By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, November 22 -- Will the Sri Lanka accountability panel of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon even ask to interview General Shavendra Silva, now posted in New York as the country's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN?
Inner City Press put this question to Ban's acting Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq on November 22, the day after a widely circulated article “'War Criminal' Gets a UN Job.”
“The deputy permanent representative is an employee of the government of Sri Lanka, I would refer those questions to the government of Sri Lanka,” Haq replied. Video here, from Minute 46:08. The government of Sri Lanka, of course, has arrested and barred entry by journalists covering war crimes. Haq and the UN have referred those questions to UNESCO, which has of late said nothing.
Inner City Press asked, since Ban's panel chief Marzuki Darusman is this whole week in South Korea, how much time the panel members are putting into their review of Sri Lanka. Haq replied “they are putting in considerable time,” adding that “a secretariat putting together information.”
But will Ban's panel even ask to interview Shavendra Silva, who was in charge during the alleged murder of those exiting with white flags, a process in which Ban's chief of staff Vijay Nambiar was involved, having only even purported to explain his role once, to a media now barred by Sri Lanka?
“As you are well aware we have not been putting out a day by day summary of the people from whom the panel gets information,” Haq replied. He said the panel will submit a report to Ban, “then we'll have information.”
But will the report even be public?
Haq said that Ban Ki-moon will decide. So the UN cannot even say it will ask to interview Shavendra Silva, and will in all probability never even make clear if it asked to interview him. Some panel.
Footnote: that a sitting General like Silva would come in the Deputy and not Permanent Representative spot has been marveled at by other diplomats at the UN. Another DPR has even asked Silva about it.
Monday at the UN Security Council, Silva was not seen. Rather, Perm Rep Palitha Kohona handed Inner City Press his statement on "Protection of Civilians," saying "quote from it." Okay: "the Government policy of zero civilian casualties had a deep impact [on] the country's professional armed services." Just ask Shavendra Silva -- if you can.
From the UN's November 22 transcript:
Inner City Press: I want to ask you one thing about Sri Lanka. There is a story in, over the weekend, I guess it’s a confirmation or making more public that the headline story is “War Criminal Gets UN Job”. So, I am asking you to respond; the new Deputy Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka is in fact a general that was allegedly involved in the killing of the white flag people in which, I believe, that the Chief of Staff of the Secretary-General had some phone calls, not in any killing, had some knowledge of — what I wanted to know is whether, one, whether the UN has any response to a story that is entitled, at least, “war criminal gets job”; and two, whether the Secretary-General’s Panel would be interviewing an individual who is in New York City, entering the building, who is widely now linked to an alleged war crime?
Acting Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq: The Deputy Permanent Representative to the Mission is an employee of the Government of Sri Lanka, so I would refer those questions to the Government of Sri Lanka.
Inner City Press: What about the Panel’s role? I notice that Mr. [Marzuki] Darusman is today in South Korea. I wanted to get a sense on that Panel; how much time is actually being put into the Panel by the three members?
Acting Deputy Spokesperson: They’re putting in considerable time, and as you know, they also have a regular secretariat that is beyond the three panellists themselves; the secretariat that is putting together information so that work continues.
Inner City Press: Do they intend to talk to this individual who is now, you know, described in a widely [inaudible]?
Acting Deputy Spokesperson: As you are well aware, we haven’t been putting out a day-by-day summary of the people from whom the Panel gets information. They will report to the Secretary-General once they have their advisory report ready. And at that point we’ll have some information on that. But we don’t have…
Inner City Press: This is my last question now on that. Is there any idea yet whether that report will be made public?
Acting Deputy Spokesperson: We’ll have to see. As you know, it is an internal body, but it will be up to the Secretary-General to determine what he makes public once he received that information.
