the ponna tamils living in europe now must be "crying"
lolz
ape hamudawa dan yuda muktha kalapeta athul wuna
unge faces balaganna mata hari arsay
dan un huullano athi
huu
ponna yakku
lolz
ape hamudawa dan yuda muktha kalapeta athul wuna
unge faces balaganna mata hari arsay
dan un huullano athi
huu
ponna yakku
mun ape sinhalunge houses and shops walata kalu thel gahuwalu lagadi(in europe)
ponna yakku
adapan
Oslo attackponna yakku
adapan
The most significant domestic development this week came when the Government decided to do away with Norway's role as peace facilitator. For almost a year before the CFA was formulated and thereafter for six years until it was abrogated, Norway continued as facilitator. Yet, such a role was restricted to operating through diplomatic channels. Norway's special peace envoy Jon Hanssen Bauer was unable visit Sri Lanka for almost three years. He was denied permission to travel to Colombo and thereafter to the Wanni. Bauer took over as special envoy after his predecessor Erik Solheim became Minister for International Development. Nevertheless Solheim remained the key player for the Norwegian government and kept in close touch with developments in Sri Lanka. Though he could not visit Colombo, he met Government leaders in foreign capitals or in Oslo. One such meeting with President Rajapaksa took place at the United Nations in New York.
Only weeks earlier, Hatrem met President Rajapaksa to explain the reasons for his meeting with the LTTE. It was to persuade the LTTE to allow the trapped civilians to leave the safety zone. He had said it was a task he had undertaken on behalf of his Government and others in the Donor Co-chair community. Though matters were resolved after that meeting, influential sections of the Government were incensed. "The quarrel is not about meeting KP and whether it was for good or bad reasons. But an official assigned as envoy to Sri Lanka had done it without the knowledge or concurrence of the Government of Sri Lanka," said one of the influential persons who raised hell with the Government.
The Norwegian Embassy in Colombo declined comment on the matter. However, a Colombo-based diplomatic source said Ambassador Hatrem had apprised some Government leaders before he undertook the meeting. This could not be verified. According to the Foreign Ministry source, the Government had reason to suspect that Norway was one of the countries that had mounted diplomatic pressure to get Sri Lanka's 'humanitarian crisis' raised at the UN Security Council. Someone had to engineer countries like Mexico, Costa Rica etc., nations that have nothing to do with Sri Lanka to come out openly against Sri Lanka, the Government felt. Officials in Oslo, however, deny they were on a campaign against Sri Lanka.
But the official reason for ousting Norway, was the attack on the Sri Lanka Embassy in Oslo, Subsequent developments appear not only to confirm it was a studied decision. The Government has also been giving serious consideration to downgrading the status of the Sri Lanka Embassy in Oslo, for more than one reason.
Significant enough, the LTTE maintained a stoic official silence over the ouster of Norway as peace facilitator. It has neither issued a formal statement nor have its spokespersons commented on the move. Unofficially, some cadres in the Tamil Diaspora abroad have expressed disfavour. The LTTE silence is both deafening and understandable. Since Norway sided with other members of the Co-Chairs in a joint statement and urged the LTTE to surrender after laying down arms, they have been coy. Their predicament is worse because they cannot publicly antagonize Norway either.
Firstly, the Government has considered how the attack occurred on the basis of reports received by the Foreign Ministry in Colombo. For two days, Saturday and Sunday (April 10 and 11), pro-LTTE groups had been demonstrating outside the Parliament building in Oslo. They were carrying placards and shouting slogans against the so-called massacre of Tamils by the Sri Lanka Government. On Sunday afternoon, some of the crowds had turned up at Nedre Volgatte, a city sector which houses four different diplomatic missions. The Embassy of Kazhkastan (on the second floor) and the Sri Lanka Embassy (on the fifth floor) are located in one of the privately owned buildings. Across the road is the Embassy of the Philippines and the Consular Section of the Embassy of Poland.
Some 40 demonstrators had gained entry after breaking open the re-inforced glass door. It was a criminal break-in. There was no-one in the Embassy premises. Whilst they rushed through the stairways, they had smashed flower pots and other decorations like paintings hanging on the wall. They had then arrived at the fifth floor, created a large hole on the Sri Lanka Embassy door and gained entry. Thereafter, they broke a re-inforced glass security door to gain entry into the main area. They had then smashed up the furniture, the reception counter, the computers and attempted to break open a safe. The mayhem had lasted some six minutes after which the group had come out from the premises and demonstrated on the road. Among the attackers was one carrying a video camera. The footage he obtained (which shows the faces of some of those involved) were posted widely on a number of Tamil web sites.
Within minutes of the attack (just after 1.45 p.m.) on Easter Sunday, Police had telephoned Sri Lanka's Ambassador in Oslo, Esala Weerakoon, son of the well-known retired public servant Bradman Weerakoon. The Ambassador had been told that the Embassy premises had been attacked and to come over. A second call had arrived within minutes asking him not to leave home until a Police escort arrived. With them, Weerakoon, who was forced to cut short his three-year ambassadorial stint to two in Oslo by the Rajapaksa administration, rushed to his office to see the damage caused. He had told Police if it was to happen the previous day, (Saturday), his life would have been in danger. He had worked alone in office that day for several hours to finish up official business before he eventually left Oslo yesterday
