At
UN, Nambiar
Tells ICP of
White Flag
Killings, Sri
Lanka
Government
Blocked Him,
Kohona Spoken
With
By
Matthew
Russell Lee,
Exclusive
UNITED
NATIONS,
February 24 --
With controversy
revived about
Sri
Lankan war
crimes
including the
murder of
surrendering
prisoners,
Inner City
Press on
February 24
asked UN
official Vijay
Nambiar to
explain his
role in these
"white flag"
killings, and
if involved
Major
General
Shavendra
Silva should
be a UN Senior
Adviser on
Peacekeeping.
On
camera,
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
deputy
spokesman
insisted
that Nambiar
would not
answer the
question.
Nambiar said
"if
necessary" he
would answer
afterwards. Video
here, from
Minute
18:15.
Inner
City
Press followed
Nambiar who
began that he
has "problems
with
you saying I
am involved in
the genocide."
He paused and
noted,
"Marie
Colvin was
involved in
the same...now
that she has
passed
away I would
like to place
on record my
own" position,
and
"appreciation
for the
intrepidity
with which she
pursued her
own
vocation."
She
talked
to me, you
know that,"
Nambiar said
of Colvin.
Inner City
Press asked,
hadn't Colvin
urged Nambiar
to go witness
the
surrenders?
Nambiar
nodded
yes. "I asked
to go, twice I
contacted [US
diplomat] Bob
Blake, the two
of us were
planning to
go... the ICRC
was not able
to
go by sea
route. The
Government
refused to
give us
permission.
There
was no way we
could just
force our way
in."
With
no
witnesses,
those who
tried to
surrendered
ended up dead.
Inner
City Press
asked Nambiar
why he hadn't
then spoke
out.
Nambiar
continued
with this
story: "in the
middle of the
night, Marie
called me, the
two people,
I've forgotten
the names, one
was on the
Peace
Commission,
they wanted to
surrender. We
need to get
assurance,
free passage.
I said OK,
I'll do it. I
took it up
with foreign
minster, the
defense
minister and
the president.
They would be
treated like
any
surrendering
prisoner, What
happened after
that, I
couldn't..."
Again
Inner
City Press
asked Nambiar,
if you passed
on the
assurances,
then
were blocked
from going to
witness and
those you
assured got
killed,
why haven't
you spoken
out?
Nambiar
"subsequently
said they
could have
been shot by
own people. I
am
not prepare to
hazard any
guess. Even
Basil
[Rajapaksa],
he also said
that. It was
mainly
Gotabaya
[Rajapaksa]
and the
President
[Mahinda
Rajapaksa]."
Nambiar
told
Inner City
Press, "I
spoke with
Palitha
Kohona, the
Foreign
Secretary."
(c) UN Photo
Nambiar with
Ban Ki-moon
and team, Shavendra
"White Flag"
Silva not
shown
Kohona,
at least in
May 2010, told
Inner City
Press a
different
story. Now
with Major
General
Shavendra
Silva, about
whom Nambiar
did not
answer, barred
from
participating
in the UN
Senior
Advisory Group
on
Peacekeeping
Operations, it
has been
suggested that
Permanent
Representative
Kohona replace
him. We will
pursue this --
watch this
site.
, 
