Sri Lanka expresses deep concern to Norway

Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama has conveyed deep concern and condemnation of the Government of Sri Lanka to the Norwegian Government over a meeting held by the Advisory Committee for the formation of the Provisional Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (PTGTE) in Oslo, Norway this month.

Foreign Minister Bogollagama summoned the Norwegian Ambassador to Sri Lanka Tore Hattrem yesterday and informed him that the Government had learnt of a meeting in Oslo, Norway by LTTE front organisations where an action plan for the establishment of a PTGTE had been formulated.

He said that, that it was a matter of serious concern to note that the LTTE and its proxies were meeting and operating in Norway. The Minister pointed out that the bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and Norway being strong, such activities and meetings should not be permitted by Norway to take place on her soil. The Foreign Minister also maintained that such meetings would only lead to what the LTTE had been seeking all these years, of a separate state, and that Norway should not allow activities which are a threat to Sri Lanka’s sovereignty.

Responding to Foreign Minister Bogollagama, ambassador Hattrem stated that his Government shared Sri Lanka’s concern and reiterated that Norway has been against the call for a separate state and had remained consistent on this issue. He also rubbished the notion of a Transnational Government and reemphasised that the Norwegian Government would not tolerate any activities against a friendly country like Sri Lanka and added that Norway was committed to the various resolutions of the UN Security Council to combat terrorism.

He further stated that the Norwegian law enforcement authorities remained vigilant and any suspicious activities connected to terrorism or those which had a potential to turn violent or illegal would be dealt with according to the laws of the country. Ambassador Hattem, however, conceded that his country encountered difficulties in preventing cross border travelling of activists sympathetic to the LTTE but assured that anyone found violating Norwegian laws would be dealt with appropriately.