On Sri
Lanka, As
Sirisena Says
No Int'l
Judges, UN's
Ban Hasn't
Heard
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, July
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 July
12, Inner City
Press asked
Ban's
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric, UN
transcript
here:
Inner City
Press: I
listened to
the
Secretary-General's
speech in the
human rights
event, and he
mentioned
[Human] Rights
Up Front,
which is
connected to
what happened
in Sri Lanka,
or at least
I've heard it
described that
way. So,
I wanted to
know, the
President of
Sri Lanka, Mr.
[Maithrepala]
Sirisena, has
recently said
there will be
no
international
judges in the
working of
accountability
procedures
which seems to
be a stepping
back from what
he had said
and was
praised for
saying.
Does the
Secretary-General
have any view
on this
stepping back?
Spokesman:
I haven't seen
those exact
comments.
There are
issues between
the
international
community and
Sri Lanka and
agreements to
ensure
accountability.
And we hope
those are
followed.
Inner City
Press:
And also
another one…?
Spokesman:
I'll come back
to you.
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 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. We'll
have more on
this - and on
the
untransparent
race to
replace Achim
Steiner atop
Nairobi-based
UNEP.
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
respond on a
letter from
Jaffna.
, 
