On Sri Lanka, UN Tells Inner City Press Ban Ki-moon Hopes for Cooperation on "Investigation on What Happened" in 2009 - But Whose Investigation?

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, January 29 -- After Sri Lanka's new government spoke of doing another local investigation into war crimes in 2009, Inner City Press on January 29 asked UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric what Secretary General Ban Ki-moon thinks of this back to the future approach.

 Dujarric told Inner City Press, "We've seen those reports, obviously, we're trying to figure out what it means in terms of the cooperation with the UN human rights investigation. We hope there is positive movement in the cooperation between Sri Lanka and the UN system on the investigation of what happened."

  One assumes "the investigation" means the UN Human Rights Council mandated investigation. 

  Back on January 12 the UN said that Secretary General Ban Ki-moon made this call:

"The Secretary-General congratulated President Sirisena’s election and the successful conclusion of the presidential election. The Secretary-General and President Sirisena discussed the President’s 100-day plan and Sri Lanka’s post-war agenda. The Secretary-General affirmed continuous support by the UN to Sri Lanka."

  That is, the UN's read-out of Ban's call had no mention of accountability or of the UN Human Rights Council inquiry into the bloodbath on the beach in 2009. We'll have more on this.

 After Mahinda Rajapaksa conceded defeat but before 10:30 pm on January 8 in Washington, US Secretary of State issued a statement, below. 

  Inner City Press published it, and asked the UN for its comment. Told to expect one in the AM, New York time, Inner City Press noted, the earlier the better. Twelve hours later, there was nothing.

  So Inner City Press asked again at the noon briefing on January 9, after new President Sirisena's inauguration. UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said the UN welcomes the transfer of power, then later in the briefing read out this statement:

"The Secretary-General congratulates the people of Sri Lanka on the successful conclusion of the presidential election, and welcomes the constitutional transfer of power.

"The Secretary-General applauds the Sri Lankan Elections Commission for its professionalism in ensuring a peaceful and credible election. He also commends the efforts of the candidates, including in particular outgoing President Mahinda Rajapaksa, law enforcement agencies and civil society for upholding and respecting democratic governance.

"The Secretary-General looks forward to working with President Maithripala Sirisena and the people of Sri Lanka. He affirms the continuous support of the United Nations for development, reconciliation, political dialogue and accountability in Sri Lanka."

  Inner City Press immediately asked Haq if what this reference to accountability portends for the UN inquiry into the events in 2009. We'll have more on this.

  Amnesty International has said that "Sri Lanka has for years resisted all international efforts to investigate the conflict years, and instead relied on domestic investigation bodies that toed the government line. This has to end – the new government should cooperate fully with the UN investigation.”

   Watch this site.

  In other possible routes to accountability, talk of seeking justice in US courts as to several joint American citizens in Team Rajapaksa - or on the team during the 2009 "Bloodbath on the Beach" -- has picked up. Some team members have reportedly already left the country: we'll have more on this.

 Kerry said:

STATEMENT BY SECRETARY KERRY

January 8, 2015

Conclusion of Sri Lankan Elections and Election of Maithripala Sirisena

The Sri Lankan people deserve great credit on the successful conclusion of their elections.  They turned out in great numbers to exercise their democratic rights and every vote was a victory for Sri Lanka.

The United States applauds the Sri Lankan Elections Commissioner, the security forces, Sri Lankan civil society, and the candidates themselves for making sure this election was not marred by unrest and for ensuring a significant drop in campaign-related violence. It will be important for that effort to continue in the coming days.

I commend President Rajapaksa for accepting the results of the election in the proud tradition of peaceful and orderly transfers of power in Sri Lanka. His words tonight about accepting the verdict of the people and moving forward are important.

I look forward to working with President-elect Maithripala Sirisena as his new government works to implement its campaign platform of a Sri Lanka that is peaceful, inclusive, democratic, and prosperous."

  It's done. But what does it portend for the Rajapaksas' military / diplomatic corps, like Shavendra Silva and in New York, Palitha Kohona?

   

Can UN Investigate Itself After It Let Raid Photos of Press' Bookshelf Go to BuzzFeed?

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, April 1 -- The UN preaches the rule of law and the separation of powers. But does it practice them? A filing today by Inner City Press may answer this question.

  The UN lawlessly entered Inner City Press' office without notice or consent on March 18, went through papers, took photos and allowed others, including CBS' Pamela Falk, the president of the UN Correspondents Association to take photos. Post raid video here.

  Inner City Press complained. The UN admitted its entry to Inner City Press' desk area was improper -- but it refused to say who it had allowed to enter.

  The UN Department of Public Information's Stephane Dujarric said only that photographs of Inner City Press' desk and bookshelf that were sent to BuzzFeed through the anonymous e-mail account “Concerned UN Reporter” and were published on March 22 were “not ours.”

  Did that mean not DPI's? Or not the UN's more generally? Dujarric refused to say, as did Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesman Martin Nesirky on March 25 and 26. Video here.

  Meanwhile while Inner City Press published an interim analysis of where the photographs may have come from, the response of Pam Falk of CBS and UNCA was to send a legal threat to not even ask the question. CBSNews despite requests has not clarified its relation to Falk's legal threat.

  Faced with such stonewalling but with more information coming in from sources, Inner City Press on April 1 asked the UN to investigate -- itself. Here is a portion of the filing, receipt of which has been confirmed:

This is a formal request for an investigation by the UN of the taking of photographs of my desk and bookshelf and the passing of these photographs, through an anonymous "Concerned UN Reporter" e-mail address, to BuzzFeed.com where they were published on March 22.

This took place during an entry into my office which was without any notice to me or my consent, and which the UN had acknowledged in writing and oral was improper. They have refused, however, to provide basic information about who they allowed into my office, who took photographs and to whom they passed these photographs.

Beyond the improper entry, this violates freedom of the press, and my privacy and freedom of thought and inquiry.

This then is a request for an investigation of the UN itself and of its staff and officials, as well as others it allowed into my office in Room L-253 on March 18, 2013.

In light of the issues raised, I ask to be kept apprised in writing of the progress and any outside referral of this investigation, at this e-mail address and via the Free UN Coalition for Access, which is a co-requester.

On March 18, 2013 while I was covering the Security Council at the press stakeout area there, I was telephoned by another reporter who informed me that my office was “full of people.”

...To jump forward, on March 22 BuzzFeed.com ran an article which included three photographs taken inside my office -- on “my side of the office,” see below -- which BuzzFeed wrote had been provided to it through an anonymous e-mail address “Concerned UN Reporter,” who also spoke with BuzzFeed, using that adopted anonymous name. See, http://www.buzzfeed.com/rosiegray/media-un-battle-one-man-blogger-rebellion

At the March 25 and March 26 UN noon briefings I asked to be informed of who had been in my office -- including as permitted without my consent by DPI -- who had taken photographs and to whom they had given them. See,http://www.un.org/News/briefings/docs/2013/db130326.doc.htm

The spokesperson for the Secretary General said, “I know that you wrote to the Under-Secretary-General for Public Information and Communications yesterday, and that you received a reply from Stéphane Dujarric, I don’t have anything to add to that.

Inner City Press: Do you see why, I just wanted to, one follow-up on that, do you see why the reply, my question is he is saying it is not the UN’s photographs, so inevitably that makes me believe the only person I am aware that took photographs was Pamela Falk of UNCA, but she has made a legal threat that if I write that, I guess CBS News will sue. So I am asking you, it seems like, it’s just, it’s simple to clean it up; I didn’t take the photograph, the photographs were taken that day, clearly in an area that DPI invited individuals into. So I was limited to one question — who did they invite in?

Spokesperson: I don’t have anything to add beyond what I have already said.

What DPI's Stephane Dujarric has written to me is... “I personally looked at our pictures and those posted on BuzzFeed and it's clear that they are not the same photographs. Again, we recognize that you should have been called before entering your part of the shared office.

Note for purposes of this request that his phrase they are not “our pictures” leaves it unclear if he means the pictures taken by DPI or by the UN as a whole, DSS and whoever else from the UN they let in.

After Inner City Press publicly speculated that the photographs might have come from the UN or, for example, from Pamela Falk who was taking photographs, Ms. Falk told me in writing from her CBSNews.com e-mail address to “cease and desist from publishing statements which are either inaccurate or cast my actions in a false light.”

Given the relative financial size of CBS and Inner City Press, this threat has the effect of discouraging further inquiry. Hence, this formal request to the UN.

I am concerned about asking DSS to investigate... DSS, and then give the report to DPI, which is the entity which improperly entered and let others into my office. Just as New York State and others have “outside counsels,” and the New York City Police Department has a CIVILIAN Complaint Review Board, I am asking for a similar avoidance on conflicts of interest in the requested investigation, and I ask to be informed of all UN procedures and policies in this regard.

   Watch this site.