After
Sri
Lanka
Whitewashes
War Crimes,
UN's Ban
Welcomes It,
Counts on
Government
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
December 16 --
When Inner
City Press
asked the UN
about the
Sri Lankan
government's
Lessons Learnt
&
Reconciliation
Commission
report, the
response was
that Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon would
comment on it
when it was
released.
After
it was
released, with
the claim
that the
government did
not target
civilians,
Inner City
Press at noon
on December 16
asked Ban's
Associate
Spokesman
Farhan Haq for
comment. It
took the UN
nine
hours to issue
what many view
as the
quietest of
diplomacy.
First at
noon there was
this
exchange:
Inner
City
Press: the Sri
Lankan
Government has
now made
public its
Lessons
Learned and
Reconciliation
Commission
report. And it
says that
civilians were
not targeted,
which runs
entirely
contrary to
the
Panel of
Experts report
here at the
UN. It was
said that once
it
became public,
the UN may
have some
response to
it. Is the UN
aware
of the report,
the
commission’s
report and do
they think it
is a
credible
report, and
what is the
next step for
Ban Ki-moon’s
stated
interest in
accountability
for the force?
Associate
Spokesperson
Haq: Well, we
are continuing
with our
efforts at
accountability.
As you know,
his advisory
panel did come
out earlier
this year with
their report
on Sri Lanka.
And we hope
and trust that
Member States
will now again
look to the
contents of
that report
and
see what can
be done to
follow up on
the work being
done by the
panel
led by Marzuki
Darusman.
Beyond that,
in terms of
the work done
by
the Lessons
Learned and
Reconciliation
[Commission],
we will need
to
study the full
content of
what this
report say and
may respond in
due
course.
Inner
City
Press: I want
to ask just
sort of
related to
that; at least
one
Member State
on the Human
Rights Council
in Geneva has
told me that
this report,
whatever,
however it is
called,
doesn’t even
have a UN
stamp on it.
It sort of has
been really…
they found it
kind of
strange how it
was filed by
the
Secretariat
with the Human
Rights
Council. It
may seem like
a small thing,
but to them
they read into
it, as did
other Member
States, is
that the case,
is it a UN
report,
is the UN
stamp on it or
is it just a
piece of
paper?
Associate
Spokesperson
Haq: It is a
UN report; you
can find it on
the UN
website. We
presented it
here at the
United
Nations, as
you are well
aware, and
it’s a panel
that is an
advisory panel
to the
Secretary-General.
Inner
City
Press: Does
the
Secretary-General,
and maybe you
will either
know what he
thinks or you
can ask him —
does the
Secretary-General
think the
Human Rights
Council should
take up that
report of many
civilian
deaths prior
to the
universal
periodic
review for Sri
Lanka
which is, you
know, long
away?
Associate
Spokesperson
Haq: As you
know, it is up
to the members
of the Human
Rights Council
what they take
up. Certainly
the
Secretary-General
does want the
Member States
to look at
this report
and take it
seriously and
address the
contents and
the
recommendations
of that
report. But,
how they go
about that, as
you know,
these are
bodies
of Member
States and
we’ll await
what kind of
decisions they
take.
After
that exchange
nine hours
went by. Inner
City Press
reported
stories on the
International
Criminal
Court, Haiti
and Ban's
native South
Korea. Then at
9 pm on Friday
Ban's office
issues this
(non)
statement:
Subject:
Note
to
correspondents
in response to
questions on
the Lessons
Learned and
Reconciliation
Commission for
Sri Lanka
From: UN
Spokesperson -
Do Not Reply
@un.org
Date: Fri, Dec
16, 2011 at
8:56 PM
To:
matthew.lee
[at]
innercitypress.com
Note
to
correspondents
in response to
questions on
the Lessons
Learned and
Reconciliation
Commission for
Sri Lanka
The
Secretary-General
notes that the
report of Sri
Lanka's
Lessons Learnt
and
Reconciliation
Commission
(LLRC) was
tabled in
parliament
today
and welcomes
that it has
been made
public.
Rajapaska
& Ban,
welcoming the
white
wash
(c) UN Photo
The
United Nations
will be
studying the
report
closely. The
Secretary-General
hopes that the
Government of
Sri Lanka will
move forward
with its
commitment to
address
accountability
concerns in
good faith as
an essential
step
towards
reconciliation
and lasting
peace in the
country.
So
Ban, despite
the
obvious
whitewash in
the
government's
report,
"welcomes that
it
has been made
public," and
counts on the
government to
"address
accountability."
This goes
beyond "quiet
diplomacy."
Watch this
site.
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