UN shares its' war crime report with Sri Lanka "as a matter of courtesy"

Photo courtesy: UN News & Media

Inner City Press
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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.

Haq said that Ban will, himself, make the decision on what to do with the report.

© Inner City Press

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United Nations report on Sri Lanka must be made public - Amnesty International

Amnesty International
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A United Nations (U.N.) report on accountability for war crimes committed in the Sri Lankan armed conflict must be made public, Amnesty International said today as a panel of experts submits their findings to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

"Sri Lankans must be allowed to see the panel’s findings. The report concerns a critical period in their recent history and they deserve to read it in full," said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific director. "Ban Ki-moon said that 'accountability is an essential foundation for durable peace and reconciliation in Sri Lanka.' He must stick to his word - accounting for violations committed in the recent conflict is the first step to future reconciliation."

The U.N. Panel of Experts was appointed in June 2010 to advise the Secretary General on accountability issues relating to violations of international human rights and humanitarian law alleged in the final stages of the armed conflict in Sri Lanka, which ended in May 2009.

The panel was also asked to recommend a course of action that would ensure accountability, in line with a joint commitment made by President Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka and Ban Ki-moon on his visit to Sri Lanka in May 2009.

Amnesty International has called on the United Nations to launch an independent international investigation into alleged crimes, which include the killing of more than 10,000 civilians; the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam’s use of civilians as human shields and conscription of child soldiers; Sri Lankan army shelling of areas densely populated by civilians; and severe deprivation of food, water and medical care for people trapped by fighting.

The Sri Lankan government protested appointment of the U.N. panel as "uncalled for and unwarranted" and refused to fully cooperate.

"The panel’s work on accountability issues in Sri Lanka should mark the beginning, not the end, of a process of accounting for violations," said Zarifi.

For decades, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE or Tamil Tigers) systematically targeted civilians, launched suicide attacks at buses and railway stations, assassinated politicians and critics and recruited child soldiers.

Sri Lankan government forces and their armed affiliates also acted with impunity, engaging in extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and torturing those suspected of links to the LTTE.

"Impunity for violations has been the rule throughout Sri Lanka’s long civil war. The way to turn a new page in the country’s history and restore public confidence is to deliver truth and justice," said Zarifi. "By publicizing the panel of expert’s report, and moving toward an independent, international accountability mechanism, the UN would send a strong message that international law is relevant, and would reinforce trends of accountability for human rights violations globally."

© Amnesty International

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Sri Lanka: UN chief receives report of panel of experts on human rights issues

Photo courtesy: UN News & Media

UN News Centre
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The panel of experts set up to advise Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on accountability issues with respect to the conflict in Sri Lanka today delivered its report to the United Nations chief, who is sharing a copy with the Government prior to making it public.

The three-member panel was set up following the Joint Statement made by Mr. Ban and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa after the Secretary-General visited the South Asian nation shortly after the end of the conflict in May 2009.

During their meeting today at UN Headquarters in New York, Mr. Ban expressed his sincere appreciation to the members of the panel for having completed their assignment, and said he would study the report carefully and will determine his next steps in the coming days.

The panel was tasked with examining “the modalities, applicable international standards and comparative experience with regard to accountability processes,” taking into account the nature and scope of any alleged violations of international humanitarian and human rights law during the final stages of the conflict in Sri Lanka.

Government forces declared victory over the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009 after a conflict that had raged on and off for nearly three decades and killed thousands of people. The conflict ended with large numbers of Sri Lankans living as internally displaced persons (IDPs), especially in the north of the island country.

The members of the panel are: Marzuki Darusman of Indonesia (chair), Yasmin Sooka of South Africa and Steven Ratner of the United States. They began their work in September 2010.

© UN News Centre

Related articles

• U.N. panel on Sri Lanka conflict delivers report (Reuters)
• UN leader under pressure over Sri Lanka war report (AFP)
• Sri Lanka: UN Experts Submit Report (Human Rights Watch)

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IFJ condemns restrictions on Tamil paper in Sri Lanka

Photo courtesy: Dushiyanthini Kanagasabapathipillai | Groundviews

International Federation of Journalists
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The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins its affiliate the Free Media Movement (FMM) in expressing concern over increased hostilities toward Tamil-language newspaper 'Uthayan', based in Jaffna in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province.

The FMM reports that Jaffna Municipal Council has ordered its officials not to invite Uthayan journalists to cover official events or provide them with any information such as media releases.

Officials are also reported to have prohibited all government offices and departments from subscribing to or purchasing the newspaper. The ban extends to libraries in the city, where Tamil-language speakers constitute a majority.

“It is unacceptable that authorities would actively deny a particular language group access to official information,” IFJ Asia-Pacific Director Jacqueline Park said.

Uthayan’s offices and journalists were subjected to attack throughout the country’s 26-year civil war, and the period since the war ended in May 2009. Most recently, a police constable was arrested after threatening to burn the newspaper’s office and assault its staff on March 17, after the paper refused to publish a correction to a news report, Sri Lanka’s Sunday Times reported.

Unidentified people riding motorcycles have warned staff against publishing reports and photographs not favourable to the Government or politicians affiliated with the ruling United People’s Freedom Party.

The IFJ joins the FMM in calling for an immediate reversal of the decision by the Jaffna Municipal Council.

© IFJ

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Sri Lanka Older returnees face isolation, poverty

Integrated Regional Information Networks
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Thousands of older returnees to Sri Lanka's conflict-affected north feel marginalized and need medical care, experts say.

"There are hardly any programmes to help these people," said Samantha Liyanawaduge, executive director of Help Age Sri Lanka, one of just a handful of agencies targeting older returnees.

Although no official figures are available, estimates suggest there are more than 30,000 people over the age of 60 in the Vanni, a vast swath of land in the island's north once under the control of the defeated Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which waged a decades-long civil war for an independent Tamil homeland

Since the war ended in May 2009, more than 320,000 displaced have returned to their homes or are now staying with relatives, the UN reports.

According to community workers, many of the elderly show signs of trauma or isolation and struggle to meet their daily needs. Those without extended family support face poverty, loneliness, dependency, ill health and lack of nutrition and access to adequate healthcare.

Chelliah Philip Nesakumar, an Anglican priest from Kilinochchi, the former de-facto capital of the LTTE, says the elderly often feel abandoned, with some demonstrating sudden outbursts of anger.

"On the surface they appear ok, but many are carrying the psychological scars of two-and-a-half decades of war," Nesakumar said.

Veeran Pandaran, a 61-year-old grandfather from Kilinochchi, had hoped things would get better when the war ended. "Life is certainly safer now, but we've been left to fend for ourselves," Pandaran said.

Ongoing development and rehabilitation work in his area includes hardly any programmes tailored to the old and impaired, he claimed. "There is nothing to help people like me," he insisted. "It's as if we are not important."

Limited resources

Help Age Sri Lanka - which has been working for the rights of marginalized senior citizens since 1986 - would like to do more, but resources are limited, forcing the agency to focus on the most serious cases first.

In February, it opened a small sub-office in Kilinochchi to coordinate its work and dispatch mobile medical clinics to the area each week.

Most of the elderly have cataracts. Of every 100 people the NGO sees, more than 60 percent are given glasses, while 20 to 30 percent require surgery.

Help Age has its own eye clinic near the capital, Colombo, which can carry out cataract operations free of charge; however, many people are physically unable to travel the 300km distance, or simply do not have the funds to make the journey.

This in turn leaves them no other option but to seek treatment at a hospital in the northern town of Vavuniya, 70km south of Killinochi, where the operation can be carried out at a cost of around US$55 - money many simply do not have.

"That's money these people don't have to spare," Liyanawaduge said.

Help Age organizes community groups and would also like to initiate programmes to generate income for them.

In the east of the country, Help Age has used elders' groups to start home-gardening, poultry and small cattle-farming operations.

"We know more needs to be done, but we simply don't have the financial resources to take them on," Liyanawaduge said.

© IRIN

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