Law suit against Oslo over Norway-LTTE links
Janaka Perera
POINT OF VIEW: Norwegians Against Terrorism (NAT) will this year
probe Sri Lanka's Norwegian-funded aid projects to uncover LTTE links.
NAT is already in the process of collecting evidence for a future class
action law suit against Oslo over Norwegian funding of Tiger terrorism,
according to the latest NAT report, The International Fight Against LTTE
dated January 14, 2007.
"We have found Colonel Karuna's allegations on funding LTTE front
organisations to be correct. They receive funds both from the Norwegian
Government and local municipality governments," states the report.
"As Norwegian citizens we are ashamed to see our tax money is used to
support the LTTE terrorist organization."
The list of Norwegian-funded local organisations and individuals
cited in the NAT report, include the so-called Peace Secretariat of the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the LTTE front -Tamil Rehabilitation
Organisation (TRO) - several dubious NGOs, a leading Opposition
politician and a Sinhala journalist.
To prove it NAT has obtained the payment records from the Norwegian
Foreign Affairs and the Oslo Municipality. They reveal that the
Norwegian Government has assisted both reputed institutions as well as
treacherous, anti-national organisations to cover up its real motives.
Some of the latter (like TRO) being state-registered bodies have
helped Oslo to covertly back pro-Tiger operations. The politician in
question had received over 8.4 million NOK (1.2 million U.S. dollars)
from his friends in the Norwegian Foreign Ministry in 2005, according to
the NAT report. The National Peace Council had been paid two million NOK
(300,000 U.S. dollars). In the same year, TRO had received 15 million
NOK (2.2 million U.S. dollars).
The report also reveals huge discrepancies between funds transferred
to Sri Lanka from the Bank of Norway and official financial transfers
including Norwegian foreign aid to Sri Lanka.
NAT however alleges that the latest payments which the Norwegian
Foreign Ministry agency Norad made to the LTTE have removed from their
unrestricted payments list. But in fact payments to the Wanni Tigers are
not only continuing but even increasing, according to NAT which has
contacts in Norad.
States the report: "It puzzles us why the payments made to Sri Lanka
have been classified as secret for the last two years. Is Norway hiding
something?" NAT finds it bewildering that Erik Solheim has risked the
Norwegian Foreign Ministry's reputation and credibility in his war of
words with Karuna.
The latter's allegations that can be verified from official sources
have "been proven to be 100 percent correct" according to the report The
anti-LTTE Norwegians express surprise over Solheim's denials of Oslo
giving the Tigers military training, "since the Norwegian Embassy in
Colombo previously admitted the LTTE visit to Rena" (the Norwegian
Special Forces Training Camp).
I have seen a video of this visit, which the report states, is stored
at the Norwegian Military website. At Rena, the visiting Tigers had
access to information on weapons, tactics and military strategies. NAT
says that the Canadian Intelligence Service too has confirmed that the
Norwegian SF training Sea Tigers in underwater demolition in Thailand's
Trang Province.
The report reiterates that the war against LTTE terrorism has to be
fought outside Sri Lanka, since 70-90 percent of the Tiger funds come
from their international fundraising and criminal operations. NAT will
continue its research in South East Asia to establish further contacts
locally in view of the threat the LTTE poses not only to Sri Lanka but
also to other nations.
NAT representatives intend to visit more European countries and
Canada where they will talk to the Sri Lankan Diaspora.
Leading NAT activist F. Rovik plans to call for a commission to
inquire into the allegations of secret funds to help the LTTE. He
however does not expect the Norwegian Government to accede to the
request.
The next step therefore, according to Rovik, will be to bring
international pressure on Oslo to launch an investigation. He believes
that Oslo will cover it up and put a lid on all information related to
the Sri Lanka facilitation project.
Says Rovik: "Initially they will use the excuse `it could disturb the
peace process.' Later they will use the `national security excuse' to
avoid providing the public with information. Anyway we will try to get
hold of more information and expose it in a book. We think the entire
peace facilitation is `a can of worms'."
NAT is determined to bring the LTTE back to their terrorist status in
Norway and oust the politicians supporting the LTTE out of Norwegian
politics in 2007.
Rovik, who is also an Amnesty International Member, has been in the
forefront in exposing Norway's duplicity in indirectly sponsoring
terrorism in Sri Lanka while pretending to douse the very flames she has
helped to ignite. He has documented Norway's help in training the LTTE,
supplying them with weapons and Norway's general backing for Tiger
separatism in this country.
He is a strong advocate of victims of terrorism seeking compensation
from countries supporting and funding terrorism. He maintains close
links with the Australia-based organisations World Alliance for Peace in
Sri Lanka (WAPS) and SPUR (Society for Peace, Unity and Human Rights in
Sri Lanka).
"The fact that our oil money has been used to kill hundreds of
innocent people in Sri Lanka does not seem to interest Norwegian
journalists." he laments.
Rovik reveals that Norway's dealings with the LTTE do not only
involve money, but travel documents and passports. More than 130.000
Norwegian passports are missing according to Interpol, he says.
"We know about the LTTE links to the Norwegian police and the arrest
of the LTTE cadre who was buying Norwegian passports from a Norwegian
police officer. Thai police did break the case that exposed Norwegian
police-LTTE links, when they arrested a Tiger cadre in Bangkok with 900
passports."
The LTTE cadre Mike Daniel Jeya admitted in court that he bribed a
Norwegian police officer in order to secure Norwegian passports. Jeya
and the policeman Nyhusomen were convicted last year and sentenced to
two years (Nyhusomen) and nine months (Jeya), according to the NAT
report. The bribery scandal has exposed the possibility of any terrorist
group, including Al-Queda, being able to obtain illegally Norwegian
passports for traveling across Europe, Canada and USA.
Rovik notes there have been contacts between LTTE and Algerians
linked to Al-Queda subsidiaries in the passport case. This should be an
eye opener for the USA, Great Britain and Australia.
Rovik stresses the need for countries to demand all Norwegians to get
entry visas since the Norwegian passports can no longer be trusted.
Rovik is convinced that it is only a matter of time before serious
terrorist acts are committed when terrorists acquire Norwegian
passports.
On October 21, 2004, WAPS and SPUR jointly delivered a written
request to the United Nations requesting the UN to end Norway's
involvement in the peace process here.
The charge sheet urged the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee to
investigate Norway's alleged violation of the UN Security Council
Resolution 1373. This resolution obligates member states to freeze the
finances of any group deemed to be terrorists and not to contribute to
such groups. The report cited Norway's monetary sponsorship of the LTTE. |