At
UN,
Ban Has
Belatedly
Watched
"Killing
Fields of Sri
Lanka,"
Response
UNclear
By
Matthew
Russell Lee,
Exclusive
UNITED
NATIONS,
December 28 --
"Killing
Fields of Sri
Lanka" has
finally been
watched by UN
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon,
according
to a one-word
response
provided to
Inner City
Press on
December 28 by
Ban's Office
of the
Spokesperson.
The
documentary
depicts UN
culpability in
the
abandonment
and killing of
civilians in
Northern Sri
Lanka in 2009,
when Ban was,
as now,
Secretary
General;
it reports on
the so-called
White Flag
killings of
Tamil Tiger
leaders in
whose
surrender
Ban's chief of
staff Vijay
Nambiar played
a role.
For
months,
Ban's
spokespeople
said he hadn't
watched the
documentary.
During a visit
by Sri Lankan
president
Mahinda
Rajapaksa,
Inner City
Press filmed
Sri
Lankan
Permanent
Representative
Palitha Kohona
telling
Rajapaksa
that Ban had
already seen
the government
produced
rebuttal to
"Killing
Fields" -- but
not yet the
film itself.
On
December 28,
Inner City
Press put
questions in
writing to
Ban's
spokesperson
Martin
Nesirky,
including
"Yes
or
no, has [Ban
Ki-moon] ever
watched
"Killing
Fields of Sri
Lanka," given
that Sri Lanka
says he
watched the
gov't-produced
rebuttal?"
Four
hours
later, the
following
arrived:
From:
UN
Spokesperson -
Do Not Reply
[at] @un.org
Date: Wed, Dec
28,
2011 at 4:08
PM
Subject:
Questions
To:
Matthew.Lee
[at]
InnerCityPress.com
On
the
"Killing
Fields of Sri
Lanka": Yes.
So
Ban HAS
belatedly
watched
"Killing
Fields of Sri
Lanka." When?
What is his
response to
it, given its
criticism of
the UN under
his tenure? We
will continue
to pursue
this.
(c) UN Photo
Mahinda
Rajapaksa
& Ban,
reaction to
Killing Fields
and LLRC not
seen
Ban still
has no comment
on the
government's
Lessons Learnt
&
Reconciliation
Commission
report. On
December 28
Inner City
Press asked
"The
summary
of the LLRC
report that
the Executive
Office of S-G
Ban
Ki-moon has
asked the
Department of
Political
Affairs to
prepare,
when is it
due?"
To
this, the
answer was
"On
the
LLRC report:
As we have
said before,
it is being
studied. If we
have more,
we'll let you
know."
Watch
this site.
, 
