On
Sri Lanka, As UN's Ban Speaks of IDPs' Comfort, UN Dismissive of
Abductions
By
Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, July 29 -- While UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon had said
he would closely monitor Sri Lanka's compliance with the commitments
made while
he was there in May,
for example to release by the end of the year 80% of the 280,000
Tamils it has detained, and to end impunity, the UN and Mr. Ban have
had little
to nothing
to say on these topics in last two weeks.
Meanwhile, Sri Lankan
President Mahinda Rajapakse has reduced
the 80% commitment to a 60%
"target," and his government has disbanded a commission of
inquiry into killings, including of 17 aid workers from Action Contre
La Faim, unilaterally declaring itself exonerated. Tellingly, two
UN
system staff members who were disappeared in white vans by the
government say they were tortured while in government detention.
On
July 29, at
what appears to be Ban's press availability before he goes on summer
vacation in South Korea, his spokesperson Michele Montas gave
questions to 15 journalists. While several were repetitive, none was
on Sri Lanka. At the conclusion of the press conference, as Ms.
Montas declared it over, Inner City Press asked
"what follow-up
have you made on the commitments of the joint statement that you
received from [President] Rajapaksa?"
Referring
to
written notes, Ban stated that he had raised the issue with Chinese
officials during his recent four day trip there, and that he spoke
about Sri Lanka with India's Prime Minister during the G-8 meeting in
Italy. As to what Ban said to President Rajapakse, rather than the
release of detained people, he emphasized that the conditions in the
detention camps should be improved. He did not mention the UN staff
who were abducted and they say tortured. Video here,
from Minute
44:28.
Ban's
answer was
clearly scripted. Therefore we report on some of the recent comments
of one of Ban's advisors, which more candidly reflect the UN's views
on Sri Lanka. This official told Inner City Press for example that
the UN
is not concerned with what the Tamil diaspora says -- "they
left when the going was good," he said. The official argued
that Ban has, in fact, stood up to the Rajapakses during his meeting
with them in Kandy. "He said, 'Please don't interrupt me,' and
you don't say that to a president."
But
the reason for
not raising the issue of the detained UN staff, it appears, is the
position
that they do not have immunity. "If they work for us
nine to five and then for the LTTE," the official said
dismissive, "if they need to be hauled up for questioning, the
UN can't tell the government you can't do that."
Inner
City Press
said, but the government threw them into a white van.
"They don't
need to ask your permission to paint their van," the UN official
told Inner City Press.
UN's Ban on July 29, tortured UN staff and
dismissive advisor(s) not shown
He went on to argue that "there are double standards
everywhere. Iraq -- who said anything? Or about China? Now there is
noise about human rights."
The
UN official was
openly skeptical of the number of civilians killed. "There are
sixty million Tamils in Tamil Nadu," he said. "If they are
not agitated there must be some reason. If 20,000 people died, do you
think Tamil Nadu would not be agitated? In 1983, there were reports
of a a major killing of Tamils... Mrs. Gandhi sent a message
overnight that it must stop, and it did. She didn't get the
information from the RAW, but from Tamil Nadu politicians, they have
family there."
Strangely,
this UN
official who said the UN should not listen to the Tamil diaspora
based his argument to dismiss the UN's own casualty figures on what
he call the lack of agitation in Tamil Nadu. It reflects how this UN
has been making and will continue to make its decisions. Watch this
site.
From
the July
29, 2009 transcript:
Inner
City Press: What follow-up have you made on the commitments of the
joint statement that you received from [Sri Lankan President Mahinda]
Rajapaksa?
Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon: In the margins of the Non-Aligned Meeting in Sharm
el-Sheikh, I had a bilateral meeting with President Rajapaksa of Sri
Lanka. There again, we reviewed what we had discussed during my
visit [to Sri Lanka], and I urged him to take the necessary measures,
first of all, to improve the conditions of IDP [internally displaced
persons] camps, so that they can have freer movement. And, as far as
the freedom of movement of the humanitarian workers, I think we have
ensured that freedom. And there needs to be more freedom for those
people living in camps – their living conditions should be
improved. And I also strongly urged him to reach out to minority
groups, like the Tamils, and to take the necessary measures to look
for this accountability process. Those are three points on which I
have strongly urged him, and he committed to me that he will abide by
all pledges that he made during my visit.
And I had an opportunity
of discussing this matter with some key players, like China and
India, during my visit to China. And during the time of the G-8
Summit Meeting, I had a talk with the Indian Prime Minister, so that
they could do all that they can. I have also discussed with the
Japanese Prime Minister and many other world leaders on these issues. I
am going to continue.
So are we, going to continue. Watch this site.
, 
