UNITED
NATIONS, April
4, updated
-- While the
UN talked Mine
Awareness on
Thursday, a
country for
which it has a
full time
envoy, Vijay
Nambiar to
Myanmar,
has very
little Action
on Mines.
Inner
City Press
asked a UN
panel about
Myanmar, and
about UNDP
turning
over mine
action to the
Sri Lanka
army, depicted
in the UN's
own
reports as
engaged in war
crimes. Video
here from
Minute 14:34.
The
UN's Dmitry
Titov, now on
the Rule of
Law, gave the
historical
view
on Myanmar,
saying the UN
has been
“trying to
engage
Myanmar” but
“so far, has
not seen
considerable
response.”
UN
Mine Action's
Paul Heslop
tried to put a
more positive
gloss on it,
while passing
the issue to
UNDP: “There
is engagement
with the
government
with regard to
setting up
Mine Action
Program,” it
is at
an “early
stage” with
“UNDP taking
the lead.”
They
passed the
microphone, if
not the buck,
to Timothy
Horner of
UNDP,
who said there
is a “lot of
confusion on
presence of
mines in
Myanmar.
On
Sri Lanka,
ignoring the
war crimes
aspect, he
said that UNDP
works on
mines in 23
countries, has
been up to 40.
“It's all
about
capacity,” and
said, and
handing over
to
governments.
He
acknowledged
that “Sri
Lanka hasn't
signed the
treaties,” but
said it is
responsible
for the safety
and security
of its
citizens.
And
how about
those killed
in the “Blood
Bath on the
Beach”? Don't
expect to hear
about this
from UNDP. Or
really from
the UN,
anymore.
This has been
a low point of
Ban Ki-moon's
time as UN
Secretary
General. Watch
this site.
Update:
Later
on Thursday was
an event
about
landmines
featuring UN
Peacekeeping's
stonewalling
chief Herve
Ladsous,
who has
refused to
answer Inner
City Press
questions
about
accepting
Shavendra
Silva of
Sri Lanka as
an adviser,
about safeguards
not to spread
cholera as in
Haiti,
about 126
rapes in
Minova by his
partners in
the Congolese
Army. The
MC was from
DPI, which
lets Ladsous
spin on its UN
Radio. Tick
tock, tick
tock. #Ladsous2013.
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