On
Sri
Lanka, UN Is
Asked of
Censoring
Critics, John
Holmes, Some
Stay
Silent
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
November 13 --
When the UN's
long delayed
report into
its
own actions
and inactions
in Sri Lanka
was "given
to the BCC and
New York Times"
on Tuesday,
Inner City
Press asked
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
spokesman
Martin Nesirky
when Ban would
formally get
the report
from its
author Charles
Petrie, and
when Ban
would make it
public.
Nesirky
replied
that the
meeting would
take place
Wednesday
morning, and
the
report would
be made public
"soon after
that." Transcript
here and
below.
Inner
City Press
requested that
Petrie and
more
importantly
Ban Ki-moon be
available for
questions.
Nesirky said,
"that's being
looked
into. We are
obviously
aware of the
interest."
But
despite the
expressed
interest, the
UN is trying
to let only
its own
UN Photo and
UNTV be
present as
Petrie hands
over (for the
second
time?) the
report to Ban
Ki-moon.
Inner
City Press as
soon as it saw
Ban's schedule
and more
limited Media
Alert sent
Nesirky and
his Deputies a
request that
"the
Secretary
General's
meeting on
November 14 at
9:30 am with
ASG
Charles Petrie
be opened to
coverage by
international
Press, as for
example his
November 12
meeting with
Romano Prodi
was...
"Additionally,
please
state or
summarize the
restrictions
if any that
former UN
staff (such as
John Holmes)
are under when
speaking
publicly about
or
evaluating
their work for
the UN, and if
the UN has
considered
lifting any
such
restrictions.
Also, again,
please state
regarding
the Petrie
report, what
(three?) other
people worked
on it?"
Despite
the
expressed
interest,
hours later
(and mere
hours before
the
hand-over and
UN-only photo
op) there had
been no
response.
John
Holmes, beyond
overseeing a
UN department
which concealed
the number
of killed
civilians in
Sri Lanka,
also tried to
censor Press
coverage
of his
on the record
comments
during Ban's
May 2009
"victory
tour" of Sri
Lanka, click
here for that.
Holmes
attempt to
censor
almost worked.
And even now,
with New
York Times
bragged it was
given
the report but
only timely
reporting it
on its blog,
the story is
reported "from
London," even
by agencies
ostensibly
covering the
UN. Watch
this site.
From
the UN's
New York
Headquarters'
November 13
noon briefing:
Inner
City
Press: I
wanted to ask
you on, on Sri
Lanka, it’s
now reported
that the
Charles Petrie
report is
either it is
in its
penultimate
form or
finished and
to be handed
over to the
Secretary-General.
I
know that
there,
there’s,
obviously you
are under some
constraints,
but is Mr.
Petrie in town
and if so,
whenwill he
meet
personally
with
the
Secretary-General
to turn in
this report?
Spokesperson
Nesirky:
Well, first of
all we don't
comment on
leaked
documents;
that’s the
first thing.
And
the
second thing
is, as I
mentioned
yesterday, the
Secretary-General
will
be receiving
the report of
his Internal
Review Panel
on United
Nations Action
in Sri Lanka
this week.
When he does
receive it and
has read it,
it will be
made public.
And I can tell
you that,
indeed,
tomorrow
morning the
Secretary-General
will be
meeting
Charles
Petrie, who
headed the
panel. And I
would
anticipate
that
the report
will be made
public soon
after that.
Inner
City
Press: I want
to make this
request in
advance, I’ve
been
thinking of
the Benazir
Bhutto report,
and I remember
in this, I
think it was
in this room
that the
Chair, Mr.
[Marzuki]
Darusman,
gave a press
conference, is
there some
ability to
have Q and A
either
of Mr. Petrie
or the
Secretary-General
on this
important
report of
the UN’s own
performance?
Spokesperson:
That’s being
looked into.
We are
obviously
aware of the
interest
and that’s one
reason why it
is being made
public.
Watch
this site.
, 
