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JVP DEMANDS THAT THE NORWEGIAN AMBASSADOR JON WESTBORG SHOULD BE DECLARED PERSONA NON GRATA AND EXPELLED AT ONCE
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) demanded from President Chandrika Kumaratunga that the Norwegian Ambassador in Colombo should be immediately declared “ a persona non ‘grata” and expelled from the country over the scandal of importing a high powered radio transmission equipment for the terrorist group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Sri Lanka’s second largest opposition group, the JVP in a statement issued through its information Secretary and parliamentary leader Wimal Weerawansa said that the controversial Norwegian Ambassador who had been long accused of supporting Tamil separatism in Sri Lanka and India should be immediately forced to leave the country as a persona non grata as he had openly violated the law of Sri lanka and all moral standards expected out of a foreign ambassador. The Norwegian Ambassador Jon Westborg has been in the center of a widely discussed scandal ever since the opposition in a special delegation led by the President’s brother Anura Bandaranaike went to India and revealed to the Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Opposition Leader Sonia Gandhi that the Sri Lanka government had been a party to a scandal of importing 10 tons of high powered radio transmission equipment and handed them over to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam . They alleged the radio transmission equipment came as a consignment addressed to the Norwegian Embassy in Colombo and using diplomatic immunity, was cleared without any taxes being paid to the Sri Lankan state. After the equipment was cleared two truck loads of radio transmission equipment were handed over to the terrorist group the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam for its clandestine radio, the Voice of the Tigers, to beam its separatist propaganda to India and Sri Lanka, in the Northern town of Omanthai.. India lodged its serious concern with the Sri Lanka government over the proposed VoT broadcasting station. It is still not clear whether the radio transmission equipment was an outright grant by Norway to the terrorist group banned in the United States or whether the price for the equipment has been paid by the Sri lanka government using Sri Lanka’s tax payer money. Asked by a BBC’s Sinhala language interviewer why the JVP cannot tell this directly to the President whose party was partner with the JVP during a former government Wimal Weerawansa said he was not aware whether she had enough courage to do that. It was better if she , at least now , be brave enough to take this rightful step, after the correct path had been pointed out, Weerawansa said. Norwegian Ambassador had been a controversial figure in Sri Lanka’s politics long before he was appointed the Ambassador in Colombo. Dr. Nalin De Silva, a leader of a nationalist think tank had earlier alleged that Jon Westborg, as leader of the Norway funded organization, Red Baarna , had once supported the activities of the Tamil terrorist group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The country’s leading Sinhala novelist, author and poet Gunadasa Amarasekera alleged recently that Jon Westborg played a role of a conspirator in Sri Lanka’s internal politics. He wrote, “The final outcome of these peace talks is known to all three participants in this process. Ranil Wickramasinghe is fully aware of it. So are Prabhakaran, and Mr. John Westborg of the international community. It is only the audience consisting of the Sinhala (m)asses who are not aware of it.” Asked to respond to the UNF Media Minister, Imitiaz Bakeer Markar, who last week said that it was better for the LTTE to debate ideas through a radio station rather than exchanging fire Weerawansa said it was not worth replying to a person like him who was the Media Minister only by the name . The true Media Minister was the Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe himself, Weerawansa said. In an interview with the BBC’s Sinhala language service Media Minister Imitiaz Bakeer Markar admitted that the whole thing had taken place without his knowledge. The special clearance of the equipment from Colombo’s harbor had taken place with the interference of the Prime minister’s Secretary and close friend of the LTTE, Bradman Weerakoon. Meanwhile the Chief Spokesman of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, Dr. Sarath Amunugama at a different press conference alleged that the government of Ranil Wickremesinghe granted a license to the terrorist group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to run a broadcasting station after the Media Ministry Secretary Kumar Abeysinghe denied issuing such a license to the country’s most sacred place of worship, the Temple of the Tooth to run its own radio station. The Diyawadana Nilame, Neranjan Wijeyaratne, the chief lay official of the historic temple had said it was unfortunate the government gave priority to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam over the Temple of the Tooth when granting licenses to run broadcasting stations. Amunugama said the Temple of the Tooth application had been approved by the Ministry of Buddha Sasana before it was denied by the Media Ministry. The truth about the boasts of Buddasasana Minister W.J.M. Lokubandara that Buddhism had been granted a high position under the Ranil Wickremesinghe government was now fully revealed by this action of the Media Ministry, Amunugama alleged. (EOM) (21/12/02 go2lanka.com) |