Inner City Press -- Investigative Reporting From the Inner City to Wall Street to the United Nations

Sri Lankan Government Used Plainclothes Men in Unmarked Cars to Grab UN Staff

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

UNITED NATIONS, June 23 -- While the UN in New York still refuses to confirm that Sri Lanka has detained two Tamil staff members, the acting Country Coordinator, UNHCR's Amim Awar, has told local staff that the two men were picked up on June 11 and 12 "by plain clothes men, who did not identify themselves, and who were driving an unmarked vehicle."

  Many who disappear that way, particularly in the notorious white vans, are subsequently killed. That such tactics have been deployed by the government onto UN staff who are, at least elsewhere, immune signifies the degree of the UN's debasement in Sri Lanka.

   Amin Awar's message to staff, obtained by Inner City Press and published below and attached, says that 12 days after the detentions, the UN has

"not been officially informed of the detention, the reasons for this detention, the allegations, if any, of charges that might have been laid against the staff members, or the location of their detention. We understand that their families have not been officially informed. ...
 
We have sought legal advice as to whether the manner in which these men were taken followed due process. The UN acknowledges without reservation the right of the security services of Sri Lanka to investigate any allegations of criminal wrongdoing, including by UN staff members, and will cooperate fully to support due process. However it is our position that any investigation must comply with Sri Lankan national law and be transparent."

   Ironically, when UN peacekeepers commit rape or sexual abuse, for example in the Congo, they are not allowed to be arrested by the national authorities. In the US, if the government wants to arrest or even question a UN staff member, the Secretary General has to waive immunity. Not in Sri Lanka, apparently.

On June 22, Inner City Press asked Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson Michele Montas

Inner City Press:it emerged over the weekend that two more UN staff members had been detained by the Government of Sri Lanka. Reportedly, a driver for UNOPS and a driver for UNHCR. Is OCHA aware of that? And what’s being done to find out why they were detained?

Spokesperson Montas: Okay. I’ll try to find out more on that. Very soon.

  More more than 30 hours later, no information has been provided by the UN in New York.

UN's Ban between cameras of Sri Lanka staff, detentions not yet shown

   The June 23 noon briefing was canceled, to encourage reporters to go cover a Ban Ki-moon press conference outside of the UN at which questions were limited to climate change.

   In the Spokesperson's Office, the previous practice of letting the Press view the Office's compilation for Ban Ki-moon of world news headlines has abruptly been discontinued. The explanation is that now Ban wants analysis along with the headlines and summaries, and it would be inappropriate for the Press to see this "format."

   But the UN's internal News Monitoring Unit compiles articles about the Secretary General and allows a search by Positive, Neutral and Negative coverage. Strangely, despite the Economist review and Foreign Policy, on June 22 in the UN data base there were no negative reviews listed or included. Hear no evil, see no evil. We will have more on this.

Inner City Press' June 18 debate on Sri Lanka, click here

Message from Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator

Arrest of UN staff members

Dear colleagues,

You may be aware that two UN staff members went missing in Vavuniya on 11 and 12 of June. You may have heard the news from colleagues, or have seen reports in the media.

From the facts as we understand them today, the two staff members in question were taken away by plain clothes men, who did not identify themselves, and who were driving an unmarked vehicle. One UNHCR staff member was taken from his home, and the UNOPS staff member was taken the following day from a service station, where he had stopped to refuel his vehicle. The UN was not informed by the authorities, and it was only after conducting inquiries that we were able to learn informally that the staff members had in fact been taken by the Sri Lankan security services. To date, we have not been officially informed of the detention, the reasons for this detention, the allegations, if any, of charges that might have been laid against the staff members, or the location of their detention. We understand that their families have not been officially informed. Under Sri Lankan Law, Emergency Regulation 20 (9) when a person is taken into custody, a receipt should be issued to family members or accompanying person acknowledging the arrest / detention.

We have sought legal advice as to whether the manner in which these men were taken followed due process. The UN acknowledges without reservation the right of the security services of Sri Lanka to investigate any allegations of criminal wrongdoing, including by UN staff members, and will cooperate fully to support due process. However it is our position that any investigation must comply with Sri Lankan national law and be transparent.

We are in constant contact with the government over our concerns, and have issued official communiqués to the government detailing them. We are keeping our respective headquarters closely informed, as well as Secretary-General Mr. Ban Ki-Moon. When UN staff members are detained it is standard practice for the UN to have direct contact with such persons. We will attempt to keep you informed in a timely manner through these bulletins of these matters.

Best regards

Amin Awad

Acting Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator

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