From
UN, Sri
Lanka
Shavendra
Silva to Leave
After
Controversy,
to South
Africa
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
November 5,
updated -- Sri
Lankan Major
General
Shavendra
Silva, the
source of
controversy
when appointed
as Deputy
Permanent
Representative
to the UN then
to Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
Senior
Advisory Group
of
Peacekeeping
Operations,
will now be
leaving New
York for South
Africa.
Since
Silva's forces
are depicted
as engaged in
war crimes in
the UN's own
report on
killings in
Sri Lanka, his
appearance as
the Asia
Group's
representative
on the SAG set
off a chain of
events,
starting with
repudiation of
Silva by some
major
Permanent
Representatives
in the Asia
Group.
Several
of
them told
Inner City
Press they had
no idea who
Shavendra
Silva was, and
did not
support him.
Even
then, Ban
Ki-moon did
not speak or
act on having
Silva advising
him on
Peacekeeping.
Then after
some arm
twisting,
the issue was
recast
as
the right of
the Asia Group
to send
whomever it
wanted. But
had it wanted
Silva? The
answer seems
clearly at
have been no.
But
still nothing
from Ban
Ki-moon. Inner
City Press
asked Ban's
head of
Peacekeeping
Herve Ladsous
and he
tellingly
refused to
even answer
the question.
Inner City
Press sought
to cover the
SAG meetings,
which were
moved out of
the UN to
rented
buildings on
Madison Avenue
then Third
Avenue. The UN
made
it nearly
impossible
to cover the
meetings.
Still, Inner
City Press
shot some
video: click
here for
Silva's
February 22,
2012, exit
from 380
Madison Avenue.
It
was said that
while Silva
could attend,
he couldn't
speak. This
was not fully
tested, as Silva
began to be
out of town
when the SAG
met.
Most recently
Inner City
Press was told
by a Permanent
Representative
on the SAG
that Silva's
name might not
be on the
group's final
report.
(It's said
Silva will
remain in New
York for a
couple months
- is it for
that purpose?)
Inner
City Press
asked Ban's
spokesperson's
office to
confirm this,
but they
wouldn't.
Ironically,
on
October 31 Sri
Lankan
President
Mahinda Rajapaksa
publicly asked
Deputy
Shavendra
Silva to "look
for any Sri
Lankans
affected by
Hurricane
Sandy."
One wag asked,
and do what to
them?
Now
days later
comes the
announcement
that Shavendra
Silva is being
moved out, to
South Africa,
again as a
Deputy.
Update:
at Monday's UN
noon briefing
Inner City
Press asked
Ban's
spokesman
Martin Nesirky
about the SAG
report, and if
Silva's name
will be left
off it because
of the
controversy
surrounding
his
involvement in
the SAG. Video
here from
Minute 30:45.
Nesirky
said, "I do
not know at
this stage,
I'll let you
know."
Watch this
site.
, 
