Inner City Press: Investigative Reporting from the United Nations

On Sri Lanka, After Russia Bashes UN Report, Ban Withholds It, Asks Medvedev to Support Him for Second Term as S-G

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, April 22 -- Shortly after reneging on his Spokesperson's Office repeated commitments that the UN Panel of Experts' report on Sri Lanka war crimes would be released “this week,” UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told Russian leader Dmitry Medvedev, "I'd like to really count on your strong support, leadership and guidance in continuing my work as secretary-general.”

In Colombo, Russia's Ambassador Valdimir P.Mikhaylov had the previous day appeared at a press conference with Defense chief and presidential brother Gotabaya Rajapaksa and said "unfortunately it seems that the panel of experts went beyond its task, at least as it had been made known to our representatives of New York... we speak not about a 'UN report', since it was prepared neither by a UN body or nor even by its request. It was just a personal initiative of the UN Secretary General.”

In this context, for Ban to ask Russia in this way and at this time not to veto the second term he wants seems to many to telegraph that while the report may inevitably be released, Ban will not take serious action on it.

Ban and Nambiar, Pascoe and Sri Lanka report still not shown

As leaked to The Island newspaper, presumptively by the government, the report urges Ban to himself investigate the UN's own compliance with international humanitarian law.

Ban's own chief of staff Vijay Nambiar was involved in the so called white flag killings of surrenderees, as described in a filing with the International Criminal Court.

As such, Nambiar is at a minimum a witness, perhaps a person of interest, in a violation of international humanitarian law.

But Ban has allowed Nambiar to be involved since then in the work on the Panel of Experts, including handing the report to General Shavendra Silva, reviewing the reports and, it seems, deciding not to release it when promised.

On the morning of April 21, Inner City Press asked Ban's top two spokesmen to "please state the role of Mr. Nambiar in reviewing the report." No response has yet been received, more than 24 hours later. We will have more on this. Watch this site.

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On Sri Lanka, UN Reneges on Releasing Report “This Week,” 3 More Days

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, April 21 -- After the UN said it would release its Panel of Experts' report on Sri Lanka “this week,” at 6:20 pm the evening before the Easter holiday UN acting deputy spokesman Farhan Haq backtracked and announced that it would not be released this week. He referred to “after the Easter holiday,” but he had also said “this week.”

The expectation had been that the long delayed report, on which Sri Lanka's Rajapaksa government has already called protests and begun to solicit signatures for a petition of opposition, would finally be released at the April 21 noon briefing.

But Farhan Haq remained on the phone half an hour into the briefing. When he arrived, Inner City Press asked:

Inner City Press: Yesterday you said, 'We’re expecting a response from the Government of Sri Lanka. That doesn’t need to tie our hands. As I have said repeatedly, we will put it out this week.' So what changed?

Acting Deputy Spokesperson Haq: That hasn’t changed; the week is still happening.

Inner City Press: Yeah, but tomorrow is Easter. It’s Easter holiday.

Acting Deputy Spokesperson: Tomorrow is not Easter. Tomorrow is Good Friday.

Inner City Press: I understand; the UN is closed tomorrow. So why would you put out a report when the UN is closed?

Acting Deputy Spokesperson: We’ll put out a report as soon as we can. We are also, like I said, in discussions and we’re trying to give the fair opportunity — which is a reasonable thing — to allow for people the right of response. At the same time, that doesn’t bind our hands. I have made it clear: we will put out the report and we will put it out in full, and without amendment.

Inner City Press: Does this week mean tomorrow? Or are you counting the weekend?

Acting Deputy Spokesperson: I can’t… It could mean later today. We’ll keep you posted on when we put this out.

Again Haq said “this week,” that nothing had changed, that the UN hadn't allowed Sri Lanka to bind the UN's hand. Then six hours later he announced that the report would not be released on Thursday, and not at least for the three days after that.

Inner City Press asked

Inner City Press: Can you confirm that yesterday there was a meeting in the North Lawn Building by the secretariat of the Panel and UN agencies, very much anticipating that it would be released today? And if you do confirm, that’s one. And two is, sort of, what changed? On 12 April or 13, was it Mr. [Vijay] Nambiar who handed in to Shavendra, General Shavendra Silva? And did he say, “you have a chance to respond?” Why would you allow them at the last second to sort of… has something changed between then and now that you would now put this off today?

Acting Deputy Spokesperson Haq: The discussions have been going on for some time, and they continue to be going on. Like I said, we are working in good faith to accord to the Member State involved the rights to which they reasonably can be seen to exercise. At the same time, this is a very serious issue. It is very important that the report comes out, and we do intend to put this out. Yes, we have briefed the relevant agencies about some of what they can expect. At the same time, we have made it… we’ve been very clear about not putting out bits of the report. We haven’t leaked the report. We’ve been basically working, like I said, in good faith to put this out at the appropriate time. And we will put this out at the appropriate time.

Haq turned on to other questions. Finally Inner City Press noted it had “more questions on Sri Lanka, including the ones I e-mailed you.” These questions, posed in the morning of April 21, have not been acknowledged or answered

“please state the role of Mr. Nambiar in reviewing the report, please disclose how much was spent by the UN in preparing the report, please state whether the Panel or any member traveled to Sri Lanka and if not, why not, and please deny or confirm and describe any meeting by any Sri Lanka government official since the Panel's work began.”

Watch this site.

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On Sri Lanka, As UN Further Delays Release of Report, Pascoe Tells Press He Didn't Know - So Nambiar In Charge?

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, April 21 -- In a loss of nerve that sadly is not surprising, the UN Secretariat on Thursday delayed its noon briefing in the expectation that it would belatedly release its Panel of Experts' report on war crimes in Sri Lanka -- and then did not release the report.

Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's acting Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq came in half an hour late and said that he “still expects” the report's release, but it did not happen at the briefing. He said Sri Lanka is being given another chance to submit a response.

Inner City Press asked about Haq's statement just the previous day, April 20, that while the UN was “expecting that there will be a response from the Government of Sri Lanka... That doesn’t need to tie our hands down regarding when we are going to put out this report. As we have said repeatedly, we’ll put it out this week.”

Haq said it is only Thursday. But Friday is a UN holiday (and UN staff get “early release” on Thursday). In any event, was it true that the UN's hands weren't tied down?

After asking more questions at the “noon” briefing, Inner City Press ran to the Security Council and caught up with the head of Ban's Department of Political Affairs, Lynn Pascoe, coming out of the morning's meeting on the Middle East.

Inner City Press told Pascoe that the Sri Lanka report had not, in fact, been released.

“You've told me something I didn't know,” Pascoe told Inner City Press. “I've been busy.”

Why was it not released?

“I'll find out,” Pascoe said, leaving.

It seems clear that Ban's chief political adviser wasn't told that the report wouldn't be released. Ban is traveling to Russia. So who made the decision?

Sources tell Inner City Press of the involvement, still allowed by Ban, of Vijay Nambiar, whose role in the so called white flag murders of surrenderees in Sri Lanka has been described in a filing to the International Criminal Court.

This UN sinks lower and lower. Inner City Press asked Haq if the Panel of Experts will hold a press conference and answer questions, as was done by Ban's Panel on the murder of Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan.

The Sri Lanka panel has disbanded, Haq said. Watch this site.

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On Sri Lanka, UN Gave 196 Pages to Silva, Asked 24 Then 36 Hours, Got Played

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, April 19 -- On Sri Lanka, with the UN Secretariat in seeming paralysis holding back the war crimes Panel of Experts' report five full days after portions were leaked, presumptively by the government, to The Island newspaper, sources have described the process to Inner City Press.

The report, they say, is 196 pages long. On April 11, Inner City Press learned that it would be handed to Ban Ki-moon on April 12. After it was, it was also provided -- on hard copy only -- to Sri Lanka's Deputy Permanent Representative, General Shavendra Silva, who is himself implicated in war crimes in the final stages of the conflict.

The UN told Shavendra Silva that Ban would be releasing the report in 24 hours, sources tell Inner City Press. Silva responded that the Sri Lankan government wanted or needed “a little more time.” The UN replied that it would give 36 hours, tops.

But the 36 hours came and went. And by then a scan of the hard copy had been provided to The Island, a newspapers with agrees with President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The Island ran it, with typos as identified by Inner City Press.

Inexplicable to many, Ban and the UN Secretariat even then did not release the report. They held it over the weekend, and did not release it either Monday or Tuesday. They have, many say, undermined the report.

The Experts, too, have done their part. Their report as excerpted says that all international staff left an area, then has international staff witnessing the shelling of a medical facility. This will be fodder for the government's response. But the government of Rajapaksa has already responded, with a call for mass protests against the UN report on May 1.

Why did Ban do this? Why did he never call for a ceasefire? Why did he send Nambiar as his envoy, and still allow him to be involved after his role in the so-called white flag killings of surrenderees? What will Ban discuss with Russia on his upcoming visit? How might this all be used to assure a second term as Secretary General? Watch this site.

Footnote: beyond misleading about the meeting of Attorney General Mohan Peiris with Ban's now invisible panel, it's reported that during that secret session, the UN agreed to give Sri Lanka some extra weeks before the filing of the report. It was extended to April 12, the day before the New Year in Sri Lanka, when all of the above then happened. One couldn't have done more to undermine a war crimes report.

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These reports are usually also available through Google News and on Lexis-Nexis.

Click here for a Reuters AlertNet piece by this correspondent about Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army. Click here for an earlier Reuters AlertNet piece about the Somali National Reconciliation Congress, and the UN's $200,000 contribution from an undefined trust fund. Video Analysis here

Other, earlier Inner City Press are listed here, and some are available in the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.

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