Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission
Encyclopedia
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was a separatist militant organization formerly based in northern Sri Lanka. Founded in May 1976 by Vellupillai Prabhakaran, it waged a violent secessionist and nationalist campaign to create an independent state in the north and east of Sri Lanka for Tamil...
, as a body that would monitor the ceasefire and enquire into reported violations of the ceasefire agreement. Its members were drawn primarily from Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, and Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
. Following the abrogating of the ceasefire agreement in January 2008, the SLMM announced on 3 January 2008 that it would finally terminate its remaining operational activities in Sri Lanka with effect from 16 January 2008.
Organization
SLMM has its Headquarters in ColomboColombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
, and has six District Offices (DO)in the North and East: Mannar
Mannar, Sri Lanka
Mannar , formerly spelled Manar, is the capital of Mannar District, Sri Lanka. It is located on Mannar Island.Mannar is known for its baobab trees and for its fort, built by the Portuguese in 1560 and taken by the Dutch in 1658 and rebuilt; its ramparts and bastions are intact, though the interior...
, Jaffna
Jaffna
Jaffna is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna district located on a peninsula of the same name. Jaffna is approximately six miles away from Kandarodai which served as a famous emporium in the Jaffna peninsula from classical...
, Trincomalee
Trincomalee
Trincomalee is a port city in Eastern Province, Sri Lanka and lies on the east coast of the island, about 113 miles south of Jaffna. It has a population of approximately 100,000 . The city is built on a peninsula, which divides the inner and outer harbours. Overlooking the Kottiyar Bay,...
, Batticaloa
Batticaloa
Batticaloa is a city in the Eastern province of Sri Lanka. It is the seat of the Eastern University of Sri Lanka. It is on the east coast, south by south east of Trincomalee, and is situated on an island.-Etymology:...
, Ampara
Ampara
Ampara is a remote city on the East Coast of Sri Lanka, about 360 km from the capital city of Colombo. It belongs to the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. It was a part of the domain of Kavantissa and was then known as "Ambaragama", which over the years changed to Ambara to Ampara...
and Vavuniya
Vavuniya
Vavuniya is a town in northern Sri Lanka. This town is situated in the Northern Province. Vavuniya was often referred to as the gateway to Vanni....
, as well as a Liaison Office in Kilinochchi
Kilinochchi
Kilinochchi is a city in the Kilinochchi District, part of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. Kilinochchi is situated at the A9 road some south-east of Jaffna...
. There are also two naval monitoring teams, one in Jaffna and one in Trincomalee. In addition, SLMM has established Points of Contact (PoC) within the district offices. The PoCs expand the possibility to establish contact with the local population and for SLMM to be more accessible.
The SLMM DO’s operates mobile units and performs extensive patrolling in SLMM Area of Responsibility (AOR). Moreover the SLMM inquires into both parties' complaints regarding the cease fire. The six SLMM DOs define AOR geographically, while the Area of Operation (AOO) includes all of Sri Lanka. The SLMM was until 30 August 2006 staffed with about 60 monitors, and was headed by the Swedish Major General Ulf Henricsson.
From May 2006 onwards, the SLMM's ability to exercise its mandate was hampered by worsening hostilities. Following an attack by the LTTE on a Sri Lankan naval convoy on 11 May 2006, the SLMM on 14 May announced a "temporary suspension" of naval monitoring in the northern and eastern waters of Sri Lanka. On 8 June 2006, the LTTE objected to the formal engagement of citizens of European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
states in the SLMM, arguing that it was questionable whether citizens of countries which had banned the LTTE would be sufficiently impartial to be able to adjudicate critical matters on the ground. As a result, the Swedish, Finnish and Danish members of the SLMM ceased to work with the mission with effect from 1 September 2006, drastically depleting its strength. From 1 September 2006, the SLMM was headed by the Norwegian Major General Lars Johan Sølvberg and had a total of 20 monitors from Iceland and Norway, the two of the five original members of SLMM that are not a part of the EU.
Criticism
The organisation has been criticised by persons from various sides of the conflict for not being impartial and for appeasing the parties. Locally, SLMM is criticized for not taking action to end cease fire violations by the LTTE. The SLMM's reaction on this fact (that the majority of violations is done by the LTTE) is that the parties have the responsibility for the CFA (Cease Fire Agreement). The SLMM's role is documenting CFA violations, assisting the parties in local mediation and supplying Norway and the co-chairs of the peace process with facts.The leader of SLMM, known as "Head of Mission - HoM" is appointed by the Norwegian government.
The Norwegian facilitators are by some accused of being biased towards the LTTE. The Norwegians have support by the present Sri Lankan president and government, opposition party (UNP) and the co-chairs (USA, EU and Japan).
PA, the ruling party, was initially supportive of Norway's role. However, the ruling party raised many questions regarding credibility of Norway as an 'independent facilitator'. The Sri Lankan president once strongly complained to the Norwegian Prime Minister of Colombo's Norwegian Ambassador Jon Westborg
Jon Westborg
Jon Westborg is a Norwegian diplomat.He holds a Master of Philosophy degree from the Cranfield School of Management. Before becoming a diplomat he worked in the Lutheran World Federation, Save the Children Norway, the Strømme Foundation and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation...
. Former foreign minister Lakshman Kadirgamar
Lakshman Kadirgamar
Sri Lankabhimanya Lakshman Kadirgamar PC was a Sri Lankan diplomat, politician and a lawyer. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka from 1994 to 2001 and again from April 2004 until his assassination in August 2005...
was critical of the role played by Norway, and demanded them to leave if Norway was unable to bring democracy to LTTE controlled areas. Anura Bandaranaike, a minister of the ruling party said Norway's role is highly questionable.
The popular view among Sri Lankans is that 'Norwegians direct SLMM'. Norwegian Government (through the Norwegian Embassy in Colombo) sent a consignment of radio equipment to the LTTE in 2002, and majority of anti-LTTE Sri Lankans saw this as Norway siding with the LTTE. The shipment was however cleared with the government of Sri Lanka. Norwegian Ambassador John Westborg was accused to have committed breaches of the 'customs ordinance' of Sri Lanka and the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations
Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations
The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961 is an international treaty that defines a framework for diplomatic relations between independent countries. It specifies the privileges of a diplomatic mission that enable diplomats to perform their function without fear of coercion or...
by seeking clearance for goods for the embassy, which were actually meant for a third party (LTTE).
University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna), Sri Lanka, accuses Norway's 'appeasing the LTTE' strategy as being responsible for the assassination of Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar
Lakshman Kadirgamar
Sri Lankabhimanya Lakshman Kadirgamar PC was a Sri Lankan diplomat, politician and a lawyer. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka from 1994 to 2001 and again from April 2004 until his assassination in August 2005...
. The Norwegian deputy foreign ministers comment on the calls for more pressure on the LTTE was that the cease fire agreement and the peace process is the parties responsibility. Though both sides want Norwegian and SLMM support in handling the other, the Norwegian view is that they need to work it out themselves.
SLMM has ruled that LTTE has violated the CFA 3006 times, as opposed to 133 times by the Government, as of 30 June 2005. Despite the high number of CFA violations committed by the LTTE, the SLMM routinely issue statements urging "both parties" (meaning the LTTE and the Government) to observe the CFA.
These incidents are viewed by some in Sri Lanka as Norwegians conniving with the LTTE. Others however see the accusations as motivated by political reasons. However, a survey conducted in 2003 found only 27% of Sri Lankans feel the SLMM monitors are impartial, putting serious doubts on the SLMM's role.
However the general opinion of the international community seems to be that the SLMM is of vital importance for keeping the fragile cease fire. As a monitoring mission, the SLMM is not involved in the Norwegian government's facilitation of the peace talks.
After a Chinese ship was attacked off the northern Sri Lankan coast, on 20 March 2003 it was widely believed to have been carried out by the LTTE. Based on a recorded telephone conversation between the LTTE and General Trond Furuhovde, a Norwegian and then Head of SLMM, SLMM is accused of having indirectly suggested to the LTTE to put the blame on a "third party with stolen uniforms". No such "third parties" have previously carried out such attacks in Sri Lankan seas. SLMM later issued a statement blaming a "third party" without naming who that third party was.
On another occasion, the Sri Lankan navy was pursuing a suspected LTTE arms vessel, and an SLMM officer on board the Navy boat informed the SLMM HQ about the raid via a satellite phone. The SLMM HQ checked with the LTTE, which made the LTTE aware that the navy was pursuing the arms ship. The LTTE arms vessel escaped eventually. The Opposition party lodged the strongest protest and demanded government to declare the SLMM monitor in question as "Persona non grata
Persona non grata
Persona non grata , literally meaning "an unwelcome person", is a legal term used in diplomacy that indicates a proscription against a person entering the country...
" accusing 'SLMM leaking information about navy's pursuing to the LTTE'