By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, March 11 – The UN did little during the killing of Tamils in Sri Lanka in 2009. Then the UN even accepted a military leader implicated in the mass killing, Shavendra Silva, as a Senior UN Adviser on Peacekeeping. On 5 March 2018, Inner City Press asked long time UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric, Inner City Press: Now that you've announced this Jeffrey Feltman visit to Sri Lanka, is it fair to say… there's been wildly reported mass violence against Muslims there, a state of emergency declared, and supposedly, the police standing by as mosques and Muslim businesses were burned. Is this something… what's the relationship between his trip and that? And do you expect him to address this problem? Spokesman: "Well, the trip… his trip was obviously planned before the recent state of emergency."
And now that it is over, on March 11 the UN released this canned summary, which does not mention restrictions on social media: "On March 11, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman concluded a three-day visit to Sri Lanka. His trip was planned as part of the ongoing strong engagement between the Government and people of Sri Lanka and the United Nations.
Under-Secretary-General Feltman met with President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe, Speaker of Parliament Karu Jayasuriya, Foreign Minister Tilak Marapana, as well as other political leaders and cabinet and government officials. He also appreciated the opportunity to compare notes with members of Sri Lanka’s diverse civil society, human rights representatives, and the diplomatic corps. Noting the recent appointment of Commissioners, Under-Secretary-General Feltman expressed hope that the Office of Missing Persons will soon be fully operational to help answer questions that haunt too many families from all across Sri Lanka about their missing loved ones. He also commended the Parliament’s recent adoption of the Bill for the Protection Against Enforced Disappearances as an important element of the Sri Lankan government’s commitment to its citizens. He underscored the importance of accelerating momentum on other initiatives, including regarding the constitution, truth and reconciliation, reparations, and counter terrorism, in line with the Government’s promise to strengthen the country’s democratic principles and practices. He expressed concern that many elements of the Government’s visionary 2015 program seem stalled, despite their importance to sustainable peace, security and prosperity in Sri Lanka, and he appreciated the reassurances from Government leaders of their intention to move forward. He encouraged the Government to communicate their actions and timelines for reforms to the Sri Lankan people. Regarding the recent communal violence, the Under-Secretary-General condemned the breakdown in law and order and the attacks against Muslims and their property. On behalf of the United Nations, he offered condolences to those affected. In that context, he met with Muslim political and civil society leaders to express concern and show solidarity. He urged swift and full implementation of the Government’s commitment to bring the perpetrators of the violence and hate speech to justice, to take measures to prevent recurrence, and to enforce non-discriminatory rule of law." Back on March 5, Inner City Press continued: Inner City Press: And just one… on Mr. Feltman, it seems that this is his final month. Is there… can you describe the process, if not names? Or do you expect to have an officer in charge? What's the current thinking in terms of DPA [Department of Political Affairs]? Spokesman: The current thinking is that the process is ongoing. If there is someone in time to take his post, then the person will be there in time. If there isn't, as there always is, when there is an administrative vacuum of leadership, there will be an officer in charge to ensure that the vacuum is filled. Inner City Press: And that would be Mr. Jenca? Spokesman: Let's get… cross that bridge when we cross it if we ever… or when we get to it." Back on 8 November 2017, Inner City Press asked UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric about torture that has continued since. UN transcriptbelow. On November 29 the UN in Geneva announced, "A three-member delegation from the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention will carry out an official visit to Sri Lanka from 4 to 15 December 2017 to assess the country’s situation regarding the deprivation of liberty. José Antonio Guevara Bermúdez, Leigh Toomey and Elina Steinerte will visit a variety of places where people are held, including prisons, police stations and institutions for juveniles, migrants and people with psychosocial disabilities, to gather first-hand information which will form part of their overall assessment. The delegation will visit Colombo as well as western, north-central, northern, eastern, southern and central provinces, where they will meet Government officials, civil society groups and other relevant stakeholders.
The experts will share their preliminary observations at a press conference on 15 December 2017 at 14:00 local time at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH), Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo 07. Access will be strictly limited to journalists. The Working Group will present its final report on the visit to the UN Human Rights Council in September 2018." From the UN's November 8 transcript: Inner City Press: torture in Sri Lanka. They've interviewed 50 individuals who were applying for asylum who give detailed accounts of being tortured under the current, not past, Government of Sri Lanka and saying that the military itself was involved. So, I'm wondering, one, if there's any reaction given the UN's involvement in the situation in Sri Lanka but also, given that the UN is increasingly using Sri Lankan troops in UN peacekeeping, what… what do you… when… when detailed allegations like this come forward, what does the UN do to ensure that the very people who may have been engaged in torture…Spokesman: As a matter of course, there is screening done in partnership with DPKO [Department of Peacekeeping Operations] and DFS [Department of Field Support] on ensuring that none of the troops that are committed to UN peacekeeping have any human rights abuses, allegations or issues hanging over their head. So, that's a screening process. Inner City Press: Do they self-certify? Or, given that these are new allegations published today… 50 people were interviewed…Spokesman: I'm sure that our… my colleagues upstairs are taking these things into account." We're not at all sure. On October 23, Pablo de Greiff, Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence, said delays in the implementation of commitments undermined trust and raised questions about the Government’s determination to undertake a comprehensive transitional justice program. "These delays contribute to the further politicization of discussions on transitional justice," he said. The UN should know - even before the killings of 2009, the IPKF killed Tamil civilians - and one UN connection involves Ban Ki-moon's son in law, whom he made the UN's resident coordinator in Kenya. This UN Resident Coordinator, like the previous one in Cameroon, even as Inner City Press reports on the Kenyan elections, blocks it on Twitter and deploys proxies; now this blocking has been picked up on October 20 by the UN's Department of Public Information deputy Maher Nasser, who used DPI to that day threat Inner City Press' accreditation. There were appreciated protests when the UN did this in 2016.
Under-Secretary-General Feltman met with President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe, Speaker of Parliament Karu Jayasuriya, Foreign Minister Tilak Marapana, as well as other political leaders and cabinet and government officials. He also appreciated the opportunity to compare notes with members of Sri Lanka’s diverse civil society, human rights representatives, and the diplomatic corps. Noting the recent appointment of Commissioners, Under-Secretary-General Feltman expressed hope that the Office of Missing Persons will soon be fully operational to help answer questions that haunt too many families from all across Sri Lanka about their missing loved ones. He also commended the Parliament’s recent adoption of the Bill for the Protection Against Enforced Disappearances as an important element of the Sri Lankan government’s commitment to its citizens. He underscored the importance of accelerating momentum on other initiatives, including regarding the constitution, truth and reconciliation, reparations, and counter terrorism, in line with the Government’s promise to strengthen the country’s democratic principles and practices. He expressed concern that many elements of the Government’s visionary 2015 program seem stalled, despite their importance to sustainable peace, security and prosperity in Sri Lanka, and he appreciated the reassurances from Government leaders of their intention to move forward. He encouraged the Government to communicate their actions and timelines for reforms to the Sri Lankan people. Regarding the recent communal violence, the Under-Secretary-General condemned the breakdown in law and order and the attacks against Muslims and their property. On behalf of the United Nations, he offered condolences to those affected. In that context, he met with Muslim political and civil society leaders to express concern and show solidarity. He urged swift and full implementation of the Government’s commitment to bring the perpetrators of the violence and hate speech to justice, to take measures to prevent recurrence, and to enforce non-discriminatory rule of law." Back on March 5, Inner City Press continued: Inner City Press: And just one… on Mr. Feltman, it seems that this is his final month. Is there… can you describe the process, if not names? Or do you expect to have an officer in charge? What's the current thinking in terms of DPA [Department of Political Affairs]? Spokesman: The current thinking is that the process is ongoing. If there is someone in time to take his post, then the person will be there in time. If there isn't, as there always is, when there is an administrative vacuum of leadership, there will be an officer in charge to ensure that the vacuum is filled. Inner City Press: And that would be Mr. Jenca? Spokesman: Let's get… cross that bridge when we cross it if we ever… or when we get to it." Back on 8 November 2017, Inner City Press asked UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric about torture that has continued since. UN transcriptbelow. On November 29 the UN in Geneva announced, "A three-member delegation from the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention will carry out an official visit to Sri Lanka from 4 to 15 December 2017 to assess the country’s situation regarding the deprivation of liberty. José Antonio Guevara Bermúdez, Leigh Toomey and Elina Steinerte will visit a variety of places where people are held, including prisons, police stations and institutions for juveniles, migrants and people with psychosocial disabilities, to gather first-hand information which will form part of their overall assessment. The delegation will visit Colombo as well as western, north-central, northern, eastern, southern and central provinces, where they will meet Government officials, civil society groups and other relevant stakeholders.
The experts will share their preliminary observations at a press conference on 15 December 2017 at 14:00 local time at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH), Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo 07. Access will be strictly limited to journalists. The Working Group will present its final report on the visit to the UN Human Rights Council in September 2018." From the UN's November 8 transcript: Inner City Press: torture in Sri Lanka. They've interviewed 50 individuals who were applying for asylum who give detailed accounts of being tortured under the current, not past, Government of Sri Lanka and saying that the military itself was involved. So, I'm wondering, one, if there's any reaction given the UN's involvement in the situation in Sri Lanka but also, given that the UN is increasingly using Sri Lankan troops in UN peacekeeping, what… what do you… when… when detailed allegations like this come forward, what does the UN do to ensure that the very people who may have been engaged in torture…Spokesman: As a matter of course, there is screening done in partnership with DPKO [Department of Peacekeeping Operations] and DFS [Department of Field Support] on ensuring that none of the troops that are committed to UN peacekeeping have any human rights abuses, allegations or issues hanging over their head. So, that's a screening process. Inner City Press: Do they self-certify? Or, given that these are new allegations published today… 50 people were interviewed…Spokesman: I'm sure that our… my colleagues upstairs are taking these things into account." We're not at all sure. On October 23, Pablo de Greiff, Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence, said delays in the implementation of commitments undermined trust and raised questions about the Government’s determination to undertake a comprehensive transitional justice program. "These delays contribute to the further politicization of discussions on transitional justice," he said. The UN should know - even before the killings of 2009, the IPKF killed Tamil civilians - and one UN connection involves Ban Ki-moon's son in law, whom he made the UN's resident coordinator in Kenya. This UN Resident Coordinator, like the previous one in Cameroon, even as Inner City Press reports on the Kenyan elections, blocks it on Twitter and deploys proxies; now this blocking has been picked up on October 20 by the UN's Department of Public Information deputy Maher Nasser, who used DPI to that day threat Inner City Press' accreditation. There were appreciated protests when the UN did this in 2016.
