The UN Secretariat still did not release the Sri Lanka Panel of Experts war crimes report at its noon briefing on April 19, five full days after portions began appearing in The Island newspaper, presumptively leaked by the government itself.
UN Department of Political Affairs chief Lynn Pascoe did raise the Sri Lanka report in the Security Council on Monday, but only briefly, and Russia again raised procedural objections that participants said supported the Mahinda Rajapaksa government, accused of war crimes.
Inner City Press asked Ban’s acting Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq if Ban will be discussion Sri Lanka and the report during his upcoming visit to Russia. All Haq would say is there will be a read-out at that time.
But several human rights groups now indicate they agree with the question raised here yesterday: if Ban will further trade off Sri Lanka accountability, to assure a second term as Secretary General which Russia could veto.
Inner City Press also asked Haq to confirm that the “senior advisers” that Haq on April 18 said would review the Sri Lanka report include Ban’s chief of staff Vijay Nambiar, whose role in the so called white flag killings of surrenderees at the end of the conflict have been described in a filing with the International Criminal Court.
Haq indicated that yes, Nambiar is a senior adviser. But what about the apparent conflict of interest?
A wire service reporter told Inner City Press on Tuesday in front of the Security Council that his organization has already “moved on” to stories about reactions to the Sri Lanka report, and will have little interest when Ban belated makes the UN release of the report and “analysis.”
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