By Matthew Russell Lee
www.innercitypress.com/unban1fonseka020910.html
UNITED NATIONS, February 9, updated -- A day after his spokesman dodged questions about Sri Lanka's arrest of opposition candidate Sarath Fonseka, on Tuesday afternoon UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon "intends to speak" with President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Mr. Ban's spokesman Martin Nesirky announced the scheduled telephone call in response to a follow up question by Inner City Press. Video here, from Minute 7:36. Nesirky had a prepared statement, "urging the authorities to follow due process of law" and "provide all necessary protections" in the run up to "Parliamentary elections."
Inner City Press had asked on February 8 if the Rajapaksa administration's violent arrest of Fonseka was the type of "provocative act" which Ban had counseled against. Nesirky had declined to apply Ban's general statement to the facts on the ground.
On February 9, Inner City Press contrasted the Rajapaksas' dissolving of parliament and calling for snap elections with their arrest of their main opponent. Could the coming elections be considered free and fair?
Previously Ban declined a request at the UN provide safeguards of fairness to the presidential round of elections, which Fonseka has challenged as riddled with fraud. After that vote, Ban even expressed "relief" at how well it had done.
Now that journalists have been harrassed, censored and prosecuted and the main opponent arrested, might Ban and the UN at least attempt to provide some type of safeguards for the second, Parliamentary round?
And since Ban has said he is considering appointing a panel on investigating Sri Lanka war crimes, and presidential brother Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has since rejected any UN investigation, will Ban raise then announce the panel, which UN Special Rapporteur Philip Alston and others have called for? Watch this site.
Footnote: Also on the war crimes front, Sri Lanka'a Ambassador to the UN Palitha Kohona has now denied that the UN's Vijay Nambiar was even in Sri Lanka at the time LTTE leaders were executed while surrendering with white flags.
Inner City Press, which has asked the question publicly without public answer, understands that the UN is being asked again for the specifics of Mr. Nambiar's involvement, whether he was given and conveyed assurances of safety and legal compliance from the Rajapaksas which were then violated.
On February 9, Inner City Press asked as it had on February 8 about attempts by Kohona and Sri Lanka's foreign minister to reach Mr. Ban to cancel a press conference on war crimes by UN Special Rapporteur Alston, which request was referred to Nambiar. The day after he said he would find out, Neskiry on Tuesday had no answer. Video here, from Minute 9:50. He called it a small thing -- as Inner City Press had, in an abundance of caution -- but again said he would "look into it." We'll see.
And see, www.innercitypress.com/unban1fonseka020910.html
