Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/un2may8srilanka051309.html
UNITED NATIONS, May 13 -- In a compromise heavily dominated by China, the European Union's UK, Austria and France congratulated themselves Wednesday on the passage of a nine-paragraph “Press Statement” by the Security Council on Sri Lanka.
While the government shells the civilians trapped in a dwindling area now smaller than New York's Central Park -- more like Tompkins Square Park, said one wag -- paragraphs two and three of the Statement condemn the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
Paragraph four expresses concern about “the continued use of high caliber weapons in areas with high concentrations of civilians,” without directly saying who is responsible for the shelling. From paragraph nine, the word “political” in the phrase “find a long term political solution” was taken out.
Inner City Press asked Council President Vitaly Churkin of Russia about this change. I am not discussing previous versions, Ambassador Churkin said. Video here.
After UK Ambassador John Sawers emphasized that the press statement kept the Council unified, Inner City Press asked him why it didn't mention access to the conflict zone by journalists, particular the reporters from UK Channel 4 who were expelled by the government after broadcasting exposes of rape allegations in the camps for “Internally Displaced People.” Sawers said it was a good point, but another Council diplomat soon told Inner City Press that no delegation, so including the UK, had felt strongly enough about journalistic access to raise it as an element.
Austria's Ambassador Thomas Mayr-Harting explained that there are underlying causes of the LTTE's fight, and that there is long term concern about how the government will run the IDP camps. Inner City Press asked why the EU hadn't pushed to put Sri Lanka on the Council's agenda, if there is long term concern. We didn't have to, he replied, we got the press statement. But what will this press statement do?
At Wednesday's UN noon briefing, Inner City Press asked UN Spokesperson about the UN's statement earlier in the week that food was getting into the conflict zone. Later in the day came this reply:
Subj: Your question on ICRC and Sri Lanka
From: unspokesperson [at] un.org
To: Inner City Press
Sent: 5/13/2009 12:40:26 P.M. Eastern Standard Time
Earlier today, an ICRC-flagged ship carrying 25 metric tonnes of food turned back due to fighting in the conflict zone, after the ship was also unable to reach its destination yesterday. An additional 500-tonne shipment of mixed food commodities is ready for departure from Trincomalee this evening. Another shipment of 25 tonnes of food is planned for tomorrow.
We'll see.
