Bangladesh
PR
Tells ICP
Silva "Not
Acceptable" As
UN Adviser,
He, India
& Pakistan
Have Told Sri
Lanka to "Fix
It"
By
Matthew
Russell Lee,
Exclusive
UNITED
NATIONS,
February 13 --
The Sri Lankan
government's
first response
to
the more than
two weeks of
questions by
Inner City
Press about
the
appointment as
a UN "Senior
Adviser on
Peacekeeping
Operations"
of General
Shavendra
Silva, whose
Division 58 is
repeatedly
named in
connection
with war
crimes in
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
Panel
of Experts
report, was to
sent
a letter of
complaint
to Inner City
Press.
The Sri Lanka
mission also
sent copies
to Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
spokesman
as well as to
some in the UN
press corps.
Then,
after UN
High
Commissioner
for Human
Rights Navi
Pillay
told Inner
City Press
on February 13
she
had expressed
her "concern"
about Silva
to Ban,
the Sri Lankan
mission issued
a statement --
not to Inner
City Press --
calling the
concerns
"unethical,"
and got it
reported.
But
the concerns
about Silva,
Inner City
Press has
exclusively
learned,
extend to
large Asian
peacekeeping
countries as
well, and the
Sri Lankan
mission knows
this, even as
it sends out
its missives .
Bangladesh'
Permanent
Representative
Abulkalam
Abdul Momen
exclusively
told Inner
City Press,
regarding Sri
Lanka slipping
in Silva as
the Asian
Group's
representative
on the Senior
Advisory Group
on
Peacekeeping
Operations,
"we were
surprised they
sent a
controversial
participant...
it's not
fair."
Adding
that Silva
"individually
is not
acceptable,"
Abulkalam
Abdul Momen
told Inner
City Press,
"I, India and
Pakistan, we
have requested
Sri Lanka to
fix it up."
So
even as Sri
Lanka first
attacked Inner
City Press for
calling Silva
inappropriate
as a UN
adviser, then
called Pillay
"unethical,"
the Sri
Lankan mission
knew that
three large
Asian
countries were
saying
Silva is "not
acceptable"
and that it
must be
"fixed."
(c) UN Photo
Bangladesh
PR Abulkalam
Abdul Momen,
Silva "fix"
not yet shown
Other
sources say
Sri Lanka has
been seeking
commitments
not to push
for
accountability
at the Human
Rights Council
in Geneva in
exchange for
switching
Silva
for Palitha
Kohona, who
also figures
in the UN
Panel of
Experts
report in
connection
with the White
Flag murders
of surrendees,
in
which Ban
Ki-moon's own
chief of staff
Vijay Nambiar
also played a
role.
But
with this
Asian
opposition
known, does
Sri Lanka's
"leverage"
decrease?
Watch this
site.
Footnotes:
India
and Pakistan
are on the
Security
Council, which
is on a trip
this week to
Haiti. India's
Deputy
Permanent
Representative
has headed
back to India
to prepare for
a visit by the
President of
the General
Assembly.
Inner City
Press has
repeated ask
Ban's
spokesman
Martin Nesirky
to
describe
anything Ban
or his team
was doing
about Silva as
an
adviser, and nothing
has been said.
So if and when
this "fix"
is made, it
will be
no-thanks to
Ban Ki-moon.
, 
