The Bjorn Midthun Chat
Norwegian envoy Bjorn Midthun explains how his country got involved in trying to broker peace in the trouble-torn island nation of Sri Lanka. Norway's role, he says, is to channelise messages between the rebels and the government. He concludes that it is in the interest of all in Sri Lanka that fighting ends.
He also says that India and Pakistan should resolve their dispute bilaterally
In a lighter vein, he denies he is related to Bjorn Borg or Mithun Chakravarthy.
Mr Bjorn Midthun (Fri May 26 5:23 IST)
Hello.I am here to take your questions and so you can shoot
siby (Fri May 26 4:34 IST)
How did Norway land up in Lankan crisis?
Mr Bjorn Midthun (Fri May 26 5:26 IST)
Siby - The president of Sri Lanka requested us to establish a dialogue with the LTTE with an aim to start negotiations in order to find a political solution to the conflict. And since both the Lankan government and the LTTE have accepted Norway as a facilitator, we have accepted.
hop (Fri May 26 4:36 IST)
Where all have you made peace?
Mr Bjorn Midthun (Fri May 26 5:28 IST)
Hop - It is not like we have made peace all over the world.Norway has been requested to play a facilitating role in several conflict areas in the world. We have tried to do so to the best of our ability. Conflicts in which Norway has played a role include the middle east, Guatemala, Colombia and lately Sri Lanka.
Jap (Fri May 26 4:39 IST)
How far have you reached with your peace initiatives in Lanka? What do you ultimately plan to achieve in Lanka? A permanent solution to teh entire crisis?
Mr Bjorn Midthun (Fri May 26 5:35 IST)
Jap - Norway's role is to channel messages between the two parties in the Sri Lankan conflict. We are convinced that it will take time and involve a great effort from the concerned parties to reach a peaceful solution. However, it is our hope that the parties in a longterm perspective will arrive at a peaceful solution.
Ravi prasad (Fri May 26 4:45 IST)
Hello sir, what really clicked the Oslo agreement that you mediated on? Do you forsee a similar understanding being reached in Lanka too?
Mr Bjorn Midthun (Fri May 26 5:40 IST)
Ravi Prasad - The Oslo accords were brought about because both the Israelis and the palestinians trusted norway as an honest broker without a hidden agenda but with a sincere hope that the ongoing conflict in the Middle East could be brought to end through a peaceful solution. In addition, Norwegian officials and politicians had during several years established good relations with both Israeli and Palestinian leaders.
Miss (Fri May 26 5:34 IST)
Are you related to Bjorn Borg? Or to Mithun Chakravarthy?
Mr Bjorn Midthun (Fri May 26 5:45 IST)
Miss - No, I am not related to either of them ! By the way, Bjorn is a very common name in all the Scandinavian countries and incidentally means the animal bear, or bhaloo in Hindi!
sorasis (Fri May 26 5:35 IST)
How do you propose to negotiate? Will you take Indian assistance or go it alone?
Mr Bjorn Midthun (Fri May 26 5:49 IST)
Sorasis - As I said earlier, our role is to channel messages between the two parties. When it comes to India, we recognise that India's importance is paramount when it comes to resolving the situation.
gaurav (Fri May 26 5:36 IST)
what do you think should be india's role in bringing back peace in lanka
Mr Bjorn Midthun (Fri May 26 5:54 IST)
Gaurav - Its not for me to comment upon what India's role should be. That is up to India to do, and i think India has spelt it out quite clearly that they would be prepared to evacuate Lankan troops from Jaffna on certain conditions if the need arose.Mr Brajesh Mishra has laid down three conditions : Jaffna had to fall first,secondly the Sri Lankan government has to request for India's help to evacuate the troops and thirdly, that some kind of ceasefire was established on the ground.
heen (Fri May 26 5:38 IST)
Mr Midthun: Why you all not mediate in Kashmir?
Mr Bjorn Midthun (Fri May 26 5:58 IST)
Heen - Norway's stance on Kashmir is clear ; and that is that India and Pakistan should resolve the question bilaterally.
Peaceman (Fri May 26 5:43 IST)
Who is this Eric Solheim (am right with the spelling?)? Is he a minister or so there in Norway? Is he still there in India?
Mr Bjorn Midthun (Fri May 26 6:2 IST)
Peaceman - His name is spelt Erik Solheim and he is Special Advisor on Sri Lanka to the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs. He left India for Norway the night between Wednesday and Thursday.
Meena (Fri May 26 5:52 IST)
What sort of government you have in your country? Corrupt and nepotic like ours?
Mr Bjorn Midthun (Fri May 26 6:7 IST)
Meena - Norway is a parliamentarian monarchy. The Parliament has 165 MPs from seven major parties. Currently, we have a minority government from the Labour Party. There is a strong democratic and egalitarian inclination among the population and we value our freedom and democratic rights very highly.
Saman (Fri May 26 5:56 IST)
Mr Bjorn, do you have training institutes in Norway for peacemakers? How do you evolve such fine peace makers...Like the ones who were involved in Middleeast, COlombia, and now in Lanka?
Mr Bjorn Midthun (Fri May 26 6:14 IST)
Saman - No, Norway does not have a training institute for peacemakers. In the conflicts that we have facilitated, the Norwegian officials have had longterm relationship and in-depth knowledge of both the region concerned as well as the key players of the different parties. I believe that this is one of the crucial elements why Norway has been requested to play a facilitating role. In addition, I think norway benefits from the fact that we are a small nation which is not suspected to have an agenda of our own apart from bringing about peaceful solutions in the rseepctive conflcit areas.
Borg (Fri May 26 6:9 IST)
Here's one question that some guy called Supandi asked... and I think it's worth repeating since you are trying to avoid it: You know, you help broker peace between so many governments and terrorist organisations. What is the morality of this? All those terrorists go scot-free finally. Doesn't that give a clear message that terrorism does pay, if it's evil enough?
Mr Bjorn Midthun (Fri May 26 6:23 IST)
Borg - It is the Lankan government that has requested Norway to establish a dialogue with the LTTE and we have paid heed to the Lankan request. We believe that it is in the interest of both the parties as well as the entire population of Sri Lanka that the fighting ends and that a peaceful solution to the conflict is arrived upon. Hopefully, if the parties agree to come to the negotiating table, the killings may come to an end, a development that would come to the good of all members of the Sri lankan population.
Mr Bjorn Midthun (Fri May 26 6:25 IST)
All right,all you chat-jis out there. Thank you all for your attention and interest in Norway. It was fun to talk to you .Hope you found it rewarding too. Bye for now
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