Norway’s Role in Sri Lanka: An Investigative Reflection

Over the past two years — formally since April 2023 — a discernible shift has occurred among certain Indian commentators who, having once condemned Canada with vehemence, have now embraced it when expedient to their political positioning. This volte-face is neither surprising nor unprecedented. It reflects a broader phenomenon: those who inveigh against “foreign interference” in one context often welcome it in another when it fortifies their narrative. For Eelam Tamils, the lesson is unambiguous. From the outset, we have insisted: do not be drawn into such games of convenience. Our sole duty is to enunciate truth as truth, unswayed by the vicissitudes of political expedience.

Norway’s Mediation and the Western Strategic Calculus

Norway’s involvement in Sri Lanka between 1999 and 2009 has frequently been characterised as neutral mediation. Colombo accused Oslo of “favouring the LTTE”, while certain analysts contended that Norway conferred upon the Tigers a degree of international legitimacy. Yet a more penetrating enquiry reveals that Norway’s engagement transcended the mere facilitation of dialogue — it constituted a deliberate component of a Western strategic framework.

The ceasefire negotiations, peace talks, and the diplomatic space Norway afforded the LTTE were not ends in themselves. They constituted instruments designed to shape the conflict in accordance with a broader geopolitical logic. Norway’s mediation, in effect, facilitated conditions under which the LTTE could be contained and ultimately eradicated militarily — a process consonant with the strategic interests of the West and the Colombo state apparatus.

By 2009, Norway’s role had conclusively shifted: the war concluded with a decisive military victory for Sri Lanka and the complete obliteration of the LTTE. If Norway had genuinely favoured the Tigers, such an outcome would scarcely have been permitted. This stark reality indicates that Norway’s perceived “bias” was not an endorsement of the LTTE’s cause but a calculated alignment with processes that served wider strategic imperatives.

The Endgame and Its Human Cost

The cessation of Sri Lanka’s civil war was not achieved through sustained negotiation but through a deliberate and overwhelming military campaign. From 2006 onwards, Colombo — with significant support from China, Pakistan,western and tacit acquiescence from India — intensified its offensive against the LTTE. The climactic assault in 2009 resulted in the complete military annihilation of the Tigers, exacting a staggering toll: tens of thousands of Tamil civilians were slaughtered, many of them Hindus in Mullivaikkal and its environs.

Independent human rights investigations have since documented egregious violations: indiscriminate shelling of civilian enclaves, enforced disappearances, and systematic breaches of international humanitarian law. For Eelam Tamils, this was not a military victory but a genocide — a state-orchestrated enterprise to extinguish an entire people and their cultural identity.

The Indian Dilemma

Here lies a profound paradox. Indian commentators celebrate Colombo’s military triumph as a decisive victory against terrorism, whilst simultaneously denouncing Canada or Norway for “foreign interference.” Yet when geopolitically expedient, those same voices court Western powers to advance their own ends. This is politics stripped of Dharma — an abdication of justice, morality, and truth.

Our Position

Eelam Tamils cannot afford to be reduced to mere pawns in these shifting games of power. The Sri Lankan government invokes sovereignty. Western governments pursue strategic influence. India pursues balance.

But we must pursue only truth into truth.

That entails:

• Naming genocide as genocide.

• Refusing to erase the Tamil and Hindu lives extinguished.

• Rejecting convenient narratives that sanctify mass killings in the name of stability.

For us, survival is not a diplomatic strategy; it is a moral covenant with truth that must never be compromised.

© Nila Bala @ Small Drops

Balananthini Balasubramaniam

30/09/2025

United Kingdom

(Disclaimer: Images are AI generated and are used for representational purposes only)

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