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As UN's Ban Leaves Sri Lanka, Questions Unanswered, Complicity in War Crimes?

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis

ABOARD UN PLANE, May 24 -- After Sri Lanka tried to compare the blown out "No Fire" zone with its barbed wire ringed interment camps for Tamils, and the UN's Ban Ki-moon offered praise and help, many troubling questions remained as the UN plane left Colombo. Is the UN assisting in war crimes?

At the canned press conference in Kandy, after meeting with Rajapaksa brothers who wear red sashes like blood across their chests, Ban's speech said "the Government is doing its utmost, I commend its tremendous efforts."

In the cut-off Q & A session, Ban took back what little criticism the UN had made of the killing of civilians, calling it a bloodbath. "I myself did not mention that the particular word, I want to make that quite clear," he said.

The Press was whisked by minibus from Kandy to the airport. (Inner City Press had asked for an extension of the two day visa given to cover Ban Ki-moon; it was never granted.) Along the route were hundreds of cult-like posters of Mahinda Rajapaksa. Everywhere there flapped Colombo's sword-wielding lion flag, as Tamil children in the Manik Farm IDP camp had been required to hold, along with UN flags while they sang an eerie song about Ban Ki-moon.

Imagine if Serbia had re-taken Kosovo, and invited the UN Secretary General to the retaken Pristina where it made Kosovar children save the Serbian flag.

Guard in Manik Farm camp, (c) M. Lee May 2009

  At the airport the government had arranged another red carpet flanked by white-clad soldiers with machine guns with bayonets leading to the UN plane. Ban Ki-moon was late, having stopped with his entourage for a final dinner with the Rajapaska's.

  Inner City Press paced the tarmac, threw questions at entourage members as they belated ran to the plane. The communications director said it could be a while, he would go to the plane to sleep. Vijay Nambiar's colleague confirmed that, yes, Nambiar would be leaving with the UN plane, his week-long clean up job complete. When finally he boarded, Inner City Press joked, welcome back. I haven't been on the UN plane in a while, Nambiar said with a smile.

   Inner City Press went to the front of the VIP terminal, where Sri Lankan functionaries waited with umbrellas in case the skies opened. A UN staffer said it might be a while, Ban was in the terminal doing interviews. When finally he emerged and saw Inner City Press, camera in hand, he asked, "Are you coming back with us?" Yes was the answer, due to denied visa extension, no help from UN.

   Sri Lanka's Ambassador to the UN stopped and asked if Inner City Press had been "able to talk to people." To some degree, yes -- for example, the Sri Lankan civil society member whose application to teach reconciliation in Vavuniya and Mannar has not been acted on. In the camps, the Press could speak to some of those interred, both only under the watchful eye of armed soldiers and other government minders. Some reporters even concluded that it was the UN, more than the Sri Lankan authorities, which tried to dissuade approaches to those behind the barbed wire.

UN's Ban at Manik Farm, barbed wire and soldiers not shown

   On the plane, just before takeoff from Colombo, Ban stopped and spoke to the assembled Press about the suicide of his former boss in Korea, about the letter and white flowers that he sent. Inner City Press listened -- South Korea in those days was cutting edge in interactive media -- and then asked Mr. Ban, "Did you hear anything about the three doctors?" Ban stopped. Oh yes, I did, he said. I think they will address this issue.

   But what about answering the questions: Why doesn't his Joint Statement with the government mention the interred doctors, or press freedom, or even the blocked NGO access to the camps? In an Orwellian construction, it has that "The Government will continue to provide access to humanitarian agencies." Why didn't Ban meet with any in the Tamil opposition or civil society? This UN is prejudiced toward governments, even when some say they turn genocidal. And Ban's UN so desperately wants to be relevant that regimes like Rajapaksa's can call Ban's bluff again and again.

 During the flight from Colombo, at first it was said that Ban would brief the gaggle of reporters during the refueling stop in Bahrain. With the lights on and the engines off, a group assembled. But Team Ban, apparently, went another way, summoning a few reporters for one on one interviews for their local markets. Such access can better be linked to positive coverage, they seem to feel. Inner City Press was told that a Ban briefing when the plane lands in Copenhagen is not possible, as Ban has to run straight to a conference, late because of his dinner with the Rajapaksas, on which he took no Press questions. We'll have more on this.

The Rajapaksa regime, fresh from shelling and killed thousands of Tamils, used Ban Ki-moon's visit as propaganda. And Ban did not protest. As was as if, as one observer fearing death told Inner City Press, Ban's UN is so desperate to be able to say that a country wants it, "even a regime with blood on its hands," that it allows the UN "to be turned into a joke."

But perhaps today's UN system is often such a mirthless joke, speeding around what dictatorships still exist in white UNDP four by fours, sucking up to governments and excusing their massacres, even offering to clean up the death sites.

UN's Ban, with Holmes and Pascoe, ghoulish fly-over not shown

UN Shown Blown Out Land Devoid of People, UN Preaches Partnership Not Prosecution

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis

OVER NO FIRE ZONE, SRI LANKA, May 23, updated -- On three Sri Lankan military helicopters, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, his entourage and the Press were flown over the so-called No Fire Zone. Beneath lay shattered buildings and expanses of torn tents and burned out vehicles, even a burned out ship. The approach to the No Fire Zone was eerily quiet, with white birds flying over farmhouses with no roofs and livestock running free and untended. The government of Mahinda Rajapaksa, clearly, is proud of its handiwork. But what to make of it?

Consider, for a moment, if the Sudanese government offered tours of South Darfur, showing where it had routed the Justice and Equality Movement and burned out all the buildings, and then moved all civilians to interment camps surrounded by barbed wire and soldiers. Even more than now, advocates and Western countries would call "genocide."

But Ban Ki-moon on Saturday said, we must help the Sri Lankan government. He pledged aid for the interment camps. He came close to saying the pounding in the north was a cause for joy for many. What is the difference? Was this not a war crimes tour?

UN's Holmes and Pascoe being questioned by Press on plane

In Manik Farm Camp, Children Forced to Sing to Ban Ki-moon, No Questions

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis

MANIK FARM, SRI LANKA, May 23 -- Beside printed banners welcoming the UN's Ban Ki-moon to "the motherland," Tamil children were paraded on Saturday with Sri Lankan flags, singing a high pitched chant, "Ban Ki-moon, Ban Ki-moon." While many found it ghoulish, given that these children are interred in these UN funded camps along with their families, Mr. Ban gamely smiled through it, taking a tour of the militarized camp with Sri Lanka's foreign minister.

Later he was taken to an open-air hospital, where severely ill elderly people lay writhing in pain, flies all over them. Ban bent down and held a woman's hand, while the woman next to her looked, frankly, dead. A cameraman on this gruesome tour stepped on woman lying with an IV on the ground, without noticing. Ban stood and whispered an interview to the BBC. "We need to go for the fly-over," a security officer hissed.

"He's speaking to the Press," a Ban handler replied. This is important. The fly-over was pushed back. The now-empty lands from which these people came could wait.

   A husband stopped the Press to show his wife's thigh, cut by a government artillery shell. We need help, he gestured. But to name him might result in even more problems. A woman gave an interview through barbed wire to a gaggle of reporters, translated by a UN staffer from New York who helpfully spoke Tamil.

  She gave her first name, and complained that they can't leave the camp. Then the soldiers told her and the crowd around her to back away from the fence and media. A reporter called after her, "what is your last name?" She looked worry before giving it, so Inner City Press does not print it.

UN's Ban and Sri Lanka Foreign Minister, interment camps not shown

   What is the UN's role in these camps? Why do they let the Sri Lankan government use UN Photos of Ban and Rajapaksa for propaganda banners? How should Ban react to the forced singing of his name?

Earlier on Saturday, Ban Ki-moon and his officials received a one-way briefing from Sri Lankan interment officials. In a meeting room with two slow turning ceiling fans and a multitude of armed guards, three speakers berated Ban and his top humanitarian and political officials about how much they are doing for the people they displaced, in large part.

  The government speakers chided the West for lack of aid, said that India (and in one previously reported Kouchner case, France) were alone with medical help. Later Ban was shown some blue tents and told, these were given by China. Ban nodded and later said, we have to help the Sri Lankan government.

   During the one-way briefing, Inner City Press said after one speaker, "Can we ask questions?" Ban's officials turned and looked, but the government continued with its endless Power Point presentation, about bank branches and book sales.

   Then a Ban handler told Inner City Press to leave the hall and go to the minibus. Outside, soldiers told photographers to put down their cameras. When one reported approached the barbed wire to speak to those behind it, it was representatives of the UN who said not to do it. Perhaps this was wise and protective. But why then is the UN funding these camps?

   There followed a summary of what John Holmes told NGOs behind closed doors, which even filing from Sri Lanka we'll run in full:

John Holmes

Timing of the trip is "tricky," point is not to "join the celebrations"; will have to be careful. [In-house, JH had objected to the trip, as many of you know];

Trip will be de facto a 12-hr day; he cannot extend;

Plan is to go to camps; overfly conflict zone, depending on weather conditions; meet President and other high-level officials; speak to press; hopefully meet with civil society (not certain that would happen);

It's "pretty clear there's nobody in the conflict zone, other than soldiers." UN has flown over, nothing to be seen from helicopter. Still, possible to have bodies/people in hiding;

On overcrowding in camps: NGOs/UN has to be clear about what we want. Do we want to move them to another camp or not? Clearly we want quick returns but in the meantime...

Have not heard anything about [threat of] suspension of humanitarian activities; just got off the phone with UN in SL; ICRC had raised possibility but backed down;

On disappearances: not clear how many are sinister. Known that hard-line cadres are given over to police and are sent to rehabilitation centres. Reasonably clear that GoSL will try to make sure remaining LTTE top leadership won't make it out alive;

LTTE lower cadres are not really separated from civilians, all enter camps together, which is not necessarily a good thing, because all are then viewed as suspects;

Will be pretty hard to get UN political presence in country; govt very resistant, uses "home-grown solution" language very deliberately;

On the doctors: they are in detention but are 'healthy' and 'ok, as far as one can be ok in detention' ;

On UNSC: we have not focused on that, happy to brief if requested;

The strategy is still to keep on with high-level visits, but will see how this will happen;

On numbers: we have no idea how many have died in the last three days. Generally, hard to verify numbers, so have been using "some

thousands."

[Later on, an OCHA staffer advised NGOs to press the issue of MoUs, also to create more space for the pro-active Holmes.]

   ...There is no real push-back to the exclusion of vehicles from the IDP camps. The minutes say that ICRC (the Red Cross) "backed down." While some UN sources have told Inner City Press that UN staff are threatening a de facto boycott, Holmes told the Press on the plane ride to Sri Lanka that this is not the case, that access and work continues.

It appears that the Secretariat may not even push to have Ban Ki-moon briefing the Security Council upon his return to New York. Then again, in April Ban Ki-moon was only in New York three times, for a total of five days. A lot is being "phased out."

Inner City Press will be accompanying Ban and Holmes on their whirlwind tour May 23 and will report on it in real time to the degree possible given the host country's control of the tour and the lack of internet access. Watch this site.

Click here for a short list, compiled on the plane, of other issues Ban might look into in Sri Lanka

Footnote / full disclosure: this reporter has been granted a visa, albeit for only two days, gratis by the Sri Lankan mission to the UN. A request for more than two days resulted in instructions to write a letter, which will be considered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Colombo “after a background check.” Watch this site.

And see, a May 13 Inner City Press debate on Sri Lanka, here

Ambulance aflame in "No Fire" Zone, May 13, 2009

In the final week of fighting we ran this message, from Dr. Sathiyamoorthy

13 May 2009

Dear Sir / Madam,

Heavy battle started since 5.30 am. Many wounded civilians were brought to hospital and hospital is not providing services because hospital was under shell attack. Few staff reported duty. nearly thousand patients are waiting to get daily treatment. But even simple wound dressing and giving antibiotics problems. So many wounded have to die. In the ward among patients many death bodies are there.

Looking hospital seen and hearing the civilians cry really disaster. Did they make any mistake do the world by the innocent. But the important sta[keholders] are just listening the situation and not helping the people.

Dr.T.Sathiyamoorthy

Regional director of Health Services

Kilinochchi (Now at No Fire Zone)

  From the UN's May 18 noon briefing transcript:

Inner City Press: on Mr. Nambiar. Can you say whether while he is there the issue...there are some saying that there are many people that are now injured in the (inaudible) care in what had been called the no fire zone; and that the ICRC has no access. Is this something that...is this in the case there some doctors who used to report on the casualty figures who have gone missing as reported in the Guardian and the Independent. Are these issues, I mean you mentioned he’s talking about the IDPs instead of post-conflict; what about people that are actually at this moment sort of dying without medical care...(interrupted)?

Deputy Spokesperson Okabe: Well, that’s the subject that I think John Holmes is going to come and talk to you about right now.

Inner City Press: Burt can you say whether Mr. Nambiar, I guess I am just wondering... -- John Holmes is not there, Mr. Nambiar is -- is this an issue that the UN is urgently raising with the Government or not?

Deputy Spokesperson Okabe: The Chef de Cabinet’s visit, as we mentioned to you, focuses exactly on the same issues that I just mentioned; which are the United Nations’ and the Secretary-General’s concern. Now, obviously the immediate humanitarian needs on the ground are the utmost priority for all of us.

But what about the doctors?

 On Thursday May 7, Inner City Press asked Associate UN Spokesperson Farhan Haq:

Inner City Press: I wanted to ask about this invitation that’s been made to the Secretary-General to visit Sri Lanka. First I wanted to ask if on Monday when he met with the Ambassador of Japan, whether he was briefed on a visit by Mr. [Yasushi] Akashi to Sri Lanka and was urged by Japan that he should take this visit. And I also wanted to know whether he would be in New York 11 May for the Middle East debate, and 15 May to meet with the Chinese diplomats, that in fact this is one reason that he is considering not going, as I have been told by senior Secretariat staff.

Associate Spokesperson Haq: Well, first of all, we don’t announce the trips of the Secretary-General until they are close to occurring. And in that regard, I don’t have anything to announce about a trip to Sri Lanka at this stage. At the same time, as Michèle told you yesterday, and is still true for today, if the Secretary-General believes that visiting Sri Lanka can have an impact in terms of saving lives there, he will certainly try to go. So he is considering that. But part of what he is studying is what the impact of a potential trip would be.

Inner City Press: But if he had that belief, that would be without regard to attending the 11 May Middle East thing or the 15 May meeting with the Chinese diplomats? I am told that’s a major factor in his planning.

Associate Spokesperson: Scheduling is a separate issue. What we’re talking about is the decision of whether or not to go. And certainly if he can make a difference and can save civilian lives, which is what his priority has been on this case, then he will go. At present, we don’t have anything to announce at all in this regard, though.

Question: Just one last one on that. I wanted to know, can you at least confirm that he met with Ambassador Takasu on Monday in his office inside the Security Council? Can you give a read-out of that meeting and say why it wasn’t on his public schedule?

Associate Spokesperson: I can confirm that he met with the Permanent Representative of Japan. He did that, yes. It was in his office in the Security Council. We don’t provide readouts of meetings with ambassadors.

Question: And why wasn’t it on the schedule?

Associate Spokesperson: It came up all of a sudden when he had a bit of free time in between other appointments on a fairly hectic day.

  On Friday May 8, Inner City Press asked Deputy Spokesperson Okabe:

Inner City Press: On the invitation by the Government of Sri Lanka to the Secretary-General to visit, is there any progress in thinking? In the alternative, is the Secretary-General, is he considering invoking Article 99 or responsibility to protect or making some other move of some type on the situation in Sri Lanka?

Deputy Spokesperson: I have nothing beyond what we’ve been saying from this podium this week on Sri Lanka, including what the Secretary-General himself has said earlier this week.

   What Ban said did not involve calling for a cease-fire. Watch this site.

 Channel 4 in the UK with allegations of rape and disappearance

  Click here for an Inner City Press YouTube channel video, mostly UN Headquarters footage, about civilian deaths in Sri Lanka.

Click here for Inner City Press' March 27 UN debate

Click here for Inner City Press' Feb 26 UN debate

Click here for Inner City Press' review-of-2008 UN Top Ten debate

Click here from Inner City Press' December 12 debate on UN double standards

and this October 17 debate, on Security Council and Obama and the UN.

* * *

These reports are usually also available through Google News and on Lexis-Nexis.

Click here for a Reuters AlertNet piece by this correspondent about Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army. Click here for an earlier Reuters AlertNet piece about the Somali National Reconciliation Congress, and the UN's $200,000 contribution from an undefined trust fund.  Video Analysis here

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