Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/un3may1srilanka051509.html
UNITED NATIONS, May 15 – As the Sri Lankan government says it will overrun the so-called Safe Zone in 48 hours, at the UN in New York Secretary General Ban Ki-moon met with China's deputy foreign minister, and then attended a Republic of Korea-sponsored Buddhist event with, among others, Myanmar's representative. At the UN's noon briefing, Inner City Press asked about Ban's schedule, and for confirmation that he got to know Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa while he was a South Korean diplomat, and has privately described Rajapaksa in glowing terms. Video here, from Minute 14:26.
“I don't know about that,” Ban's spokesperson Michele Montas said. “I can try to find out.” As deadline six hours later, no information had been provided.
In the face of the Rajapaksa administration's final solution, Ban sent his chief of staff Vijay Nambiar, for the second time, rather than going himself. Nambiar's first trip was followed by accelerating civilian death. As Inner City Press reported at the time, his brother Satish served as a consultant to the Sri Lankan government, and went on to write an op-ed piece praising the government's deadly military campaign in the North and the general who led it. Click here to view Satish Nambiar's resume on the UN web site.
The UN has not answered on any of these issues, other than pointing out, on May 14, that Vijay Nambiar is not Sri Lankan.
Inner City Press asked if the World Food Program supplies which the UN on Wednesday said was going to be delivered to the conflict zone had in fact arrived. No, spokeswoman Michele Montas said, what WFP is doing is delivering food to the refugees and IDPs. As we will report on in more detail in the near future, the UN in Sri Lankan has a track record of delivering its aid only when and where the government says to, with the effect of ethnic cleansing.
It is on that note, complicity in war crimes, that we are reduced to ending this dispatch. Ban Ki-moon this week got a message, cc-ed to Inner City Press, which ended: see you at the International Criminal Court. There is talk of an investigation of the UN's refugee agency, for conspiring with the government to set up housing only where the government wanted to move the Tamils. Eventually, with or without effect, accountability will be apportioned. But right now in Sri Lanka it is a crisis. We close with this message, from the conflict zone:
13 May 2009
Dear Sir / Madam,
Heavy battle started since 5.30 am. Many wounded civilians were brought to hospital and hospital is not providing services because hospital was under shell attack. Few staff reported duty. nearly thousand patients are waiting to get daily treatment. But even simple wound dressing and giving antibiotics problems. So many wounded have to die. In the ward among patients many death bodies are there.
Looking hospital seen and hearing the civilians cry really disaster. Did they make any mistake do the world by the innocent. But the important sta[keholders] are just listening the situation and not helping the people.
Dr.T.Sathiyamoorthy
Regional director of Health Services
Kilinochchi (Now at No Fire Zone)And see, www.innercitypress.com/un3may1srilanka051509.html
