By Matthew Russell Lee
www.innercitypress.com/lanka5unfollow031610.html
UNITED NATIONS, March 16 -- Stressing that his panel on Sri Lankan war crimes will only report to him, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday told the Press that the Non Aligned Movement "misunderstood" his announcement about the panel.
Inner City Press asked Mr. Ban, in a press conference before his travel to Moscow for a meeting of the Middle East Quartet, to respond to criticism that he has moved much more slowly on presumptive war crimes in Sri Lanka in early 2009 than on the killing of 150 civilians in Guinea in September.
There will be "no delay" in naming the panel, Mr. Ban replied. The previous day, his spokesman Martin Nesirky told Inner City Press the panel would not be established very soon. So which is it -- "no delay" or "not very soon"?
Mr. Ban said he will be responding directly to the NAM, which wrote that "there is nothing in the U.N. charter that authorizes intervention in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state, without prejudice of course to the application of enforcement measures under chapter VII."
Several of Ban's advisors have expressed outrage at the NAM letter. The request for the letter by the Rajapaksa government been ascribed to "internal politics" in Sri Lanka. But it would set a precedent.
As Inner City Press asked Mr. Ban, "the argument would apply to other countries, from Myanmar to Guinea to North Korea." He did not respond to this aspect, nor to the comparison in speed to his actions on Guinea. Did the NAM letter slow his hand? Mr. Ban has now said there will be "no delay." We'll see.
Footnote: later in his March 16 press conference, unprompted, Ban said that while "standard diplomatic practice" is to agree on how to describe a phone conversation, not only Israel but also Sri Lanka have recently violated that practice or protocol. For Israel, the reference was to statements that Ban was told to be "more balanced."
For Sri Lanka, it appears to refer to President Mahinda Rajapaksa's statements about how he stood up to, or dressed down, Ban during their call about the panel. But why then say, as Ban's spokespeople have, that the panel's appointment will be "not very soon"? What will "no delay" mean?
UN transcript below, video here
Inner City Press: Mr. Secretary-General, you've received a letter from the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) which argues that you and your office as Secretary-General really don't have any jurisdiction over human rights or alleged war crimes. The letter is about Sri Lanka, but the logic would apply to Myanmar, Guinea, North Korea. I wonder what's your response to their argument of limiting the scope of your jurisdiction, and how do you explain what some see as the delay in naming a panel compared to, say, what you did in Guinea, where you named one and it's already reported out? Some say that the NAM letter has caused you to delay naming a panel to advise you on Sri Lanka. Can you respond to that?
SG Ban Ki-moon: First of all, about the letter addressed to me by the Non-Aligned Movement. It is clear from the NAM letter that there is a misunderstanding on the nature and purpose of the panel of experts that I intend to establish. I will take this up directly with the Non-Aligned Movement. On this report which you have seen quoting the Sri Lankan Government, that my establishment of this commission of experts would be tantamount to interfering in the internal matters of Sri Lanka, again this is in accordance with the joint statement issued as a result of my visit and as a result of my meeting with President [Mahinda] Rajapaksa, in May last year. It contained, this joint statement contained, a commitment related to ensuring an accountability process for addressing valuations of international humanitarian and human rights laws. The panel I am establishing will advise me on the standards, benchmarks, and parameters, based on international experience, that must guide any accountability process such as the one mentioned in the joint statement. Now this panel will report to me directly and not to any other body. It is well within my power, I believe. I am convinced that it is well within my power as Secretary-General of the United Nations to ask such a body to furnish me with their advice of this nature. This does not in any way infringe on the sovereignty of Sri Lanka. I'd like to make it clear that there will be no delay in the establishment of the panel.
We'll see. And see, www.innercitypress.com/lanka5unfollow031610.html
