As Sri Lankans Meets Ban, Sexual Violence & Rights Officials Present

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, September 24, updated -- When Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa met on Saturday night with Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and an abnormally large team of UN officials, the session went ten minutes over the allocated twenty, leaving the next delegation from Montenegro waiting.

While most of Ban's meetings and photo ops this week have been entirely routine, according to officials who have been in the meeting, this one had more people at it. Before the 6:20 pm meeting began, Ivan Simonovic, the New York representative of the Office of the High Commission for Human Rights Navi Pillay, arrived and went in to wait.

Simonovic was followed in by Margot Wallstrom, the special adviser on Sexual Violence and Conflict. That is among the war crimes Sri Lankan forces are accused of, including in the Channel 4 documentary "Killing Fields" that Ban and his advisers have yet to watch.

Not surprising but worth noting was the presence of Ban's chief of staff Vijay Nambiar, who is accused of complicity in what are called the White Flag murders of surrendering Tamil Tiger rebels.

The White Flag incident also involved Palitha Kohona, who as Rajapaksa's Permanent Representative to the UN was also present at the meeting, along with foreign minister G.L. Peiris, who met on Thursday with Nambiar and Ban's top political official Lynn Pascoe, also present Saturday night.

Based on Inner City Press' reporting, media in Sri Lanka have extrapolated that Peiris lodged a complaint with Pascoe about the Panel of Experts report on war crimes in Sri Lanka having been transmitted to Pillay and the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Simonovic's presence at Saturday night's meeting would seem related to that. But Wallstrom's?

After the initial photo op, cameramen are usually shepherded off the North Lawn building's third floor. But this time, a Sri Lankan security officer arranged for the three other photographers, all Sri Lankan, to stay up at the entrance to Ban's office. Inner City Press stayed as well.

When ten minutes late the meeting ended, Ban escorted Rajapaksa to the elevator. There the two men engaged in discussion well out of the earshot of Ban's spokesman, Martin Nesirky, who stopped Ban on his way back in to the waiting Montenegro delegation and asked him questions.

Earlier on Saturday at the photo op of Ban and Madagascar coup leader Rajoelina, Nesirky had told Inner City Press, "You don't take pictures of talking points, okay? Now I know." A more senior Ban adviser later laughed, "there's nothing IN the talking points, they are as empty as the read-outs Martin gives."

This time, six hours later, the talking points were turn over to face the table, which some at the photo op laughed at. Nesirky did not seem to be laughing. His office will, it seems sure, issue a read out of the meeting. But will the Sri Lankans?

Ban Meets Malagasy Coup Leader, Spokesman Tells Press to Look Away From Talking Points

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, September 24 -- Since Andry Rajoelina led a coup in Madagascar, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon dined at the same table with him in Istanbul, and on Saturday did a formal photo opportunity and meeting with him.

When Inner City Press asked about the Istanbul dinner, Ban's then Acting Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq denied it, saying that Ban didn't "meet" with Rajoelina. Saturday there could be no dispute: it was a formal meeting listed on Ban's press schedule.

The fig-leaf for the meeting, and for Rajoelina to speak in the General Assembly, is that SADC agreed to a road map. But consider:

-On 17 September, 10 political groups, including those most linked to Rajoelina and Ravalomanana, signed a SADC roadmap that provides for Ravalomanana’s return to Madagascar.

-On 18 September the de facto Minister of Justice Christine Razanamahasoa announced that Ravalomanana would be arrested should he return.

- On 20 September, Gen. Richard Ravalomanana (no relation to the ousted president), who has been in charge of repressing ‘illegal’ demonstrations since the March 2009 coup, announced on television that a group of ten military were preparing to go from Madagascar to South Africa to arrest Ravalomanana.

-The Tribune de Madagascar of 21 September published copies of arrest warrants against Ravalomanana and a copy of a directive from the head prosecutor dated 17 September 2011 calling for Ravalomanana’s arrest.

Inner City Press went to the September 24 photo op. While standing with four other photographers waiting, Ban Ki-moon passed and expressed surprise, not unpleasantly. Ban's lead spokesman Martin Nesirky, once the photographers were setting in the meeting room, said to Inner City Press, "You don't take pictures of talking points, okay? Now I know."

Inner City Press showed Nesirky the last picture, half expecting to have film or SD card confiscated.

Ironically, a more senior Ban adviser later laughed, "there's nothing IN the talking points, they are as empty as the read-outs Martin gives." But when you're meeting with coup leaders, apparently, there is reason to be worried.

Why not cover up the talking points? Or better yet, why not stop meeting with coup leaders in a way that legitimates them? Watch this site.

At UN, Correa of Ecuador Mocks Union City Mayor, Says US Business Intact

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, September 23 -- When Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa held a stakeout at the UN on Friday night, most of the questions were taken in advance, about the pay-to-not-drill environmental project Correa was promoting. Inner City Press did not pre-register any question or itself, but rather sought to ask the old fashioned way.

As the last question at the stakeout, Inner City Press asked Correa about his relations with the United States, and more locally with Union City, which barred him from appearing in a high school. Correa mocked the mayor "whose name I don't know."

Inner City Press said, "Brian Stack." Correa repeated the name, then sarcastically said he would hire him as a publicist, since banning the talk gave rise to more stories, including in Ecuador.

Still it is rare from the UN General Assembly to cause any local ripples beyond traffic, so that question had to be asked.

As to the United States, Correa said that while he had expelled the US Ambassador and the US followed suit, now new envoy had been nominated, and even during the standoff commercial relations continued "almost intact." Now these relations including payments through UNDP not to drill. We'll see.

Libya TNC's Jibril Tells Press NATO Almost Done, Catching Gaddafi Is Key

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, September 23 -- When Mahmoud Jibril appeared for a UN press conference on Friday, it was the first since the Transitional National Council he heads was given Libya's seat at the UN. Inner City Press asked Jibril two questions, about NATO and the International Criminal Court.

Jibril had said that the south is liberated, Sirte will be in 48 hours and Bani Walid is under seige, "we are squeezing it." Inner City Press asked if that is true, when will NATO's protection of civilians mandate end?

"When the need [to protect civilians] is not there," Jibril answered, "I don't think there is a need for NATO... Once the whole Libyan territory is liberated." According to him, if Bani Walid falls after Sirte, that's it for NATO.

Inner City Press asked for Jibril's and the TNC's view on whether Gaddafi and the other ICC indictees should be sent to the Hague, if and when captured, or be tried in Libya. Jibril said, "the most important question is how to catch Gaddafi." After that, he said, it's up to "legal consultants" to consider "the supremacy of Libyan or international law" and "the national interest of the Libyan people." Video here, from Minute 18:04.

This deference to consultants differed from Jibril's answers to other questions, on which he said it will not be up to the TNC, but to "the Libyan people" -- which was also Ian Martin's response to Inner City Press about the ICC - click here and watch this site.

Dust-Up of UN Security With Turkish Delegation Leads to Hospitalization

By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive

UNITED NATIONS, September 23, updated -- While Mahmoud Abbas and Benyamin Netanyahu traded speeches about Palestinian statehood on Friday, a diplomatic incident occurred on the fourth floor of the General Assembly Hall.

Sources tell Inner City Press that the Turkish delegation literally had a run-in with security in the UN, in which the Turkish prime minister Erdogan was touched. Then, a male security official was injured and taken to the hospital, another officer also assaulted and injured. Several sources spoke of a door broken in the UN earlier in the week, attributing it to Turkey.

Inner City Press observed Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's chief of staff Vijay Nambiar break in to a rare run, accompanied by UN Safety and Security chief Gregory Starr, out of the North Lawn building and on to First Avenue in the rain, crossing it toward Turkey's Mission to the UN.

Later a senior UN official told Inner City Press bitterly that "Turkey is throwing its weight around," linking the incident to Turkey's anger, including at the UN, about the Palmer (and Uribe) report about the Gaza flotilla incident in which eight Turkish citizens were killed.

The source asked, "A new muscular foreign policy -- even inside the UN building?"

By the same token, why lay hands even inadvertently on a country's prime minister?

After multiple Inner City Press sources told it about the incident early Friday afternoon, Inner City Press asked the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary General for its version and was told they were waiting for their "line" on it.

Update: Inner City Press, having Friday afternoon published far and away the first story about the incident, was told that it would be given the UN "line" as soon as it was available - but even sixty hours later has received nothing from the UN spokespeople or senior spinning officials. Watch this site.

At UN As Abbas Files for Membership & Speaks, Israel & Susan Rice Sit Glum

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, September 23 -- While some at the UN thought that Palestine's Abbas would not in fact file for full membership, late morning Friday he did just that. Abbas handed an application to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, then headed to the General Assembly to deliver his speech.

While Armenia spoke, including about the "genocide scholars community," Inner City Press ran to the UN stakeout and asked Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt about votes for Palestinian statehood. Bildt said "it will be decided in these buildings," in the Security Council. He spoke of caution.

Through heavy rain over at the UN's noon briefing, Ban's spokesman Martin Nesirky declined a request to provide "color" about Ban's meeting with Abbas, referring to the television footage. He was asked if there is a Middle East Quartet meeting in the afternoon, and he said he didn't know.

Inner City Press asked Nesirky about the role of UN official Robert Serry in the Quarter. As reported yesterday night, Serry was saying loudly into his cell phone, "He asked me to convey a personal message to Lavrov, I need to reach Lavrov."" Nesirky said Serry represents the UN on the Quartet.

The General Assembly hall was standing room only, no one more was allowed in. Over in the new North Lawn building, diplomats sat at marble coffee tables watching Abbas' speech on the Internet. Many of them clapped when the audience in the hall clapped.

Inner City Press watched with a political adviser in from Malaysia, who nodded in affirmation at nearly everything Abbas said. "The US will veto, it is shameful," he said. But are there nine affirmative votes, which would then require a veto to block?

In the hall in the Israel's seats, the Deputy Permanent Representative looked stonefaced. There was no sign of Netanyahu, set to speak in less than an hour, or Avigdor Lieberman or Permanent Representative Prosor.

During a standing ovation, US Ambassador Susan Rice also remained seated, looking glum. When Abbas finished, the unenviable task of following him went to Japan's new Prime Minister Noda, the self-described bottom feeder. And so it goes at the UN.

At UN, Sri Lankan Defends Religion From "Human Rights of Alien Cultures"

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, September 23 -- Amid war crimes charges, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa's speech Friday at the UN General Assembly was full of ironies.

Known for ruthlessly ending a separatist movement, Rajapaksa in his speech said that dialogue is the only way to resolve problems. He has insisted that the Panel of Experts report detailing war crimes is not a UN report -- but he thanked that UN.

Having opposed an aspiration for independence or autonomy, he nevertheless expressed support for a Palestinian state. He invoked religion and wished his audience peace, even as he's sued for war crimes.

The religious reference was perhaps the most telling, as he said that longstanding beliefs cannot be trumped by "human rights... from alien cultures."

The Panel of Experts report is now belatedly at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. On September 22, Rajapaksa's foreign mininster G.L. Peiris had separate meetings with Lynn Pascoe and then Ban Ki-moon's chief of staff Vijay Nambiar, who played a role in what are called the White Flag murders of surrendering Tamil Tiger leaders. Nambiar declined to summarize his meeting with Peiris.

While several UN sources close to Ban Ki-moon have told Inner City Press Ban will meet with Rajapaksa on September 23, Ban's schedule as put out Thursday night and Friday morning did not list any meeting with Mahinda.

Inner City Press has asked Ban's spokesman, "today's 'Appointments of the S-G' does not list Mahinda Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka -- please confirm that this means Ban Ki-moon is not meeting with Mahinda Rajapaksa today." No response has been received. Watch this site.