Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/ban3srilanka021109.html
UNITED NATIONS, February 11 -- The day after UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called the crisis in northern Sri Lanka "under-reported" and spoke of sending a UN humanitarian assessment team there when he finds it appropriate, the level of UN's un-engagement in Sri Lanka became clear. Inner City Press, which asked Ban why he hasn't called for a ceasefire, on Wednesday asked Ban's spokesperson Michele Montas for information about Ban's assessment mission idea, whether the Sri Lankan government would grant access, and what level of UN official has been allowed into the Vanni region since September 2008.
Ms. Montas responded that "where Ms. Bragg will go with the delegation is going to be determined" once there, "if it can enter Vanni" is not known, but it will aim "wherever we have the highest civilian casualties." Video here, from Minute 12:52.
But as Inner City Press pointed out, the UN's Catherine Bragg is going to Zimbabwe, not Sri Lanka. Oh I see, Ms. Montas apologized. She acknowledged that the UN people given access are "operational people working on the ground." She added, "He feels that it is needed." But would the government give access? "We don't know yet," Ms. Montas said.
While on the one hand Ban's spokesperson went beyond his February 10 comment that he would send humanitarian assessment teams "whenever I think it is appropriate," but saying "he feels that it is needed," to mistake Zimbabwe for Sri Lanka raises more questions.
Later on Wednesday, Inner City Press asked the head of one of the UN humanitarian agencies, UNICEF's Ann Veneman, if the UN has had difficult accessing north Sri Lanka and especially Vanni. "We have difficulties with access now for our humanitarian work," Ms. Veneman answered, adding that she was in Northern Sri Lanka in 2005 and that her agency would get more information to Inner City Press. Video here, from Minute 30:05
Shortly after the press conference, Inner City Press e-mailed questions to UNICEF's spokesman:
"Are there areas of Sri Lanka to which UNICEF does not have access? How large and where are these areas? Have there been changes in the past days, weeks and months? Has there been any changes in recruitment or use of child soldiers in that time frame, to UNICEF's knowledge? What is UNICEF's view of the current upsurge in conflict's impact on children and women? Would UNICEF call for a ceasefire? If not, why not? Writing on this today."
The UNICEF spokesman left a voice mail, "I am not waking up any of our people in Sri Lanka on this one," he said. One reporter, hearing this, quipped that the UN has long been asleep in and on Sri Lanka. Watch this site.And see, www.innercitypress.com/ban3srilanka021109.html
