US
Power Meets
Sri Lanka's
Kumaratunga,
Amid Torture,
Press BANned
at UN
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, May
12 -- The UN
has said it is
belatedly
helping in Sri
Lanka through
its
Peacebuilding
Fund -- this
after the UN
Secretariat of
Ban Ki-moon
was negligent
and worse
during the
“Bloodbath on
the Beach” in
2009.
On April 27
Inner City
Press asked
Oscar
Fernandez-Taranco,
Assistant
Secretary-General
for
Peacebuilding
Support and
Ambassador
Macharia Kamau
of Kenya about
the
Peacebuilding
Fund's actual
support to Sri
Lanka. Video
here.
On May 12, the
US Mission to
the UN issues
this read-out:
"U.S.
Permanent
Representative
to the United
Nations
Ambassador
Samantha Power
met with
former Sri
Lankan
President
Chandrika
Kumaratunga,
currently
Chairperson of
Sri Lanka’s
Office of
Unity and
National
Reconciliation
(OUNR), and
Mano
Tittawalla,
Secretary-General
for
Coordinating
Reconciliation
Mechanisms, on
May 11, 2016,
at the Sri
Lankan Mission
to the United
Nations in New
York.
Ambassador
Power
reiterated
U.S. support
for Sri
Lanka’s
reconciliation
efforts. She
and Chairwoman
Kumaratunga
discussed the
work and plans
of the OUNR
and the
challenges and
critical
importance of
bridging old
divides and
reconciling
with the past.
Ambassador
Power
described the
moving
experiences
she has had in
Sri Lanka
meeting with
the families
of disappeared
and missing
people, and
they discussed
the work of
the Office of
Missing
Persons,
including its
efforts to
consult
broadly across
Sri Lankan
civil society
and minority
communities.
They also
discussed the
importance of
accountability.
Ambassador
Power
emphasized the
necessity of
addressing
human rights
abuses and
urged that
transitional
justice
efforts move
forward as
soon as
possible. She
urged that any
mechanism be
accompanied by
proactive
outreach to
keep the
public
informed and
engaged. They
spoke about
the challenges
ahead and
timelines
along which
progress would
be made.
Finally, they
also discussed
the Sri Lankan
government’s
ongoing
efforts to
counter
corruption and
overcome the
economic
challenges
left behind by
the previous
government.
They agreed on
the urgent
importance of
delivering a
'democracy
dividend' to
the Sri Lankan
people and
stressed the
importance of
U.S.-Sri
Lankan
bilateral
efforts to
support trade
and economic
growth."
Some wondered
why there was
no mention of,
for example,
bombing the
high school in
Nagarkovil, or
of the church
killings in
Navali.
On May 7, UN
Special
Rapporteur on
Torture Juan
Mendez said
that in Sri
Lanka:
"the practice
of
interrogation
under physical
and mental
coercion still
exists and
severe forms
of torture,
albeit
probably in
less frequent
instances,
continues to
be used.
Both old and
new cases
continue to be
surrounded by
total
impunity. In
addition,
procedural
norms that
entrust the
police with
investigative
powers over
all criminal
cases and, in
the case of
the Prevention
of Terrorism
Act, allow for
prolonged
arbitrary
detention
without trial,
are still very
much in place
and open the
door to —
almost invite
— police
investigators
to use torture
and
ill-treatment
as a routine
method of
work.
I received
many
testimonies
from victims
and detainees
who took the
risk to speak
out, despite
concerns
either for
their own
safety or
their
families. I
was able to
conduct
thorough
interviews and
forensic
examinations
in a few
cases, with
the assistance
of a forensic
expert that
accompanied me
during my
mission. I
found the
testimonies
truthful and
many were
substantiated
with physical
evidence that
is conclusive
of torture.
The forensic
expert
conducted a
number of
medical
examinations
that confirmed
physical
injuries
consistent
with the
testimonies
received. The
forensic
expert also
analysed
photographs
taken shortly
after the
alleged
torture and
ill-treatment,
and concluded
they are
diagnostic of
severe
physical
torture.
The nature of
the acts of
torture
consists
mainly of
transitory
physical
injuries
caused by
blunt
instruments
(essentially
punches,
slapping and,
occasionally,
blows with
objects such
as batons or
cricket bats)
which heal by
themselves
without
medical
treatment and
leave no
physical
scars. There
were also
several
accounts of
brutal methods
of torture,
including
beatings with
sticks or
wires on the
soles of the
feet
(falanga);
suspension for
hours while
being
handcuffed,
asphyxiation
using plastic
bags drenched
in kerosene
and hanging of
the person
upside down;
application of
chili powder
to face and
eyes; and
sexual
violations
including
mutilation of
the genital
area and
rubbing of
chili paste or
onions on the
genital area.
While these
methods of
torture were
in some cases
of short
duration, in
other cases
torture
occurred over
a period of
days or even
weeks during
interrogation."
This is what
Ban Ki-moon
and others
have been
praising, and
retaliating
against
coverage of?
On Sri
Lanka Taranco
said the Fund
is helping
Tamils
resettle in
the North; he
specifically
mentioned
support to the
Northern
Provincial
Council. This
is ironic, in
that a
Northern
Provincial
Councilor has
written to
Taranco's boss
Ban Ki-moon
protesting
Ban's and USG
Cristina
Gallach's
ouster of
Inner City
Press. You'd
think Ban
would have
responded to
the letter -
but no. And
what about this
letter, from
GAP to the
Power's US
Mission? Vine here.
On March 3
Dujarric's
Deputy Farhan
Haq refused
for a second
day to comment
on a protest
of the ouster,
held at the UN
Compound in
Jaffna,
northern Sri
Lanka. English;
English
II; Tamil;
UN
Q&A Video.
That is
today's UN:
UNaccountable.
Now it gets
worse. On
March 1 in Sri
Lanka from an
elected
representative
of the
Northern
Provincial
Council came a
letter to Ban
Ki-moon
expressing
"serious
concern" at UN
official
Cristina
Gallach's
"unjust"
seizure of
Inner City
Press' office
and
downgrading of
accreditation.
Online
here.
Ban
Ki-moon never
answered this
letter from
elected
representatives
in Northern
Sri Lanka,
despite his
record there.
Ban's
spokespeople
Dujarric and
Haq openly
refused Inner
City Press'
questions
about this and
other letters.
Now we
published an
untruthful and
Kafka-esque
response that
was provided,
by the UN's
"Resident
Coordinator
a.i." for Sri
Lanka,
UNICEF's Una
McCauley, photo of
letter here
and embedded
below.
On March
23 Inner City
Press tried to
ask Ban's
Deputy
Spokesperson
Farhan Haq
about it, UN
transcript
here (UN
hasn't
provided video
9 hours later)
Deputy
Spokesman Haq:
one more.
Inner City
Press:
I was going to
ask you about
South-South
News, but I'm
going to ask
you about Sri
Lanka.
And I'm going
to ask you
about Sri
Lanka because
there's a
letter that
was released
today by the
resident
representative
in the country
directed to
the Northern
Provincial
Council, and
it's a
response to a
letter that
they wrote to
Ban Ki-moon
on…
Deputy
Spokesman:
[cutting in]
About you,
right?
Inner City
Press:
…on March
1st. I'm
going to ask
what the
letter
is. The
letter says,
"We are happy
to tell you
that the
Under-Secretary-General
for Public
Information
and
Communications
has, after
serious
consideration,
decided to
change the
accreditation
of Matthew
Russell Lee of
Inner City
Press."
And the thing
is, where it
says they're
happy to say,
the thing that
we're
protesting in
the letter was
exactly this
decision,
which was
taken without
once speaking
to me.
So I wanted to
know…
Deputy
Spokesman Haq:
[cutting in
again]
Matthew,
Matthew.
Inner City
Press:
…was this
letter, which
was on UN
letterhead,
drafted by
OLA… who wrote
it?
Deputy
Spokesman
Haq:
This is not a
courtroom, and
this is not
your place to
try your case.
Inner City
Press:
There's a
letter written
to Ban
Ki-moon, and
this is the
response.
I'm asking
you.
Deputy
Spokesman
Haq: You
have a
situation
you're dealing
with… I am not
aware of who
writes those
letters.
It comes out
in the name of
the resident
[coordinator],
so it's the
resident
[coordinator]'s
letter.
[UN "fixed"
Haq's
inaccurate
answers, which
said
"correspondent"
instead. Who
lies?]
Inner City
Press:
Who
[inaudible]…
It’s a UNICEF
official?
Deputy
Spokesman:
It is a
resident
[coordinator]'s
letter.
It states the
facts.
And…
Question:
It says, I'm
happy to tell
you, in
response to a
protest
letter.
Deputy
Spokesman
Haq:
Yes, I
understand
you're unhappy
with the use
of the word
"happy."
It's duly
noted.
This is
the Farhan Haq
who, while
corrupt UNCA
was lobbying
to get Inner
City Press
thrown out of
the UN Press
Briefing Room,
said bravely,
"He lies a
lot." Really?
On March 23,
Inner City
Press asked
UNICEF's
Global
Spokesperson
Sarah Crowe:
"This is a
Press request
concerning the
attached
letter, in
which UNICEF's
Resident
Representative
in Sri Lanka
Una McCauley
purports to
respond to the
Northern
Provincial
Councilor's
March 1, 2016
letter to
theSecretary
General
expressing
"serious
concern" at UN
official
Cristina
Gallach's
'unjust'
seizure of
Inner City
Press' office
and
downgrading of
my Resident
Correspondent
accreditation
to
“non-Resident”
(which has
Banned me from
covering the
Security
Council, for
example this
week on
Western
Sahara).... As
the 'Global
Spokesperson
for UNICEF,
this is a
request for
immediate
clarification,
retraction,
referral to
Director Lake
and action -
including to
ensure Inner
City Press and
I are restored
to long time
office and
Resident
Correspondent
accreditation."
This was the
response: "I
understand
that DPI is in
touch with you
on this."
Well, no. DPI
threw Inner
City Press out
on February
19, for a
pretext on
January 29
(since shown
to be a case
of double
standards),
without ONCE
being "in
touch" with
Inner City
Press to hear
its side of
the story.
And since then
DPI has made
claims about
access that
are blatantly
flase and
reflect a
total lack of
understnading
of what the
passes they
administer
(badly) do and
do not do.
So why
would a UNICEF
official, the
highest one in
Sri Lanka,
sign such a
bogus letter -
at the behest
of DPI, to
which it
refers Inner
City Press
back? How low
is the UN
being brought,
in Sri Lanka
and elsewhere,
by this
witchhunt?
As to Sri
Lanka, it
bears
remembering
that one of
those who
lobbied
Gallach to
throw Inner
City Press out
was and is
Giampoalo
Pioli, who
rented an
apartment to
Palitha Kohona
then granted
Kohona's
request as Sri
Lanka's
Ambassador for
a "UN" (UNCA)
screening of
the Rajapaksa
governmetn's
war crimes
denial film.
That brought
the UN low,
and Gallach
has continued
it.
It's resulted
in UNICEF -
the UN's Res
Rep in Sri
Lanka -
parroting:
"I am pleased
to inform you
that after
careful
consideration
by the Under
Secretary
General for
Communication
and Public
Information
the status of
Mr Matthew
Russell Lee's
accreditation
has been
changed. He
now has the
status as a
non-Resident
Correspondent
and continues
to attend UN
Media
briefings.
This status
will be
reviewed in
four month
period."
It is
precisely this
downgrade that
the Northern
Provincial
Council and
others have
been
protesting -
so it is
disingenuous
at best to
begin "I am
pleased to
inform you."
Second,
the decision
USG Gallach
took was taken
without once
speaking to
Inner City
Press - it
cannot be
considered
"after careful
consideration."
In fact, it is
USG Gallach
who should be
reviewed and
disciplined
for totally
ignoring due
process and
censoring the
Press.
Third, the UN
/ UNICEF
letter ignores
that Inner
City Press
under
Gallach's
order is being
Banned from
covering the
Security
Council, for
example this
week on
Western
Sahara. Video
here. Just
because the
Security
Council failed
as tens of
thousands were
killed in Sri
Lanka does not
mean that
Banning Inner
City Press
from covering
it can itself
be covered up.
This
disingenuous
response is a
new low for
the UN in Sri
Lanka, for DPA
in New York --
whose USg
Jeffrey
Feltman is
aware of the
ouster of the
Press and the
letter -- for
Ban Ki-moon
and perhaps
for USG
Gallach (there
are more and
more low
points for her
- watch this
site.)
The
underlying
incident,
which Gallach
never
describes in
her February
19 letter,
involves Inner
City Press
principled
stand that the
Press has a
right to be in
the UN Press
Briefing Room,
particularly
to cover an
event by an
organization
which has
taken money
from several
of those who
indicted (and
some pleading
guilty) to
bribery in the
UN and which
gave one of
the indicted,
Ng Lap Seng, a
photo op with
Ban Ki-moon.
Collusion with
genocide -
from Sri Lanka
to Burundi to
beyond - and
escalating
corruption:
this is
today's UN.
We'll have
more on this.
On the
Tamil
diaspora, Sri
Lanka's Sunday
Times reports
- and as set
forth below,
Ban's
spokesperson
refuses to
answer:
"Eelam groups
make plea for
Lee: Sri Lanka
is in the
middle of a
raging
controversy at
the UN over
the world
body’s
suspension of
the media
credentials of
a US
journalist,
Matthew Lee of
Inner City
Press (ICP).
He has been
advocating the
rights of the
Tamils in his
daily blog. V.
Rudrakumar,
described as
the prime
minister of
the
transnational
government of
Tamil Eelam,
has signed a
letter, along
with six Tamil
expatriate
organisations
asking the UN
to restore
Lee’s
credentials.
Following an
incident where
he tried to
record a
closed-door
meeting of the
UN
Correspondents’
Association,
Lee’s
credentials as
a resident
correspondent
were withdrawn
and he was
told to vacate
his office in
the UN
building. But
he has been
issued a
restricted
non-resident
media pass.
The letter,
which is also
signed by the
US Tamil
Political
Action
Council, the
Ilankai Tamil
Sangam USA,
the Tamil
Forum, New
Jersey, the
National
Council of
Canadian
Tamils, People
for Equality
and Relief in
Lanka and the
World Thamil
Organisation,
has asked the
UN to
reconsider the
decision to
revoke Lee’s
credentials.
'The coming
months will be
crucial for
Sri Lanka at
the UN as the
government of
Sri Lanka must
take steps to
implement the
UNHRC
resolution
HRC/30/1 for
truth,
reconciliation
and
transitional
justice. We
are concerned
that ICP’s
inability to
report on UN’s
support for
this process
will be
significantly
limited with a
temporary
non-resident
pass granted
to Mr. Lee,'
the letter
says.
The letter
also describes
ICP as a 'key
source of
information
for the
victims in Sri
Lanka in
understanding
how their
affairs figure
at the United
Nations.' The
letter has
been addressed
to the
Under-Secretary-General
for Public
Information
Cristina
Gallach, with
a copy to
Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon."
Ban's
spokespeople
refused to
response on a
letter from
Jaffna. And
now this? On
March 21,
Inner City
Press asked UN
deputy
spokesperson
Farhan Haq, UN transcript
here
Deputy
Spokesman:
Matthew.
And
then Haq just
walked off,
with the
Reuters scribe
smiling, Vine
here.
Note:
The Tamils'
letter was
copied to US
Ambassador
Samantha Power
and Secretary
of State John
Kerry, on
which we'll
have more as
well.
On
March 4, Inner
City Press
changed tacks
and asked
Ban's
spokesperson
Haq about a
letter,video here.
Inner City
Press: I
want to ask
about Sri
Lanka, and I'm
asking about a
letter,
physical
letter, that
was addressed
to the
Secretary-General
from the
Northern
Provincial
Council, which
is a body that
Mr. [Jeffrey]
Feltman, for
example, has
met with in
the
north.
The letter
says that
Inner City
Press has been
critical of
UN-affiliated
personalities
who are
alleged of
sidelining or
siding with
genocidal
commanders
involved in
war crimes
against the
Tamil
people.
And finally,
it says, we
are shocked to
learn that, on
19 February,
the
Under-Secretary-General
of DPI
(Department of
Public
Information),
Cristina
Gallach,
signed a
letter giving
two hours to
Mr. Lee,
summarily
expelling him
from the
premises,
revoking his
press pass…
Deputy
Spokesman:
Matthew,
Matthew,
you're not
expelled from
the
premises.
We are in the
premises right
now.
[cross talk]
Inner City
Press:
Right.
Right. [What
about office
and Resident
Correspondent
pass?]
Deputy
Spokesman:
I see you in
front of
me.
[cross talk]
Inner City
Press: I know
that you like
that
point.
The end of the
sentence is
revoking his
UN resident
correspondent
pass and
access to his
office.
And so I am
asking you, as
a response to
a letter from
the Northern
Provincial
Council of Sri
Lanka, what is
your response
to the
letter?
They also say
there was no
due
process...
the
combination of
the two, the
lack of
coverage of,
for example,
Mr. [Vijay]
Nambiar's
dealings in
the white flag
killings, Mr.
Shavendra
Silva being a
senior
peacekeeping
adviser to Ban
Ki-moon,
followed by
this act
without due
process,
unprecedented
and totally
disproportionate
penalty...
So I'm asking
you, what's
the response
to the letter?
Deputy
Spokesman:
I have no
response to
the letter,
and I have no
comment on
this. As
you're well
aware, the
concerns that
we have about
the peace
process in Sri
Lanka, the…
and the end of
the fighting
are a separate
matter from
your
particular
issues with
the Department
of Public
Information,
on which I
would have no
comment.
[cross talk]
Inner City
Press:
And what's
your concern
of a
journalist
being in this
room…
That's what
I'd like to
know.
What is so
extreme about
a journalist
being in this
room and
saying, when
DSS
(Department of
Safety and
Security)
asked me to
leave, I'll
leave that
justifies the
things that
are described
in this
letter?
Can you
explain?
Deputy
Spokesman:
Matthew, I am
not going to
get into why
you have a
problem with
your
accreditation
with the
Department of
Public
information.
You have an
issue… [cross
talk]
Inner City
Press:
Well, they've
asked Ban
Ki-moon.
You speak for
Ban
Ki-moon.
Is Ban Ki-moon
going to
answer the
letter?
[cross talk]
Deputy
Spokesman:
The decision
on your
accreditation
is a decision
taken by the
Department of
Public
Information.
[cross talk]
It's based on
actions,
having to do
with actions
that you took,
indeed, in
this very
room, that
were
hindering…
[cross talk]
Inner City
Press:
In a meeting
that wasn't
listed as
closed, not in
the UN Journal
of anywhere
else as
closed.
I'm just
asking.
Should they
write to
Cristina
Gallach?
They've
written to the
wrong
person…
[cross talk]
Deputy
Spokesman:
You can say
whatever you
want, but it's
not my place
to argue with
you about the
decision…
Inner City
Press:
It's a letter
to Ban
Ki-moon.
You speak for
Ban
Ki-moon.
So I'm asking
you for a
response to
the letter.
Deputy
Spokesman:
This is a
decision
taken… you can
talk over me
as much as you
want but it
doesn't
preclude the
reality of it.
Question:
No, I see you
trying to
move… if
you'll just
stay
stationary,
I'll be quiet.
Deputy
Spokesman:
Okay.
Yes.
Nabil?
On
March 3 Inner
City Press
again
endeavored to
ask Sri Lanka
questions,
including
about the UN's
role in
killings
there. Ban
Ki-moon's
spokesperson
Farhan Haq
tried to PRE
cut off the
questions. Video here, from the UN transcript
This is
a new low for
the UN. From
the March 2 UN transcript
In a letter
that gave
Inner City
Press only two
hours, Ban's
Under
Secretary
General for
Public
Information
Cristina
Gallach told
Inner City
Press to
surrender the
key to its
long-time
shared office.
That
evening eight
UN Security
guards under
Deputy Chief
Michael
McNulty
physically
threw Inner
City Press and
its laptop out
onto First
Avenue in
below freezing
weather,
without a
coat. Audio
here; video as UN Security turns off
Inner City
Press' Periscope
livestream,
here.
On February
22, UN
Security
official
Matthew
Sullivan told
Inner City
Press it could
not even be
signed into UN
headquarters
as a guest, it
was Banned
from all UN
premises. Audio
here.
Since
then Nobel
Peace Prize
laureate Jose
Ramos-Horta
urged Gallach
to reverse her
decision,
taken without
one speaking
to Inner City
Press
concerning its
January 29
attempt to
cover, to
pursue its
series on UN
corruption
under Ban, an
event the UN
Correspondents
Association
held in the UN
Press Brief
Room. Video
of that event
- used against
Inner City
Press with no
opportunity to
be heard.
Business
Insider
was told, by
an unnamed
Gallach
spokesperson,
that it was
fine to throw
out a 10-year
journalist at
the UN without
any
opportunity to
be heard, article
here, and
on Yahoo
Finance.
A petition
to restore
Inner City
Press to
access to the
UN, and to its
office under
its long-time
but stripped
Resident
Correspondent
accreditation,
is
here, with
675 signatures
as February 29
and comments.
The DC-based Government
Accountability
Project,
which defends
UN and other
whistleblowers,
has written
that the
ouster of
Inner City
Press is
“retaliatory
in response to
independent,
critical
journalism.”
(Dujarric, who
previously
“lent” the UN
Press Briefing
Room to his
native
France's
President
Francois
Hollande, said
he disagrees
with GAP.)
Handwritten
signs at the
Jaffna protest
cited back to
questions
about Ban
accepting a
Sri Lanka war
crimes suspect
Shavendra
Silva as one
of his Senior
Advisers on
Peacekeeping,
and another
suspect
Palitha
Kohona's
involvements
with the UN
including the
White Flag
Killings with
Ban's chief of
staff Vijay
Nambiar.
See
photo here
from the
demonstration
outside the UN
compound in
Jaffna, Sri
Lanka.
There's video.
An anonymous
troll Twitter
account which
counts among
its few
followers
Cristina
Gallach,
Stephane
Dujarric, UNCA
board members
and Reuters'
Lou
Charbonneau
says darkly
this was not a
spontaneous
protest -
whatever that
means. The
UN's
Censorship
Alliance. Haq
on March 2:
The UN's
response has
been to order
an audit by
its own Office
of Internal
Oversight
Services into
all UN deals
with Ng's Sun
Kian Ip
Foundation and
also-indicted
Sheri Yan's
Global
Sustainability
Foundation.
, 
