian Government and its Embassy here are so agitated about this lone individual that they have to rush to your Foreign Ministry and who knows whereelse to vilify me? They are clearly perturbed and the reason is very clear.

This is not the first time. When WAPS organized a conference on Oslo some time ago, they carried out a smear campaign against me. They get so-called 'third parties' to issue statements. Jehan Perera issued a statement saying that I was cooperating with 'Sinhala chauvinists'. Some of these 'third parties' are actually beneficiaries of funds provided by the Norwegian Government. The goodwill thus purchases is therefore an investment. There are dividends.

There are several issues here. First of all, the Norwegian Government wines and dines with known terrorists, inviting them to Oslo, providing them all kinds of assistance, direct and otherwise, some of which translates into procurement of arms to be used against civilian targets. What moral right has Norway then to talk about my past?

I have evidence of Norway's complicity with terrorism. I am raising serious issues. It is very strange that instead of engaging with these issues, the Norwegian Government chooses to indulge in character assassination. Certain things cannot be swept under the carpet by simple denial. You can't call Karuna a liar, for example, and expect people to believe you when there is overwhelming evidence that point to Norway supporting terrorism.



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