As
UN
Still Withholds Sri Lanka War Crimes Report, Confirms Nambiar Reviews
It,
No Russia Read Out Until Later
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
April 19 -- The UN Secretariat still did not release the Sri
Lanka Panel of Experts war crimes report at its noon briefing on
April 19, five full days after portions began appearing in The Island
newspaper, presumptively leaked by the government itself.
UN
Department of
Political Affairs chief Lynn Pascoe
did raise the Sri Lanka report in
the Security Council on Monday, but only briefly, and Russia again
raised procedural objections that participants said supported the
Mahinda Rajapaksa government, accused of war crimes.
Inner
City Press
asked Ban's acting Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq if Ban will be
discussion Sri Lanka and the report during his upcoming visit to
Russia. All Haq would say is there will be a read-out at that time.
But
several human
rights groups now indicate they agree with the question raised here
yesterday: if Ban will further trade off Sri Lanka accountability, to
assure a second term as Secretary General which Russia could veto.
Ban depicted in camp with gun, full report and 2d term as S-G still not
shown
Inner
City Press
also asked Haq to confirm that the “senior advisers” that Haq on
April 18 said would review the Sri Lanka report include Ban's chief
of staff Vijay Nambiar, whose role in the so called white flag
killings of surrenderees at the end of the conflict have been
described in a filing with the International Criminal Court.
Haq
indicated that
yes, Nambiar is a senior adviser. But what about the apparent
conflict of interest?
A
wire service
reporter told Inner City Press on Tuesday in front of the Security
Council that his organization has already “moved on” to stories
about reactions to the Sri Lanka report, and will have little
interest when Ban belated makes the UN release of the report and
“analysis.”
One
couldn't have
done a better job of undermining this report, it is opined. Watch
this site.
* * *
As
UN Security Council Hears of Sri Lanka Report, Russia Objects,
Ban Ki-moon to Moscow, Sacrifice for 2d Term?
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
April 19 -- Sri Lanka and the UN Panel of Experts' report
were listed in advance as topics of the Security Council briefing on
the afternoon of April 18 by UN Department of Political Affairs chief
Lynn Pascoe. Click here for
that exclusive Inner City Press report.
The issues had been so listed even before the leak,
presumptively by the government of Mahinda Rajapaksa, of a summary of
the report to The Island newspaper.
But
after the
leak, that was the main topic inside the Council, multiple sources
told Inner City Press afterwards. It was said, inside the Council,
that the government was the likely leaker. But a range of Council
members said it made no sense to have a discussion of a partial leak
rather than the whole report.
Just
as Russia
opposed any Council discussion of Sri Lanka during the final, bloody
stages of the conflict in 2009, on April 18, 2011 in the Council
Russia raised a number of “procedural” objections, sources told
Inner City Press afterward.
It
should be noted
that in the cases of Ivory Coast, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
took action, even military action, over Russian objections. Now, Ban
is on his way to Russia, seemingly to try to smooth that over and
seek to protect his chances at a second term as Secretary General,
which Russia could veto.
Will
meaningful
action on the UN Panel of Experts report on Sri Lanka be sacrificed
to Ban's drive for a second term? Watch this site.
