புதன், 11 மார்ச், 2015

Norwegian Ambassador questions NPC CM on Genocide Resolution

Norwegian Ambassador questions NPC CM on Genocide Resolution

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 March 2015, 23:56 GMT]
The Norwegian Ambassador to Sri Lanka Ms Grete Løchen visited Jaffna on Friday and met Northern Provincial Council Chief Minister Justice C.V. Wigneswaran. Ms Løchen was echoing the UN Under-Secretary General for Political Affairs as well as a US diplomat Jeffrey Feltman, who visited Jaffna earlier this week to convey the message that the deferral of OISL findings was a ‘one-time only’ postponement. Like Mr Feltman, Ms Løchen was also questioning Mr Wigneswaran on whether the NPC resolution on genocide was appropriate at this juncture of cooperation coming from the Colombo regime, news sources in Jaffna said. The CM responded by explaining that the truth of the past was essential for real reconciliation between Tamils and the Sinhalese in the future. If anyone wanted to question the resolution, they should first read it and respond to the established facts in the document, he said.

Mr Wigneswaran told media that the Norwegian Ambassador was interested in knowing the cooperation between the Colombo government and the Provincial Council after the regime change.

The NPC Chief Minister told the Norwegian Ambassador that the new SL Governor was in a cooperating mood with the NPC. The new Chief Secretary has been cooperating with the NPC administration. There were positive signals on a number of issues, Mr Wigneswaran further told the visiting Norwegian Ambassador.

Ms Grete Løchen was conveying the message that the deferral of the OISL report was ‘one-time only’ and that the delay would not be detrimental for Tamils. She was citing the Secretary-General of the United Nations and was telling the NPC CM that Tamils should not worry about the deferral.

Mr Wigneswaran explained that there was a general fear prevailing among the Tamil people that the deferral may cause the OISL process to lose its significance.

The position of Tamils and the position of the international players were contradictory on the topic, Mr Wigneswaran said.

At the same time, the Sri Lankan government was trying to setup a domestic structure, which the Tamil people perceive as a ‘one-sided’ exercise, he told the visiting Norwegian Ambassador.

Ms Løchen was again responding that there was ‘nothing to worry’ as foreign governments were sharing enough knowledge on the topic.

The Norwegian Ambassador was also of the opinion that the NPC resolution og genocide could jeopardise the positive developments.

Wigneswaran responded by explaining the factual background of the Genocide Resolution.

He said that the resolution was based on hard facts and it was the right time to convey the message that how Tamils perceived the crimes against them. Further, the resolution was passed with the good intention of making the Sinhalese realise the facts.

Mr Wigneswaran was also categorical in his response when he said that the best way of addressing the concerns, if any, was to come up with questions on what has been established in the document.

In 2013, Ms Løchen was criticised by the Tamil diaspora activists in Norway when she provoked them with a controversial political advice at a meeting convened to discuss ‘development’ sans politics. She advised the Tamil activists to erase the image that the diaspora was working for Eezham. “It doesn't help the Tamils and their elected representatives living in Sri Lanka,” she told the Tamil activists at the meeting. It was the Ambassador, who started to talk politics at the meeting and she was eulogizing the ‘virtues’ of the 13th Amendment-based Northern Provincial Council at length. However, when a Tamil activist responded with a sophisticated question, she said the intention of the meeting was not to talk about politics.

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