Inner City Press -- Investigative Reporting From the Inner City to Wall Street to the United Nations

UN Sri Lanka Panel To Include Steven Ratner and Yasmin Sooka of S. Africa, Reconciliation or Accountability?

UNITED NATIONS, June 21 -- On Sri Lanka war crimes, sources tell Inner City Press that the three names including not only former Indonesian attorney general Darusman but also American lawyer Steven Ratner, and South Africa's Yasmin Sooka, who served on that country's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, who was proposed by Ban advisor Nicholas Haysom, also of South Africa.

 According to these well placed sources, and contrary to unsourced reports in the Colombo press, there will be no Austrian on the panel.

After his widely criticized "victory tour" to Sri Lanka last May, during which interned Tamil children were forced to sing for him in the Vuvuniya camp, surrounded by barbed wire, Ban has hounded by calls to follow through on his and Mahinda Rajapaksa's statement at the end of the trip.

On March 5, Ban said he would name a panel to advise him "without delay." Now, belated, he is slated to name the panel this week.

Sri Lanka's banner of UN Ban, with gun, Vavuniya camps

 Sri Lanka is lashing out in advance, even as their ambassador to the UN Palitha Kohona chairs an international investigation panel about the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Can you say, hypocrisy? 

  Kohona has also been named by Ban's chief of staff Vijay Nambiar as having provided assurances that surrendering LTTE leaders would be treated in accordance with international law -- before they were killed. Kohona disputes the timing of his communications with Nambiar. Watch this site.

On War Crimes, US Rapp Says Sri Lanka Panel Doesn't Meet Standards, Ban Names Next Week

UNITED NATIONS, June 19 -- Sri Lanka's Rajapaksa administration insists that its panel on "Lessons Learned" is a sufficient response to reports of tens of thousands of civilians killed in the final stage of the conflict last year. On June 18, Inner City Press asked Stephen Rapp, US ambassador at large for war crimes issues, if "Lessons Learned" are enough.

  "Obviously, what's been announced to date has not met the standard," Rapp said. "They're telling use it does have that capacity, to investigate these cases, to follow up and call witnesses. We're hearing it, but we're not seeing it."

  Rapp, whom Inner City Press had previously questioned as prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, said his office will be filing another report with the U.S. Congress by the end of July, on "what has been done." He said, "they will not have concluded their investigation, but we can talk about the standards."

  Surprisingly, while Rapp responded to Inner City Press that he had seen the BBC Hard Talk interview with Gotabaya Rajapaksa, he said he had "missed" the portion in which Gotabaya Rajapaksa said that if former top general Sarath Fonseka testified about war crimes, he would be "hung" as a traitor.

  "He said that?" Rapp asked. "It missed that... Witnesses need to testify freely, without consequences." Yeah. Rapp emphasized that the US is "engaged... Samantha Power was there." Yes, in the run up to the victory celebration.

  UN Secretary Ban Ki-moon, who back on March 5 said he would appoint of Group of Experts to advise him on accountability in Sri Lanka, is belatedly slated to name the Group this coming week.

Stephen Rapp in previous role, new US position on Sri Lanka not shown

 Beyond a Austrian member whose nationality but not name Inner City Press has previously reported, an intrepid publication in Sri Lanka has named as a pane member Indonesia's former attorney general Marzuki Darusman.

  While the wires may be crossed -- Darusman was on June 18 named the new Special Rapporteur on human rights in North Korea by the UN Human Rights Council -- Inner City Press has previously questioned Darusman, after the April 15, 2010 press conference on the Benazir Bhutto report. Darusman told Inner City Press he had not interviewed Mugran bin Abdul Aziz, nor former US Ambassador to the UN Zalmay Khalilzad. We'll see -- watch this site.

* * *

UNITED NATIONS, June 7 -- The role in war crimes in Sri Lanka of the UN, its Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and his chief of staff Vijay Nambiar have been questioned by the International Crisis Group and others.

   Now Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the defense chief brother of Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa, has on film threatened to hang military whistleblower Sarath Fonseka if he dares testify to any independent investigation into war crimes in the country.

  But Ban Ki-moon and his Office, though aware of Gotabaya Rajapaksa's threat, had no comment on it on June 7. Inner City Press asked about Ban's three months delay since March 5, when he said he would name a group of experts to advise him on war crimes in Sri Lanka, and whether Gotabaya Rajapaksa's death threat against witnesses would convince Ban, as human rights groups have concluded based on the history, that a Sri Lankan government self-investigation is not credible.

  Ban's Associate spokesman Farhan Han, while acknowledging that UN is aware of the quote, would not comment on it, and disputed that three months in even coming up with the terms of reference of the group of experts constitutes any delay. Video here, from Minute 15:02.

UN's Ban and Sri Lanka's Kohona, war crimes inquiry not shown

  This is strange, given for example that less than a week after Israel's assault on a flotilla headed to Gaza, Ban's Office says he is already discussing the terms of reference of a panel with Israel's and Turkey's prime ministers.

Is it the UN's documented and alleged involvement in Sri Lanka's war crimes that explains Ban's greater delay and defensiveness about events in Sri Lanka? Haq finally said that "we're very close to announcing names" for the three months delayed Sri Lanka panel. But will they be impartial? Watch this site.

* * *

While on Gaza UN's Ban Speaks of Terms of Reference, 3 Month Delay on Sri Lanka Panel, Kohona in Israel Probe

UNITED NATIONS, June 6 -- Six days after Israel killed nine people on a ship headed to Gaza, the UN put out a note to the Press that Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was conferring with the prime ministers of Israel and Turkey "to ensure that any investigation has the full cooperation of the countries most closely concerned. He is also developing possible terms of reference and logistical arrangements for such an effort."

What is Ban Ki-moon's recent track record on developing such terms of reference? It has now been over three months since Ban announced he would name a panel of experts about possible war crimes during the final phase of the conflict in Sri Lanka last year, in which tens of thousands of civilians were killed.

And yet,on Sri Lanka Ban Ki-moon has yet to name a single member of the promised group of experts, nor to announce the terms of reference.

  When asked by Inner City Press how the allegations of the International Crisis Group about the UN's own role in pulling out of civilians areas, ineffectually seeking a ceasefire and funding internment camps would be investigated, as well as issued concerning his chief of staff Vijay Nambiar's role in convincing to surrender rebel leaders who were then killed, Ban said he rejects all such allegations.

Nambiar has said the assurances of safety were provided to him by Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa, his brother Gotabaya Rajapaksa and current Ambassador to the UN Palitha Kohona. (Kohona has denied the timing to Inner City Press.)

Meanwhile, the UN has named Kohona to lead a separate investigation of Israel's treatment of Palestinians. Only at the UN.

  Kohona will be out of New York on that ironic work from June 8 through 19. Given that Ban and Nambiar have given Kohona full access to the delayed process at every stage, does this mean that even after three months, Ban will wait at least another 12 days?

UN's Ban views internment camps May 09- Sri Lanka, Gaza not shown

Footnote: Inner City Press on June 4 asked the UN's top humanitarian about ICG's charges, the pull out from Kilinochchi, the funding of internment camps, as well as OCHA's having stopped reporting the numbers of civilians killed following government complaints about the leaking of these figures to Inner City Press.

  Holmes issued a rote defense -- video here -- and said an international inquiry is not required. There is a history here. Off camera, Holmes told Inner City Press he is leaving at the end of August, and that the UK's new government is not reducing aid, only wanting to measure its efficacy. But will the new government be satisfied with the OCHA post? Watch this site.

To be continued - watch this site.