As UN Releases Sri Lanka Report, Ban Says He Can't Investigate w/o Consent or Vote
By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, April 25 -- After close of business on April 25, the UN belatedly released -- and immediately undermined the recommendations of -- its Panel of Experts report on war crimes in Sri Lanka, eleven days after the UN told Sri Lankan Deputy Permanent Representative Shavendra Silva it would be released in 36 hours.
The Report was released along with a page and a half cover letter by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, which in pertinent part states that
“In regard to the recommendation that he establish an international investigation mechanism, the Secretary-General is advised that this will require host country consent or a decision from Member States through an appropriate intergovernmental forum.”
Ban "is advised" by whom? This is a huge letdown, and some say abdication. We will have more on this.
Inner City Press, which obtained and quickly up online Monday morning a leaked copy of the report, asked Silva about the report and its delayed release late Monday afternoon in front of the UN Security Council, which Silva visited for more than a half hour.
Silva said he'd seen the publication on Inner City Press, as well as the day's UN noon briefing, at which questions about the involvement of Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's chief of staff Vijay Nambiar were left unanswered.
Silva is quoted in the Panel's report, as well as his role in the 58th Battalion, which moved in on the so-called No Fire Zones. He was polite but non committal.
Ban's undermining of the Report's recommendation must make him, and the Rajapaksa and certain others, relieved. Full Story>>>--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Russia and China Should Stop Blocking Justice for VictimsApril 25, 2011Press release
