As
Sri Lanka
Threatens
Critics of
LLRC, Ban
Awaits Cheat
Sheets of DPA,
HRC
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
December 23 --
One week ago
about Sri
Lanka, UN
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon "noted
that the
report of Sri
Lanka's
Lessons Learnt
and
Reconciliation
Commission
(LLRC) was
tabled in
parliament
today and
welcomed that
it has been
made public.
The
United Nations
will be
studying the
report
closely."
After
a week of
silence from
Ban, even
while the Sri
Lankan
government
announced it
would take
legal action
against
non-governmental
organizations
which
have joined
the criticism
for the LLRC
report as no
leading to
accountability,
Inner City
Press on
December 23
asked Ban's
spokesman
Martin
Nesirky:
Inner
City
Press: a week
ago I saw the
statement by
the
Secretary-General
that the UN
will be
studying the
report closely
and that he
hopes
that the
Government of
Sri Lanka
would move
forward to
address
accountability
concerns in
good faith.
Today, the
Ministry of
External
Affairs there
has said that
they will take
legal action
against NGOs
which have
criticized the
lessons
learned and
reconciliation
report. So I
wonder, does
that seem to
be a
good-faith
response to
the report,
and also, in
the week since
their last
statement has
the UN
actually
studied the
report and do
they have any
comment on it?
Spokesperson
Nesirky:
I think you
can take it
for granted
that if we
said the
report is
being studied,
it is being
studied. And
if we have
anything
further then I
will let you
know. Other
questions,
please?
After
that, Inner
City Press
inquired
further with
several Ban
Ki-moon
officials and
learned that
both the UN
Department of
Political
Affairs and
"Human
Rights" have
been asked to
review and
summarize the
LLRC; the
two summaries
-- like "Cliff
Notes" study
aids, a/k/a
Cheat
Sheets -- will
be put
together and
then and only
then will Ban
hear
anything about
it.
(c) UN Photo
Ban &
Mahinda
Rajapaksa,
threats to
NGOs unacted
on, Report not
read?
And
by then, more
voices for
accountability
in Sri Lanka
will have been
targeted and
silence. Good
faith, indeed.
Watch this
site.
, 
