By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, December 16 -- The day after the submission deadline of the Sri Lanka war crimes Panel of Experts named by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, and after Inner City Press reported and asked about submissions being bounce back and rejected by the Panel, UN acting Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq told the Press that “there will be some extension of the deadline.”
On December 15 at noon, Inner City Press asked and wrote about the e-mail bounce backs. That evening, Inner City Press heard that based on the mounting questions, it was acknowledged that some extension might be required, though perhaps limited to those who could prove their submission was bounced back.
On December 16, Inner City Press asked about another form of rejection by the panel: packages of evidence sent by the Federal Express overnight mail service which were turned back at the listed UN address, on the third floor of the Dag Hammarskjold Library, with “no one to receive them.”
Inner City Press asked, does this reflect the Panel's lack of seriousness?
Haq said that while the Panel's three members “travel” -- though not to Sri Lanka, which they have not even asked to visit -- there is a Secretariat. But why then were e-mails bounced due to a full mail box? Why could Fed Ex packages not be delivered to the Panel?
It is estimated, to Inner City Press, that some 1100 submissions had been received as of the end of November. How many more were rejected or bounced back? Watch this site.
