Lee: Rajapakse a Sinhalese extremist

The former Singapore prime minister also described the actions taken in 2009 by the Sri Lankan government against the Tamil minority as 'ethnic cleansing'.

August 13, 2013

COLOMBO: Former Singaporean prime minister Lee Kuan Yew has described Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse as a Sinhalese extremist.

He also described what happened in Sri Lanka in 2009, during the end of the civil war, as ethnic cleansing.

The father of modern day Singapore made this statement during a conversation with author Thomas Plate, who wrote the book ‘Citizen Singapore: How to Build a Nation – Conversations with Lee Kuan Yew.

Lee described Sri Lanka as an “unhappy country” as it was disunited between the Sinhalese and Jaffna Tamils for decades.

“Yes, they have beaten the Tamil Tigers this time, but the Sinhalese who are less capable are putting down a minority of Jaffna Tamils who are more capable. They were squeezing them out.

“That’s why the Tamils rebelled. But I do not see them getting rid of all two million-plus Jaffna Tamils. The Jaffna Tamils have been in Sri Lanka as long as the Sinhalese.” he said.

Here are some excerpts of the interview with Lee:

Plate: So what Asia saw was ethnic cleansing?

Lee: That’s right.

Plate: They [the Tigers] will come back, you think?

Lee: I don’t think they are going to be submissive or go away. The present president of Sri Lanka believes he has settled the problem; Tamil Tigers are killed and that is that.

Plate: See, that’s really a fascinating point, because to the extent that we have any sense of who you are at all, we think of you as this hard-boiled force first guy. But in fact your system of government is much softer, consensual and intelligent, whereas what the Sinhalese in Sri Lanka are doing is a caricature of a Lee who never existed.

Lee: I’ve read his speeches (Rajapakse) and I knew he was a Sinhalese extremist. I cannot change his mind.

In 2009, the Sri Lankan government crushed the Tamil Tigers, ending decades of civil war that tore the country apart between the Sinhalese majority and its Tamil minority.

However, many nations have condemned the Sri Lankan troops of breaching human rights during the war, claiming civilians were also killed during the military attack.

-Agencies

Grandpass attack to cover up Weliweriya killings – UNP

By Zacki Jabbar-August 12, 2013, 10:13 pm 

 The UNP yesterday accused the government of being up to its old tricks again, by instigating Saturday’s attack on the Grandpass Mosque in an attempt to erase the memory of the recent Weliweriya killings.

Public anger had been building up over the army firing on unarmed people in Weliweriya, who were only asking for clean water, UNP MP Harin Fernando told a news conference in Colombo.

MP Fernando said that in an attempt to divert attention from the Weliweriya shootings, which led to three persons, including two school boys, being killed and 60 injured, the Mosque assault had been planned and launched the day after the Ramazan Festival, when Muslims were still engaged in their religious obligations.

The Weliweriya shootings and Grandpass clashes could not have taken place without the knowledge of government leaders. Incidents of such nature including attacks on Churches had been continuing for a long time and could not have been sustained without backing from the very top, the MP alleged.

Muslim Ministers, MPs and Presidential Advisors in the ruling UPFA were also to blame for the repeated attacks on their religious places of worship and economic interests, Fernando said, adding that they should stop being puppets of the Rajapaksas and take concrete action without issuing mere statements which had achieved nothing.

Once again the old record "international conspiracies" was being played to explain all home grown problems including the Rajapaksa regime’s economic failure. The magic word would be heard more frequently in the run up to September’s Northern, Central and North-Western Provincial Council elections, Fernando said.

The MP said that the government’s favourite pastime was to blame all home grown problems on foreigners and it had been revived again with the law and order situation deteriorating further.

Anura Senanayake’s utterances betray the truths in Weliveriya murders –Those behind the dispatch of brutal army exposed

(Lanka-e-News-13.Aug.2013, 11.00AM) It has come to light that both Attanagalla ASP Jayalath Balagalla who gave evidence in Gampaha court on the 8 th at the post mortem examination , and Director of the CID Colombo, SSP D R L Ranaweera who led the evidence are engaged in a conspiracy to mislead the court.

Anura Senanayake’s utterances betray the truths in Weliveriya murders –Those behind the dispatch of brutal... by nelvely

Grandpass:A glimmer of hope after bedlam?

Editorial-August 12, 2013

Saturday’s mob attack on a new mosque at Grandpass and the attendant clashes have been condemned by all right thinking people. There have been several attacks on mosques and business places belonging to Muslims during the past several months.

A pluralistic society is not devoid of tensions among religious and ethnic groups, but they find expression in violence, threatening national unity only when fanatics are given the freedom to act according to their whims and fancies. The condemnable leniency with which mobs responsible for attacks on mosques and Muslim business places were dealt with on previous occasions have emboldened some organised bigots to continue their sordid operations.

However, the government has apparently moved fast to try to settle the dispute this time around either due to pressure from within its ministerial ranks or because it has learnt from its mistakes. This is a step in the right direction, we reckon.

Muslim parliamentarians including Cabinet ministers have banded together to demand that those responsible for Saturday’s attack be brought to book. Their call for action should be heeded.

The government continues to incur international opprobrium over incidents of religious violence because it has failed to dissociate itself from the groups responsible for such offences and, worse still, is seen to be shielding them.

Minister Rishard Bathiudeen and IGP N. K. Illangakoon have crossed swords over the Grandpass incident. The former has blamed the police for not taking action to nip the incident in the bud by dispersing mobs, but the latter has claimed that the police cautiously used minimum force to avoid a Weliweriya-like situation.

The minister’s allegation has yet to be substantiated but the police must be able to see the difference between the Weliweriya protest where villagers were demanding clean water and a violent mob attack on a place of religious worship. Both extremes—excesses and inaction—ought to be avoided by the police; what is needed is reasonable use of force to maintain the law and order in such a situation. The public outcry against Weliweriya crackdown cannot be used as an excuse for handling violent elements on the rampage elsewhere with kid gloves. The minister’s allegation against the police should be probed.

However, the multi-dimensional issue of religious violence is far too complex to be tackled by the law enforcement authorities alone. They, no doubt, have a pivotal role to play; they ought to curb violence, arrest perpetrators immediately and prevent trouble from spilling over into other areas. But, it is up to the government, religious leaders, opinion makers and other segments of society to address the root causes of religious violence and find solutions.

Unfortunately, whenever attacks are carried out on religious places the blame is placed squarely at the doorstep of the police, who are not entirely blameless, and the causes of such incidents go unaddressed and thus room is left for their recurrence.

Meanwhile, the practice of displaying religious symbols and images or putting up places of worship haphazardly, especially on the wayside and in places prone to violence, warrants serious attention of not only the government but also all religious institutions. At present, it is taken for granted obviously for political reasons. By no stretch of the imagination could it be claimed that an established religion cannot do without such mindless objectification in the form of countless images and symbols.

Now that a ministerial team’s effort to settle the Grandpass dispute has reportedly made a dent, the government should seriously consider having a permanent task force consisting of ministers representing different ethnic and/or religious communities to respond to similar situations fast while the police are ordered to swing into action at the earliest signs of trouble.

SL military intelligence collects details of TNA candidates in Mannaar

[TamilNet, Monday, 12 August 2013, 23:43 GMT]
The intelligence operatives of the occupying Sri Lankan military in Mannaar have been visiting the houses of candidates of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) taking part in the provincial elections and ‘registering’ the personal data, their affiliations and details of the family members in an intimidating way, the candidates taking part in the Northern Provincial Council elections say. Some of the ‘visits’ have taken place during the nights. 

Two different teams of intelligence operatives have been collecting details, one claiming that they were from ‘State Intelligence Service’ and the other team claiming as the intelligence division of the SL military in Mannaar. 

The visiting intelligence squads have been asking the TNA candidates where they studied in the past and their employment history. 

The details of family members and their whereabouts have also been registered by the visiting intelligence squads. 

A similar round of ‘intelligence harassment’ was reported before the nominations were filed to intimidate possible candidates from coming forward to participate in the elections. A former government agent of Mannaar, two lawyers, a doctor, a councillor and a village officer were intimidated this way before the nominations. 

Now, the second round of harassment targets those who have been officially nominated by the TNA.

SL minister punishes Batticaloa villagers for supporting TNA

[TamilNet, Sunday, 11 August 2013, 22:38 GMT]
More than 1,830 acres of paddy crops lying on the left hand channel of Unnichchai tank are in the verge of dying without water supply. Spill gates of the tank have been closed from July 25 as SL Deputy Minister in Rajapaksa government Vinayagamoorthy Muralidharan has imposed a ‘ban’ on water supply to farmers on the left channel as ‘punishment’ for their support to the parliamentarians of Tamil National Alliance in the Eastern Province, civil sources in Batticaloa said. 

The affected farmers blame the District Irrigation Engineer for penalizing them for seeking assistance from TNA parliamentarian P. Selvarasa. 

Further, the District Irrigation Engineer was also used by the Colombo government which was allegedly responsible for an attack on Tamil farmers who were cultivating paddy at Kozhuvaa-madu in Vaakaneari Poththaanai area on July 28. 

In that attack 22 Tamil farmers were injured. Following that episode, a group of farmers staged a protest demonstration against the District Irrigation Engineer, who is being used by the paramilitary leader Muraleetharan alias Karuna.

Sri Lanka mosque closes after attack by Buddhist mob

Hard-line Buddhist groups have mounted a campaign against Muslim and Christian targets                      12 August 2013 

A mosque in the Sri Lankan capital has been closed after an attack by a Buddhist mob over the weekend sparked clashes in which five people were hurt.

Muslims in Colombo's Grandpass area will now use an older place of worship which has been saved from demolition in a deal struck with the government.

But the authorities have also been condemned for failing to make arrests.

In recent months hard-line Buddhist groups have mounted a campaign against Muslim and Christian targets.

Last month, a group of Buddhist monks protested near the mosque, demanding it be relocated.

But during evening prayers on Saturday night Buddhist-led crowds threw stones at the mosque. Police imposed a curfew when Buddhists and Muslims clashed after the attack on Sunday.

The curfew has now been lifted but hundreds of police and special forces are still present on the streets of Grandpass, BBC Sinhala's Azzam Ameen reports.

'Troubling' attacks

The Sri Lanka Muslim Council confirmed that the mosque which was attacked would be abandoned for an older place of worship which the government had previously earmarked for demolition.

"We have a compromise deal worked out last night," Council President NM Ameen told the Agence France-Presse news agency. "From today, we are out of the new mosque," he said.

After a meeting with religious leaders the government withdrew plans to develop a canal behind the old mosque, allowing Muslims use of that site once more.

"Through a just solution, we have now peacefully solved the issue," minister Champika Ranawaka told reporters.

But the violence has sparked criticism, with Sri Lanka's main opposition UNP party condemning authorities for failing to make arrests.

"Not a single arrest [has been] made so far, when it comes to attacks against religious places over the past year. This why we are seeing more and more attacks," MP Harin Fernando told the BBC.

A US embassy statement said that the incident was "particularly troubling in light of a large number of recent attacks against the Muslim community".

The past year has seen mounting religious tension in the country as hard-line Buddhist groups have attacked mosques and Muslim-owned businesses, as well as churches and clergy.

In February, one group also called for the abolition of the Muslim halal system of certifying foods and other goods.

Buddhist hard-liners accuse Muslims and Christians of promoting extremism and trying to convert Buddhists to their own faiths. Both Muslims and Christians have denied such accusations.

The Buddhist Sinhalese community makes up three-quarters of Sri Lanka's population of 20 million.

During Sri Lanka's bitter civil war, the Muslims - a small Tamil-speaking minority, about 9% of the population - kept a low profile, but many now fear that ethnic majority hard-liners are trying to target them.

Media issued orders not to report Grandpass attack

Details

 

Created On Tuesday, 13 August 2013 06:31

Category: General

The private electronic and print media in the country have been issued orders by the Rajapaksa government not to report on the attack on a mosque in Grandpass last Saturday.

Soon after reports of the attack reached the media, journalists, photographers and video crew made their way to the Grandpass site.
However, when they returned to their offices with the report, the media personnel were informed that there have been orders not to publicize the mosque attack.
Saturday is the final day for Sunday newspaper stories, the Grandpass mosque attack was not given proper coverage and was only reported in a few paragraphs without giving accurate details.
The media has also received orders to stop reporting on the Weliweriya incident and to downplay the deaths that occurred due to the attack on civilians by the military.

President angry over Champika’s intervention in the Grandpass incident

Details

 

Created On Tuesday, 13 August 2013 09:36

Category: General

The President is displeased over Technology and Research Minister Champika Ranawaka’s intervention to amicably resolve the clash between Sinhala Buddhists and Muslims in Grandpass over a mosque, sources from Temple Trees said.

“There cannot be two heroes in the government. Why does Champika interfere in unwanted matters? I had planned it well through Faizer. I want Faizer to be popular among the people in Colombo Central. But this fellow managed to ruin it,” the President has said in front of several friends.
A group of Muslim ministers in the government like Rauf Hakeem and Athaulla had met at Senior Minister A.H.M Fowzie’s residence on the 11th to discuss this issue. At the outset of the discussion, the Muslim ministers have agreed that the Muslims would not move out of the mosque under any circumstance. However, prior to this decision, Minister Ranawaka had met with the trustees of the mosque and the Muslim people in Grandpass and agreed to cut down and remove the Bo tree next to the old mosque to enable the mosque premises to be expanded. The old mosque was built on a two perch land. The new mosque is being built on a four acre land.
The Muslim people have agreed to Minister Ranawaka’s proposal since the old mosque would receive more land if the Bo tree is removed.
The Muslim ministers who met at Fowzie’s residence were unaware of this development and had informed the President that the Muslims would not move out of the new mosque. After hearing about the agreement reached between Ranawaka and the trustees of the mosque, Hakeem had said that the President would not agree to the cutting down of the Bo tree. Therefore, the Muslim politicians have decided to consult the President before reaching a final decision. Upon being informed of the latest development, an angry President had shouted at Ranawaka in filth. “It is still a Bo tree although it is a wild tree. The cutting down of a Bo tree is a sin a person has to suffer for seven generations. Champika is Buddhist for namesake. I cannot be part of this sinful act. Start holding bodhi poojas at this Bo tree from tomorrow,” the President has said.
It is the President’s short sighted action that prevented the amicable settlement of the Grandpass mosque issue.

Join The Force For Unity – Enough Is Enough!

IJoin the force for unity – Enough is Enough!-August 13, 2013

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EU concerned on Weliweriya and Grandpass incident

TUESDAY, 13 AUGUST 2013 

While expressing concern over the incidents in Weliweriya and Grandpass, the European Union said it looked to the Sri Lankan authorities to ensure justice through speedy, impartial investigations and to enable all Sri Lankans to exercise their human rights freely.

Issuing a statement the EU delegation in Colombo said that “it is concerned over the recent incidents in Sri Lanka, including the deaths of three civilians following protests in Weliweriya on August 1 and the attack on the Grandpass mosque on August 10, which followed a number of other attacks on mosques and churches.”

“The right to freedom of peaceful assembly and the right to freedom of worship are fundamental to democratic societies and should be protected by the state,” the statement said.

Video: Gearing for outcry over Weliweriya TUESDAY, 13 AUGUST 2013  UNP members including MP Harsha De Silva distributing leaflets to the general public in Colombo, seeking their  participation and support for the protest to be held outside the Fort Railway Station tomorrow, against the Weliweriya incident. Pix by Nisal Baduge Read more..

ENTER Mahinda: President Decides To Relocate Weliweriya Hayleys; But Plant To Be Reopened Pending Relocation

August 13, 2013

Engaging for the first time on the Weliweriya clashes that left three people dead and over 20 wounded, President Mahinda Rajapaksa decided that the glove manufacturing plant residents in the area are accusing of contaminating the ground water will be relocated to a BOI zone.

In the interim however, Venigross Ltd, a subsidiary of Dipped Products PLC, owned by the Hayleys group will be reopened to permit management to meet existing orders. The factory shut its doors at the end of July after water demonstrations in the area reached fever pitch, a decision that was cemented following a meeting between the monk leading the Weliweriya protests, residents and company officials at the Defence Ministry on August 1.

Taking a stand for the first time since the armed forces called in to crush the demonstration in the Gampaha District town allegedly fired on unarmed protestors, President Rajapaksa held discussions with Rathupaswala area residents and relevant officials on the water crisis at the Presidential Secretariat last afternoon.

The President had ordered the relocation of the Hayleys owned plant that has been in the eye of the storm in Weliweriya to a investment zone, even if water tests found that the effluents from the factory was not the source of the contamination, a media release by the Presidential Media Unit said.

If the factory is found to be the source of contamination, the plant would be shut down permanently, the President promised as part of his “solution package” to Weliweriya residents. Read More

The Things Of Nature And The Nature Of Things

By Arjuna Seneviratne -August 13, 2013 

Arjuna Seneviratne

No.No one can justify saying that nature is unkind. In utmost kindness to this world of ours, it concentrated and hid from the regions of life on its crust, three things, namely, about 400 billion cubic meters of oil, about 300 billion tons of methane and most of its deposits of metals and silicon. In short, much of its potential and kinetic energy which, unleashed, could destroy the conditions required for life was sequestered where it can do the smallest damage.

In the habitable regions of the world, nature behaved in an opposite way. Instead of concentrating anything, it distributed everything, ensuring that the largest possible footprint on earth could sustain the continuity of life.  Willy-nilly, life became and prospered, stabilizing, balancing and recharging the inhabited parts of the planet through incredibly complex systems of material and creature cycling.

Human beings who used this system in the not too distant past understood the fine thread on which this balance hung, clearly recognized the pivotal part that distribution and sharing of life resources played in it and engineered their own life-systems to highly sensitized engagement of the human-environment interface.  Never letting human societies to get ahead of themselves, deeply in awe of and in instinctive recognition of the fact that they could not possibly fathom the interplays of nature, humankind managed the subtle task of harmonious-coexistence of ever growing populations with those of the natural world that they had to use in order to live. Read More

SL sells weapons to India

TUESDAY, 13 AUGUST 2013 

The Sri Lankan government has sold weapons to the Indian Government during the past three years, the Indian Defence Minister informed the Lok Sabha yesterday.

In a written reply to a Lok Sabha query on Monday, Defence Minister A. K. Antony said India’s three forces have spent more than Indian rupees 2.35 lakh crore for procuring weapon systems from several countries including Russia, Israel, the US, Britain, Poland, Slovakia, Finland and Sri Lanka.

According to the data provided by the Three Services’ headquarters, Russia has emerged as the biggest beneficiary of the imports by India by bagging business worth more than one lakh crore rupees.

Of the three forces, the Indian Army emerged as the biggest spender from 2010-11 to 2012-13 with purchases of more than 1.92 lakh crore rupees, Mr. Antony said in his reply.

In the Army procurement, the major expenditure has been on procuring missiles and armaments worth over one lakh crore rupees.

The Defence Minister said the Indian Government has changed the procurement procedure for promoting self-reliance in weapon manufacturing by giving priority to indigenous production.

Indian-built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant launched

12 August 2013

The INS Vikrant was launched amid chanting from ancient Hindu scriptures at the Kochi shipyard in the southern state of Kerala

Continue reading the main story

India has unveiled its first home-built aircraft carrier from a shipyard in southern Kerala state.

The 37,500 tonne INS Vikrant is expected to go for extensive trials in 2016 before being inducted into the navy by 2018, reports say.

With this, India joins a select group of countries capable of building such a vessel.

Other countries capable of building a similar ship are the US, the UK, Russia and France.

Monday's launch of INS Vikrant marks the end of the first phase of its construction.

The ship will be then re-docked for outfitting and further construction.

The ship, which will have a length of 260m (850ft) and a breadth of 60m, has been built at the shipyard in Cochin.

It was designed and manufactured locally, using high grade steel made by a state-owned steel company.

Vice-Admiral RK Dhowan of India's navy has described the launch as the "crowning glory" of the navy's programme to produce vessels on home soil.

Japanese war ships in Colombo TUESDAY, 13 AUGUST 2013  Two Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF) ships, Ariake DD- 109 and Setogiri DD- 156, arrived at the Port of Colombo for logistics requirements on Monday. The Sri Lanka Navy said that the ships are en route for Counter Piracy Operations off the Coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden. They were welcomed by the Sri Lanka Navy in accordance with naval traditions on arrival. Head of the team, Commander Escort Division 7, Captain Hirofumi Shimizu and Ships’ Commanding Officers, Commander Yoshihiro Kai and Commander Toshiyuki Iwanami paid a courtesy call on Commander Western Naval Area, Rear Admiral Sirimevan Ranasinghe of the Sri Lanka Navy at the Western Naval Command Headquarters in Colombo. They held cordial discussions and exchanged mementos as a gesture of goodwill. “Ariake” is a destroyer with two helicopters onboard. It is 150.5 meters in length. It consists of a complement of 200 naval personnel and has a displacement of 4,550 tons. “Setogiri” is also a destroyer with a helicopter onboard. It is 137 meters in length and has a displacement of 3,550 tons. It consists of a complement of 200 naval personnel. The ships’ complements will participate in a special programme organized by the Sri Lanka Navy during their stay in Sri Lanka. The visiting Japanese ships will stay in Sri Lanka tomorrow (14).

Govt. Grabs Lakshman Kadir’s Land In Jaffna

August 1, 2013 

The son of assassinated Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar has filed legal action against Government moves to acquire his ancestral property in Maviddapuram in the Jaffna peninsula.

Sriraghavan Kadirgamar filed a writ application in the Court of Appeal today, seeking a Writ Certiorari to prevent Lands Minister Janaka Bandara Tennakoon from acquiring the property though his attorney, Lilanthi De Silva.

The former Minister who inherited the land from his mother, was a strong critic of the LTTE and considered Sri Lanka’s best foreign minister of all time. Minister Kadirgamar’s brothers have also extended yeoman service to Sri Lanka, as military officers of rank and eminent lawyers.Read More

Kadir’s Land Grabber Unveils His Statue

The President Mahinda Rajapaksa  unveiled a statue of the former Foreign Minister the late Lakshman Kadirgamar at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute for International Relations and Strategic Studies in Colombo yesterday (August 12).
The unveiling ceremony had been organized to co-inside with Kadirgamar’s eighth death anniversary. Last week the son of assassinated Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar has filed legal action against Rajapaksa regime moves to acquire his ancestral property in Maviddapuram in the Jaffna peninsula. 

Read More

Land Grabs: Exultant State V. Agonized Citizen

By T.M.Thaenmozhi -August 9, 2013 

Land grabs i.e. the acquisitioning of land by the State/Military has been in the news more often than necessary throughout this year. This last week we saw it becoming headline news again as we learnt thatSriraghavan Kadirgamar the son of late Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar had filed for a Writ of Certiorari in the Court of Appeal to prevent his ancestral lands in the Maviddapuram area, in North Valikamam (which were previously in the HSZ) being taken over by the military for security purposes ostensibly to build a Defence Batallion Headquarters for the Jaffna District. This petition by the son of an illustrious person again brought home the apparent devil may care attitude, which the government has been employing in its land acquisition procedure. This petition also follows upon the earlier petitions filed in the Court of Appeal and in the Supreme Court by thousands of landowners in the Valikamam area protesting the acquisition of their lands for the purpose of building the aforesaid Defence Headquarters.  These cases are still being heard before the courts.                    Read More 

After UN Mute on Sri Lanka Army Killings, Mosque Hit, UN Talks Stress Relief

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, August 12 -- After the Sri Lankan Army shot and killed protesters of water poisoned by the Hayleys conglomerate in Weliweriya, Inner City Press has twice asked the UN in New York if Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has any comment.

  After not being allowed to ask this Sri Lanka question on August 1, on August 2 Ban's spokesperson Martin Nesirky said he'd check if there was a comment. When Inner City Press asked again, Ban's Associate Spokesperson Farhan Haq on August 9 told Inner City Press, still no comment. SeeAugust 9 video here, from Minute 5:02.

  On August 10, a Buddhist mob attacked a mosque in the Grandpass section of Colombo, and after that a curfew was declared.

  The UN in Sri Lanka convened on a meeting on August 12. What was it about? It was "Meet the RC" (Resident Coordinator Mr. Nandy.) 

  And what did the UN's Mr. Nandy speak about? He read from UN scripts about Youth Day; he gave "stress relief" suggestions: go for a run, do tai chi. Is mosque burning a stress relief technique? Killing civilians?

  These answers debased the UN system. Not only UNDP in Sri Lanka, but other agencies like UNFPA's Lene Christiansen and UNICEF's Reza Hossaini, got in on the act. Certainly there are constraints in being the UN in today's Sri Lanka. But the UN in New York's no comment on the live fire, and silence on the mosque attack, put these agencies in this absurd position.

  Thirty seven days ago, Ban's deputy Jan Eliasson told Inner City Press he was near to completing his report on what the UN should learn from its actions (and inaction) during the slaughter in Sri Lanka in 2008 and 2009.

On August 2, as it had tried to on August 1, Inner City Press asked Nesirky for the status of the report, and if and when it will be made public. 
Video here, from Minute 13:43.

Nesirky said the report has recently been given to the Secretary General, and he is "studying it." He expects the Secretary General to have more to say about it -- "next month."

Can it take so long to study this report? September? We intend to be here, despite a threat by the UN Department of Public Information to suspend or withdraw Inner City Press' accreditation for merely hanging the sign of the new media freedom organization the Free UN Coalition for Access on the door to its shared office.  

  After rather than defending media under fire UNCA chose to further target it, the Free UN Coalition for Access was formed to defend journalists. Now this UN targets FUNCA.

  Nesirky on August 2, when Inner City Press asked about threats to journalists seeking to cover the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Colombo. said that Ban thinks journalists should be able to do their work without obstacle or intimidation.

The UN's Mr. Nandy's blithe blather about Youth Day echoed the non-responsiveness of the UN's DPI in New York, where when asked about declining media access and working conditions to cover the General Assembly when Ban was reading answers about Youth Day, DPI has entirely ignored the issues and questions from @FUNCA_info, and kept on tweeting photos of Ban, and comments about the Clintons, welcomes to Ambassador Samantha Power.

Meanwhile social media trolling started again on August 10from DPI's ongoing UN Censorship Alliance, which previously pushed, including by spying for the UN by first vice president Louis Charbonneau of Reuters, to get Inner City Press banned from the UN. Without obstacle or intimidation. Really? Watch this site.