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As UN's Ban Meets Sri Lankan
Enforcer, His Has Eyes on S. Korea, Nambiar As Malloch?
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of
Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED
NATIONS, January 26 --
With civilians and journalists being killed hourly in Sri Lanka, the
UN's Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon on Monday meant with one of that country's
president's
brothers, Basil Rajapaksa. While another brother who has American
citizenship serves
as Defense Secretary during the assault on Tamil Tiger strongholds,
Basil who reportedly
has a U.S. green card is known in Sri Lanka as "the enforcer."
A
source on the UN's 38th floor analogized Basil to Ban's senior advisor
Kim
Won-soo, but then noted that Ban usually meets with heads of state,
foreign
ministers or Permanent Representatives, not an "M.P., Senior
Presidential
Advisor" as Basil is identified on Ban's late-provided daily schedule.
Even as a Member of Parliament, Basil was appointed, not elected. Some
have
sought to have him indicted for war crimes, click here
for that.
Inner City Press went up to the 38th floor for the
photo opportunity
belated provided for the meeting. Ban was accompanied by, among others,
his political
advisor Nicolas Haysom and his chief of
staff Vijay Nambiar (more about whom is below). Basil was accompanied
by four
members of the Sri Lankan mission to the UN.
After the photos were taken, Inner City Press
and a handful of others there to document the meeting were ushered out.
So what
did they later discuss? Could it be the
killing and beating of journalists?
UN's Ban and Sri Lanka's President,
brothers' immigration status and war crimes questions not shown
Two
weeks ago, Sunday Leader editor Lasantha Wickramatunga was ambushed by
killers
on motorcycles. Then Upali Thennakoon, editor of the Sinhalese language
weekly
newspaper Rivira, was beaten and stabbed by a gang of thugs, also on
motorcycles, as he drove to work. Previously,
gunmen destroyed the studios of
MBC, Sri Lanka's largest private broadcaster.
Recently in the U.S. Congress
criticism of
Sri Lanka on this score was heard. Basil, it seems, is on a tour to
Washington
and New York to try to explain away these killings.
Footnotes:
inside the UN word
circulates that Vijay Nambiar may be in consideration to take over for
the departing
Kemal Dervis atop the UN Development Program. This would be consistent
with the
United Kingdom's long-rumored desire to gain the chief of staff
position.
Ironically, it would be a "reverse Mark Malloch Brown," referring to
the now UK minister who moved from UNDP to become Kofi Annan's chief of
staff.
Of
Kim Won-soo, sources tell Inner City Press that during Team Ban's
recent
jaunt through the Middle East, Mr. Kim was adamant that media priority
be given
to South Korea's Yonhap News. While interested in Gaza in Seoul is
relatively
low, interest in Ban Ki-moon, including as a potential presidential
candidate,
is high. Perhaps there is interest in Mr. Kim as well.
Click here for Inner City Press' Jan.
16, 2009 debate about Gaza
Click here for Inner City Press'
review-of-2008 UN Top Ten debate
Click here for Inner
City Press' December 24 debate on UN budget, Niger
Click here from Inner City Press'
December 12 debate on UN double standards
Click here for Inner
City Press' November 25 debate on Somalia, politics
Click here for Inner City
Press Nov. 7 debate on the war in Congo
Watch this site, and this Oct. 2 debate, on
UN, bailout, MDGs
and this October 17 debate, on
Security Council and Obama and the UN.
* * *
These
reports are
usually also available through Google
News and on Lexis-Nexis.
Click
here
for a Reuters
AlertNet piece by this correspondent
about Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army. Click
here
for an earlier Reuters AlertNet piece about the Somali
National
Reconciliation Congress, and the UN's $200,000 contribution from an
undefined trust fund. Video
Analysis here
Feedback: Editorial
[at] innercitypress.com
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USA
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Other,
earlier Inner City Press are listed here, and some are available
in the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.
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2006-08 Inner City Press, Inc. To request
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