By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, February 25 – Ban Ki-moon's United Nations' ambivalent approach to war crimes in Sri Lanka continues.
Last week, Ban's spokesman told Inner City Press Ban is aware of the photographs showing the Army's execution of a 12 year old boy in 2009. The photos are in the new Channel 4 film, “No Fire Zone: Killing Fields of Sri Lanka.”
Now the government is trying to ban the film from the session of the UN Human Rights Council that opened today. Inner City Press asked Ban's deputy spokesman Eduardo Del Buey if Ban thinks the film should be blocked from screening in UN premises.
Del Buey had a prepared statement, which used the word “accountability” but again referred to a "national process" and said it is up to member states. Video here, from Minute 21:40.
This is what Ban told Inner City Press when asked why he accepted Sri Lankan general Shavendra Silva as Senior Adviser on Peacekeeping Operations: "it was the member states that decided," he told Inner City Press: in that case, the Asia Group of states.
(Now when the Asia-Pacific Group is Palestine as one of its three vice presidents for the upcoming Arms Trade Treaty, Inner City Press is reliably informed that a representative of Ban's Secretariat opined in closed door informal consultations that Palestine despite the November General Assembly vote that it is now a non-member observer STATE should have no more right to participate that last summer, when it sat in the corner.
Why isn't THIS up to the Asia Group and member states?)
Sri Lankan sites are abuzz and a-Tweet with a photograph of Shavendra Silva with US military personnel, alternatively called Naval or Marines, giving a talk about defeating terrorism. Where did it take place? Did the US government allow it?
Footnote: The last “Killing Fields of Sri Lanka” film was not screened inside the UN in New York, though Sri Lanka's Mission to the UN including Shavendra Silva were invited in to present what they called their rebuttal. Click here for coverage by the Sri Lanka Campaign. This outrage reverberates still, here, this week, click to view. Watch this site.
