UNITED NATIONS, July 6 -- In the wake of the government sponsored or allowed hostage taking of UN staff in Colombo, Inner City Press on Tuesday asked the Permanent Representative to the UN of a major South Asian country if he still supported Sri Lanka's requested Non Aligned Movement statement opposing the UN's war crimes panel.
We'll just stay out of it now, the Permanent Representative said. He and his Deputy expressed disgust at the Rajapaksas allowing hostage taking at the UN compound, and the burning of the Secretary General in effigy. Photos here. Very stupid, the Deputy called it.
But when Inner City Press late Tuesday asked several senior UN advisers about the hostage taking, they appeared ill informed and in disarray. One of the “Conspirators” portrayed on a sign board in Colombo only asked, “Did they spell my name right?” and thought that the dressing down of Sri Lankan Permanent Representative Palitha Kohona was enough.
Kohona was back on the scene on Tuesday, in the General Assembly Hall to hear Queen Elizabeth II's speech. Afterward he walked desperately through the hall, looking for hands to shake. They were few and far between. When your government allows the burning of the Secretary General in effigy, it tends to go this way. Ask Omar al Bashir, who still takes Ban Ki-moon's calls.
By day's end the question was, why hadn't Ban Ki-moon yet tried to call the Rajapaksas? Did he think they would not answer?
Was it beneath him, since he was the one burned in effigy? He will meet on Wednesday with Benyamin Netanyahu. And we will try to be there. Watch this site.
Footnote: Inner City Press has obtained, and now puts online as a public service, the NAM draft as of June 30. Click here to view. It is obvious how paragraph 4 conflicts with what's being asked of Ban about the Gaza flotilla attack.
“It is a well recognized international norm that in situations where there are allegations or breaches of international law that the country concerned should in the first instance be allowed to conduct its own investigation and to make known its findings.”
Another miscalculation by Sri Lanka. Watch this site.And see, www.innercitypress.com/sri6panel070610.html
