Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/un2may5srilanka051109.html
UNITED NATIONS, May 11 -- New Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Monday said the UN should “cooperate with the government of Sri Lanka because we have to cooperate in all efforts against terrorism.” After a weekend in which the UN acknowledges over 400 civilians were killed in north Sri Lanka in the government's assault on the Tamil Tigers' refuge, Inner City Press asked Minister Davutoglu, called by some the “Turkish Kissinger,” if Sri Lanka should be put on the Security Council agenda and if not, how the international community should deal with the mounting crisis there.
“We have discussed this,” Minister Davutoglu began. He had met, among others, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at 3, and Ban Ki-moon at 4. “With us, the humanitarian situation is very important and should be improved. We support the UN Secretary General's position and efforts in this sense. But at the same time, it should all be within the rule of law,” meaning cooperation with the government of Sri Lanka.
Inner City Press followed up, would Turkey vote to put the situation in Sri Lanka on the agenda of the Security Council? “We will see,” Minister Davutoglu said, before turning to the question of Cyprus.
Turkey's fight with the Kurdish PKK, just as Russia's Chechen experience, was the elephant in the room or at the stakeout. Some said that the PKK are among very few non-Tamil supporters of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
The LTTE's foreign policy, such as it is, seems to be making or justifying the international community's (non) response to the bloodbath on the beach in north Sri Lanka.
And see, www.innercitypress.com/un2may5srilanka051109.html
