On 22nd and 23rd of February 2002, the Ceasefire Agreement was signed. Velupillai Prabakran, Leader of the LTTE signed the CFA on 22 February 2002, in Vanni and Ranil Wickremasinghe, Sri Lanka Prime Minister signed it on 23 February 2002.

The Ceasefire Agreement says according to Article 4.4: "This Agreement shall remain in force until notice of termination is given by either Party to the Royal Norwegian Government. Such notice shall be given fourteen (14) days in advance of the effective date of termination."

Keeping in terms with the provision, Rohita Bollogama, Sri Lanka Foreign Minister invited Tore Hattrem, Royal Norewgian Ambassador in Colombo on 3 January and handed over the letter notifying that Sri Lanka is withdrawing from the Ceasefire Agreement it entered with Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a separatist Tamil Organization involved in military campaign against Sri Lanka Government for a separate state of Tamil Eelam.

Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam invited Norway seven years ago to act as a "facilitator" for the peace process in the country. The invitation was renewed by the Government of Sri Lanka in January 2006, and Norway brought both sides together for talks in Geneva in February and in October 2006.

It is now believed that the Government of Sri Lanka's decision to terminate the Ceasefire Agreement is a heavy blow to Norway's prestige as an international peace broker. Norwegian diplomats have long been involved in peacemaking efforts around the world, but often without success. Even six of their diplomats were declared recently as persona non grata by the Ethiopian Government and sent back to Norway last year.

It was unfortunate that the Norwegian facilitators earned the wrath of the Sinhalese, Muslim communities and also from a section of the Tamils in Sri Lanka by being supportive towards the Tamil Tigers. Norway has not only spent millions of dollars on the Tamil Tigers and also on several organizations and media units of the pro-Tamil Tigers.

The LTTE political office building was financed by the Norwegians and also they spent millions on the running of the LTTE's Peace Secretariat. Other than that several NGOs in Colombo, `peaceniks' claiming to be involved in promoting peace in Sri Lanka were given monthly, as well as annually, millions of dollars as grants by the Norwegians. On top of it, numerous Sri Lankan Tamils' organizations and media units in Norway and in other Western countries were funded by the Norwegian Government.

Despite funneling millions and millions of dollars in their efforts to win the goodwill of the Sri Lankans, Norway has miserably failed in winning the hearts and minds of the Sri Lankans.

If we scrutinize the recipients of funds from Norway, they are almost all those who work against the Government of Sri Lanka and promoted LTTE and their acts of violence. Thus Norway was openly exercising partiality towards a section of Sri Lankans by funding another section who opposes the Government of Sri Lanka.

Norway should have remained impartial. It should have embraced the Tamils, Muslims and the Sinhalese equally. They should not have thought Tamil Tigers as underdogs and provided with funds and other assistances. This was viewed by the Government of Sri Lanka not as an impartial act. It was considered as acts against a sovereign government.

Major Sinhala political parties openly anounced that they were not willing to meet Norwegian facilitators and they denounced Norway and demanded the Ceasefire Agreement be abrogated. Janatha Vimiukthi Periumuna sought the courts help to force the government to invalidate the Ceasefire Agreement.

It was unfortunate that Norwegians facilitators were not diplomatic enough to win the hearts and minds of the majority community, especially the Buddhist clergies. They have failed to come to terms with reality in Sri Lanka. They have failed to comprehend that by the end of the day, it was the preaching's of the Buddhists monks that prevail in Sri Lanka and nothing else.

The facilitators have wasted millions and millions of ordinary Norwegians tax payers' money in an unsuccessful exercise of peacemaking in Sri Lanka.

Once the Ceasefire Agreement is abrogated, the next step that would automatically follow would be the banning the LTTE in Sri Lanka. LTTE remained a proscribed outfit in Sri Lanka even at the time the Ceasefire Agreement was signed in February 2002.

After LTTE bombed and destroyed Dalada Malagawa, a holiest Buddhist Shrine in 1998, immediately Government clamped down the ban on 26 January 1998. It remained as a banned organization up to 04 September 2002. The ban was lifted to enable the LTTE delegation to participate in the peace Talks launched in Bangkok on 16 September 2002.

Once the Tigers are banned again as a terrorist organization, then the chances of expecting a political settlement would too evaporates. It might take months and years to have another opportunity to bring the Tigers and the Government of Sri Lanka to the negotiation table.

It was unfortunate the Norwegian failed to bring about a peace in the country. In an interview Erik Solheim has told, "It must be made clear that the responsibility for peace on Sri Lanka lies with the parties." Solheim added "If they don't want peace, there's very little Norway can do."

It is true that parties in conflict must come for talks and put an end to belligerency and embrace peace.

Whatever said and done, it is heart wrenching to see Norway kicked out of the peace process unceremoniously.

Though Erik Solheim and Norway was involved in a thankless mission, I feel as a Sri Lankan, we must give all the regards that is needed to Norwegians. It is time to say not `Good Bye,' but to say 'Thank you Norway.'

- Asian Tribune -