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As UN
Accused of Spying in Sri Lanka,
Satellite Photo Withholding Continues
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee
of
Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED NATIONS, May 4 --
With civilian deaths continuing in Sri Lanka's
conflict zone, the UN says it cannot confirm the number or cause of
casualties,
nor formally release satellite
photographs showing craters from shells dropped
from the remaining air force on the
island: the government's.
Last week, Inner City Press questioned top UN
humanitarian John Holmes
about why
the UNOSAT photos of April 19 were withheld, when photos of Gaza
were
released in real time during that conflict. On May 4, after Inner City
Press
asked about it again at the UN noon briefing, the following arrived as
an
e-mailed response:
Subj: From
OCHA,
for you
From: Deputy
Spokesperson at UN.org
To: Inner City
Press
Sent: 5/4/2009
6:43:45 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time
UNOSAT
produces a
complex range of satellite–derived products and analyses in support of
work of
the UN in response to and recovery from
natural disasters and complex emergencies. These are based on the
interpretation of commercially available satellite imagery from medium
to very
high resolution.
As a
matter of
principle, UNOSAT publicly posts maps, data and analytical reports in
order to
facilitate access to geographic
information by the international humanitarian
community, in particular during natural
disasters in order
to facilitate planning.
In cases
of conflict
and complex emergencies UNOSAT follows the advice of the UN
humanitarian
entities in charge of operations on the ground to maximize the
efficiency of
humanitarian aid.
This
approach was
applied to the UNOSAT analyses of the situation within the conflict
zone in
northern Sri Lanka. Two specific maps were publicly posted by us in
February
and March 2009, which were intended to facilitate planning to receive
the
displaced.
As concern
continued to mount about the situation of IDPs on the ground in the
conflict
zone, UNOSAT continued to commission imagery showing the position of
civilians.
While appreciated, the response only raises
more questions, or sharpens
them.
UNITAR's Carlos Lopes on April 29,
release of photos not shown
Particularly if UNOSAT (and UNITAR,
which runs it) released February and
March photos, why did they not release the April 19 photos and
analysis? Inner
City Press was told by UNOSAT's interlocutors at the UN in New York
that new
photos will be released, but as the UN closed on May 4, they had
not been
released, as least not where and as earlier month's photos were.
In Colombo, the government was dispute the leaked
photos, and
pro-government
press was accusing the UN and Ban Ki-moon of "spying."
This has been raised to the UN; we'll see what they do next. Watch this
site.
Click here
for an Inner City Press YouTube channel video, mostly UN Headquarters
footage, about civilian
deaths
in Sri Lanka.
Click here for Inner City
Press' March 27 UN debate
Click here for Inner City
Press March 12 UN (and AIG
bailout) debate
Click here for Inner City
Press' Feb 26 UN debate
Click
here
for Feb.
12 debate on Sri Lanka http://bloggingheads.tv/diavlogs/17772?in=11:33&out=32:56
Click here for Inner City Press' Jan.
16, 2009 debate about Gaza
Click here for Inner City Press'
review-of-2008 UN Top Ten debate
Click here for Inner
City Press' December 24 debate on UN budget, Niger
Click here from Inner City Press'
December 12 debate on UN double standards
Click here for Inner
City Press' November 25 debate on Somalia, politics
and this October 17 debate, on
Security Council and Obama and the UN.
* * *
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
Feedback: Editorial
[at] innercitypress.com
UN
Office: S-453A, UN, NY 10017
USA
Tel: 212-963-1439
Reporter's
mobile (and
weekends):
718-716-3540
Other,
earlier Inner City Press are listed here, and some are available
in the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.
Copyright
2006-08 Inner City Press, Inc. To request
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