Ban bans the war crimes report on Sri Lanka

At UN, As Ban Gets Sri Lanka Report, He Gives to Government, Misleading on Meetings, Nambiar Conflict Called “Specious”

The UN’s long delayed report into accountability for war crimes in Sri Lanka was handed to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday, Ban’s acting deputy spokesman Farhan Haq announced on April 12, confirming Inner City Press’ exclusive report on April 11 that Tuesday would be the day.

But the report was not made public. Rather, Ban shared a copy with the government of Mahinda Rajapaksa “as a matter of courtesy.” This, and the delay in even handing over the document, were reportedly agreed to in March when Sri Lankan Attorney General Mohan Peiris, accompanied by presumptive war crimes defendant General Shavendra Silva, visited the UN.

At the time, the only listed meeting was with Ban Ki-moon. But soon Sri Lankan government officials were bragging that they also met with Ban’s panel. When Inner City Press asked Ban’s spokesman Martin Nesirky, he gave the impression that no such meeting with the Panel took place, saying, you were there, Matthew, you know.

On April 12, when Inner City Press asked Haq to clarify this, Haq denied that Nesirky said there was no meeting with the Panel. The video will tell the story: but whether the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary General should be engaging in what many in the press corps see as games.

Inner City Press asked Haq, since Ban in December and January said his Panel could travel to Sri Lanka due to Mahinda Rajapaksa’s “flexibility,” if the Panel had in fact traveled to Sri Lanka and if not, if they were blocked. Haq refused to answer, even if they had gone there.

Previously, when asked about a filing with the International Criminal Court which, while primarily directed against Sri Lankan Ambassador Palitha Kohona, describes the role of Ban’s chief of staff Vijay Nambiar in the so-called white flag killings of surrenderees, Haq told a journalist on the record that there has been no formal filing with the ICC. Even now that receipt has been confirmed by the ICC, there has been no subsequent statement by Haq’s or Ban’s wider office.

Inner City Press on April 12 asked if Nambiar, given his role as described in the ICC filing, will be recused from Ban’s decision making on what to do with the Sri Lanka report. Haq quickly called this “specious,” pointing out that Nambiar is not the named target of the ICC filing. But that is not the applicable standard for a conflict of interest.

Google translation: NorwegianFNs lange forsinkede rapporten til ansvar for krigsforbrytelser på Sri Lanka ble overrakt til generalsekretær Ban Ki-moon tirsdag, kunngjorde Ban fungerende visetalsmann Farhan Haq den 12. april, bekrefter Inner City Press 'eksklusive rapport den 11. april som tirsdag skulle bli dagen.

Men rapporten ble ikke offentliggjort. Snarere, delte Ban en kopi med regjeringen i Mahinda Rajapaksa "som et spørsmål om høflighet." Dette, og forsinkelsen i selv å overlevere dokumentet, var angivelig enige om i mars når Sri Lankas justisminister Mohan Peiris, ledsaget av presumptive krig forbrytelser tiltalte General Shavendra Silva, besøkte FN.

På den tiden var det kun oppført møtet med Ban Ki-moon. Men snart Sri Lankas myndigheter var skryter at de også møtte Ban's panel. Når Inner City Press bedt Ban talsmann Martin Nesirky, ga han inntrykk av at noe slikt møte med Panelet fant sted, sa du var der, Matthew, vet du.

Den 12. april, da Inner City Press bedt Haq å avklare dette, benektet Haq at Nesirky sa at det var ingen møte med Panel. Videoen vil fortelle historien: men om Riksrevisjonen Pressetalsmann for generalsekretæren bør engasjere i det som mange i pressekorpset se som spill.

Inner City Press spurte Haq, siden Ban i desember og januar sa at hans Panel kunne reise til Sri Lanka på grunn Mahinda Rajapaksa's "fleksibilitet," hvis Panel hadde faktisk reist til Sri Lanka, og hvis ikke, om de var blokkert. Haq nektet å svare, selv om de hadde gått der.

Tidligere, når de blir spurt om en filing med Den internasjonale straffedomstolen som, mens primært rettet mot Sri Lankas ambassadør Palitha Kohona, beskriver rolle Ban stabssjef Vijay Nambiar i den såkalte hvite flagget drap på de som er overgitt seg, fortalte Haq en journalist på posten at det har vært noen formell innleveringen til ICC. Selv nå som kvittering har blitt bekreftet av ICC, har det vært noen påfølgende uttalelse av Haq's eller Ban's bredere kontor.

Inner City Press den 12. april spurte om Nambiar, gitt sin rolle som beskrevet i ICC arkivering, vil bli recused fra Ban beslutninger i hva de skal gjøre med Sri Lanka rapporten. Haq raskt kalte dette "specious," peker på at Nambiar ikke er navngitt mål av ICC innlevering. Men det er ikke gjeldende standard for en interessekonflikt.