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On
Sri Lanka, as UN's Ban Calls for "Suspension of Fighting," No Council
Meeting Yet
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of
Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED
NATIONS, February 23 --
With civilians in Sri Lanka trapped in escalating armed conflict, UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday belated called for a
"suspension in
fighting." Ban
previously told Inner City Press he couldn't call for a
ceasefire because Sri Lanka is not on the Security Council agenda,
and Ban has
still not used the word "ceasefire."
Outside a February 23 meeting about Myanmar,
Inner City Press asked Ban,
"before, you said that you weren’t calling for a ceasefire
because
it wasn’t on the Security Council’s agenda.
Now, having heard hopefully from Mr. [John] Holmes,
what do you think
should happen in Sri Lanka at this time?"
Ban's
answer, written on note cards and subsequently
put
in the UN's website, "deplore[d] the increasing casualties among
civilians trapped in the intense fighting between the government and
the LTTE
[Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam] over the last several days and would
strongly support a suspension of fighting for the purpose of allowing
safe
passage of the civilian population trying to flee the conflict." Ban
called for "political discussions." Video here,
from Minute 9:23.
The UN's Office for the Coordination
of
Humanitarian Affairs, whose John
Holmes just visited Sri Lanka, now tells Inner City
Press pointed that there is no request for a Security Council briefing
on Sri
Lanka, despite UK
Ambassador John Sawers statement on February 20 to expect a Council
briefing
when Holmes arrives in New York.
Holmes apparently came and went
from New York without speaking even to
his spokesperson,* who a day later provided written answers to Inner
City Press'
questions, including confirming that Holmes accepted translation
from the Sri
Lankan government's Minister of Resettlement, and that no tape
recordings were kept. Video, the UN has been told, shows a woman
telling Holmes
that her son was abducted by the Army, only to have the Minister of
Resettlement mis-translate it as that her son was killed by the Tamil
Tigers.
Ban said that Holmes "had a very good visit to Sri Lanka."
*- the spokesperson later on
February 23 told Inner City Press that "John Holmes flew straight from
Sri Lanka to Colombia." Inner City Press was relying on the February 20
statement by the UN spokesperson that "Holmes is going to come
here this weekend, and then he is going to fly
again to Colombia. But we’ll try to get him to come and talk to
you
between those trips."
Civilians impacted in Sri Lanka, UN's Holmes' "good
visit" not shown
Here
the full question
and answer with
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, as transcribed by the UN, followed
by the UN's written answers to
questions Inner City Press posed for John Holmes:
Inner
City Press: Before, you said that you weren’t calling for a ceasefire
because
it wasn’t on the Security Council’s agenda.
Now, having heard hopefully from Mr. [John] Holmes,
what do you think
should happen in Sri Lanka at this time?
S-G Ban: Mr. Holmes had a very good visit to Sri
Lanka. He had meetings with many senior
government officials, including President [Mahinda] Rajapaksa. The UN
deplores
the increasing casualties among civilians trapped in the intense
fighting
between the government and the LTTE [Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam]
over the
last several days and would strongly support a suspension of fighting
for the
purpose of allowing safe passage of the civilian population trying to
flee the
conflict.
There
is an urgent need to bring this conflict to an end without any further
unnecessary loss of civilian life and destruction of Sri Lankan
society. The
United Nations renews its call on all sides to pursue serious efforts
toward
political discussion to achieve an orderly end to the conflict.
Here
are the UN's written answers to
questions Inner City Press posed for John Holmes:
Inner
City Press: did [Holmes] speak with displaced or impacted people
outside the
presence of representatives of the government?
Answer: Yes. While during the visit, the opportunity of talking
on his
own was limited with so many people around, he made an effort and did
speak to
some people on his own with translation by UN staff. He also
spoke with a
number of UN colleagues and humanitarian workers who have regular
contact on
their own with IDPs and received their views.
Inner City Press: What evidence of violations of international
humanitarian law by the Sri Lankan armed forces, as well as the LTTE,
did he observe
or become aware of?
Answer: Mr. Holmes expressed his concern about the significant numbers
of
civilians being injured inside the Vanni pocket by fighting between the
GoSL
and the LTTE and he met people to whom this had happened. He also
met
people whose escape had been hindered by the LTTE and is aware of
civilians
reportedly being shot by the LTTE as they try to escape. Furthermore
civilians
are possibly being held against their will inside the Vanni pocket.
Inner City Press: Did he participate in any discussions of
extraction of
people from Vanni by military aircraft? To where? With what
countries' aircraft?
Answer: No.
Inner City Press: What were the interactions between Mr. Holmes and the
Sri
Lankan armed forces, including but not limited to travel, presence
during
interactions with displaced or impacted people?
Answer: Mr. Holmes met briefly with officers of the Sri Lankan forces
during
his visit including the Secretary of Defense. Mr. Holmes met
civilians
both with military officers present and on his own.
Inner City Press: Who did the translation(s) for him?
Answer:
Different people at different times, including UN staff, and the
government
agent for Vavuniya who is a Tamil Sri Lankan and one time briefly
(before a
staff member assisted) through the Minister of Resettlement..
Inner City Press: Were tape recordings of what was said, in original
language,
kept?
Answer: no.
Inner City Press: Please list the individuals and organizations which
whom Mr.
Holmes met, and provide his schedule / itinerary.
Answer: In addition to UN, NGO and ICRC staff and representatives of
member
states, Mr. Holmes met the President, the Minister of Disaster
Management and
Human Rights and the Secretary of that Ministry, the Senior Advisor to
the
President, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Secretary of the MoFA,
the
Minister of Resettlement, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of
the
Ministry of National Building and Estate Infrastructure Development,
and the Umbrella
Group in Vavuniya,
Inner City Press: In light of UK Ambassador Sawers' and others'
statements
Friday with regard to Security Council briefing after Mr. Holmes'
departure from Sri Lanka,
when would Mr. Holmes be available for such a Council briefing?
Answer: No request
for a briefing of the Council has been made.
Watch this site.
Click
here
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12 debate on Sri Lanka http://bloggingheads.tv/diavlogs/17772?in=11:33&out=32:56
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16, 2009 debate about Gaza
Click here for Inner City Press'
review-of-2008 UN Top Ten debate
Click here for Inner
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Click here from Inner City Press'
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City Press' November 25 debate on Somalia, politics
Click here for Inner City
Press Nov. 7 debate on the war in Congo
Watch this site, and this Oct. 2 debate, on
UN, bailout, MDGs
and this October 17 debate, on
Security Council and Obama and the UN.
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