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| Sri Lanka |
| Rajapaksa accuses Oslo peace envoy of funding rebels |
| 2014-11-17 |
| [ARABNEWS] Sri Lanka's president has accused a former top Norwegian envoy of covertly financing the island's separatist Tamil Tigers during peace talks before a military campaign that crushed the rebels in 2009. President Mahinda Rajapaksa told a public rally on Saturday that he wanted Oslo to probe the role of Erik Solheim, a former Norwegian international development minister and a peace envoy to Sri Lanka. "The Norwegian government should investigate his conduct," Rajapakse said. Solheim hit back on Sunday, accusing Rajapaksa of inventing the allegations as he enters campaign mode for a presidential election widely expected in January. "President Rajapakse tells lies about me as election approaches. I will set the truth straight tomorrow," Solheim said in a tweet, before saying he would give a more detailed response on Monday. Solheim failed to secure a peace deal despite arranging a truce, which broke down in April 2006. Three years later Sri Lankan forces crushed the campaign for a separate homeland in a controversial military campaign. Rajapakse in his address, a copy of which was obtained from his office on Sunday, said Solheim gave money to the guerrillas even while peace moves were under way. Solheim, who led Norwegian peace efforts between 1999 and 2006, recently announced his willingness to give evidence before any international tribunal investigating Sri Lanka's war record. Sri Lanka crushed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) by May 2009 in a massive military operation that also triggered allegations that troops killed up to 40,000 Tamil civilians, a charge Colombo denies. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 Now, that sounds familiar. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2014-11-17 13:21 |