The former Norwegian peace envoy to Sri Lanka, Erik Solheim, rejected accusations made by Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa on Saturday that Solheim had funded the LTTE, designated by the Sri lankan state as a terrorist organisation.
In a statement released on Monday, Solheim said he had no intention of getting caught up in the upcoming election, but would "only restate obvious facts well known to everyone - President Rajapaksa included".
"Norway as the third, facilitating party to the Sri Lankan peace process financed neither the LTTE in general nor its military operations in particular. - Norway made economic resources available to the LTTE peace secretariat in order to assist them in engaging more fully with the ongoing peace process. This included a radio transmitter. This, moreover, was done with the full knowledge of the Government of Sri Lanka under different leaders, including during the period when Mahinda Rajapaksa was prime minister. As with all our peace efforts in Sri Lanka, transparency with respect to the government in Colombo was total," the statement said.
Highlighting the upcoming UN inquiry into mass atrocities, Solheim also said:
In a statement released on Monday, Solheim said he had no intention of getting caught up in the upcoming election, but would "only restate obvious facts well known to everyone - President Rajapaksa included".
"Norway as the third, facilitating party to the Sri Lankan peace process financed neither the LTTE in general nor its military operations in particular. - Norway made economic resources available to the LTTE peace secretariat in order to assist them in engaging more fully with the ongoing peace process. This included a radio transmitter. This, moreover, was done with the full knowledge of the Government of Sri Lanka under different leaders, including during the period when Mahinda Rajapaksa was prime minister. As with all our peace efforts in Sri Lanka, transparency with respect to the government in Colombo was total," the statement said.
Highlighting the upcoming UN inquiry into mass atrocities, Solheim also said:
"Regarding the enquiry initiated by the UN Human Rights Council in March 2014, I consider it the duty of everyone with relevant information - Sri Lankans and foreigners alike - to provide the best possible knowledge – and in full honesty – regarding war crimes allegedly committed by both the LTTE and the Government of Sri Lanka. The United Nations can only function as the leading global organization if we all assist in implementing important decisions taken both by the Secretary General and the UN’s subsidiary bodies."See the full statement here.
