As
Silva
Barred from
Advising UN,
Wallstrom Says
It's Right,
Ban Takes Note
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
February 23 --
After twenty
six days of
questions from
Inner City
Press to the
UN how they
could accept
as a member of
the
UN "Senior
Advisory Group
on
Peacekeeping
Operations"
Major
General
Shavendra
Silva, named
in connection
with war
crimes, on the
afternoon of
February 22
Silva was told
by the Group's
chair Louise
Frechette that
his
participation
is "not
appropriate."
While
much
reported, few
noted the
inaction and
refusal to
speak of UN
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon and
his head of
Peacekeeping,
Herve
Ladsous.
On
the
morning
February 23,
Inner City
Press twice
asked Ladsous
about
Silva and the
deteriorated
reputation of
the Department
of
Peacekeeping
Operations.
Ladsous
refused to
make any
comment.
At
the
UN's noon
briefing on
February 23,
Inner City
Press asked
Ban's
deputy
spokesman
Eduardo Del
Buey if at
least Ban had
any comment on
Silva and his
barring, and
whether Ban
supports the
decision of
Louise
Frechette.
Del
Buey
said, "the
advice
continues to
be it is a
member state
decision." He
said that Ban
has "taken
note" of the
development,
but it's a
member state
decision. Video
here, from
Minute 5:09.
And
Sri
Lanka is
already making
moves, soon to
be reported by
Inner City
Press, which
can use Ban's
shocking
passivity,
which stands
in
contrast to,
for example,
his comments
on the
decisions of
the
"member
states" on the
Security
Council. Why
does Ban feign
or claim
powerlessness
on this?
After
the
noon briefing,
finally Inner
City Press got
a UN
Secretariat
official to
not run away
from the
question of
whether it is
good for
the UN to have
an alleged war
criminal as an
adviser.
The
UN's
Sexual
Violence in
Conflict
expert, Margot
Wallstrom,
came to
speak to the
press. Inner
City Press
asked about
her mandate,
and
then asked
what she
thought of
Silva as an
adviser, and
what had to
date happened.
Video
here, from
Minute 6:19.
Wallstrom
said there
"should be
consequences"
for
"atrocities,"
and
that "I
understand
that this is
what has
happened, that
he has
now been
banned from
this group.
Exactly how
that has
happened, I do
not have all
the detailed
information....
I think that
was probably
the right
thing to do...
I think it is
important to
make
statements
and clearly
position
yourself on
these issues."
But
Ban
Ki-moon must
disagree: the
only position
he has taken
on whether
an alleged war
criminal
should advise
the UN on
peacekeeping
is that
he has no
position. Nor,
apparently,
does Ban's
head of
peacekeeping
Herve Ladsous.
And this may,
or is sure to,
encourage
further
attempts to
launder war
crimes in UN
blue. Watch
this site.
, 
