The UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, who was refused admittance by Colombo at the height of the war, chose to accept its invitation as soon as the war was “won”, accuses Norway’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Mona Juul, whose confidential assessment of Ban sent to Norway’s Foreign Ministry, leaked to Afterposten newspaper of Oslo Wednesday. War in Sri Lanka is an example of the weak handling of the Secretary General. He was a passive observer when thousands lost lives and were driven from their homes, the diplomat further said in her mid term assessment of Ban’s tenure. “Even when it was helpless at the gang-up of certain powers, the UN should have upheld its integrity by telling the truth and exposing the culprits to the world. But Ban and his chosen officials not only failed but also shielded them”, said Tamil circles which look at UN as the ‘fence that ate the crop.’
The ‘leak’ of the diplomatic document, stamped ‘strictly confidential,’ coincides the visit of the Secretary General to Norway scheduled to the end of this month.Unfortunately, the world is yet to design ways of legally indicting UN officials for their wrongs, said a Human Rights lawyer in Colombo. Meanwhile, Tamil circles in Norway commented that the Norwegian media, recently seen orchestrating 'sensational' news on 'post-war' Tiger politics and now exposing UN failure, has also a duty in investigating the role played by Norwegian politicians and diplomats in the failure of arresting the genocide in the island of Sri Lanka.
Details, culled out from the report of Mona Juul follow:
Ban was a conscious choice of the Bush Administration that did not want an active secretary general. But even the current US Administration has not signalled a changed attitude towards him. However there are rumours now that some in Washington call him a ‘one-term secretary general’.
China is happy with Ban’s performance and could be the key to his possible re-election. But Russia is not happy with him over Kosovo and Georgia and for not appointing enough Russians in the UN. Many other nations are negative to him.At a time when the UN is needed the most by the world, Ban and his staff are conspicuously absent. There was little UN engagement and appeals fell on deaf ears on the crises of Darfur, Somalia, Pakistan, Zimbabwe and Congo. Failure was also registered on the inspection of Gaza war. Ban’s recent fruitless visit to Burma has made further UN efforts difficult.Very strangely Ban was almost absent on the area of weapons limitation and proliferation, which he had wished to focus on before his election. Ban is not visible in attending the global financial crisis and environmental agenda.The secretary general lacking moral authority is battling to show leadership.He lacks charisma and his fits of rage make working with him difficult even for experienced co-workers. The relationship with deputy, Migiro is strained. There are rumours that she is on her way out. He wants to control everything including press releases.All the people chosen by him for various tasks failed. The only exception perhaps is Helen Clark, the new chief of UNDP, who has shown results within a short period. She could succeed as secretary general.There are rumours that Holmes could take over as chief of staff and that Nambiar is about to quit. Holmes is also a possible candidate to take over the political department as the British are focusing on getting the seat back for them.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Review fears Sri Lanka used British weapons on Tamil civilians
Fears that British weapons were used against civilians in Sri Lanka’s war against the Tamil Tigers have prompted calls for a review of the arms trade, British newspapers said. Four British Parliamentary committees have issued a joint report arguing that all existing licences to Sri Lanka should be investigated. Singling out Sri Lanka, Roger Berry, chairman of the Committees on Arms Export Controls, said that arms exports to countries which had only recently ceased hostilities should be monitored because of the high risk that fighting would resume. Meanwhile, a spokesman for the UK Foreign Office told the Daily Telegraph newspaper a review of Sri Lanka was underway, adding: "the Government shares the Committees' concerns regarding military exports fuelling conflict in countries such as Sri Lanka.”
The Parliamentary committee says that while the situation in Sri Lanka made it “impossible” to know how British weapons were deployed, there were legitimate concerns that they may have been used against civilians.“Sri Lanka highlights the need for the UK Government to monitor closely the situation in countries recently engaged in armed conflict,” Mr. Berry said.“It must assess more carefully the risk that UK arms exports might be used by those countries in the future in a way that breaches our licensing criteria.”
Britain approved the sale of more than £13.6 million of weapons and military equipment to Sri Lanka during the last three years of its civil war, including armoured vehicles, machinegun components, semiautomatic pistols and ammunition.However, Britain is legally bound by the European Union code of conduct on arms transfers, which restricts the arms trade to countries facing internal conflicts or with poor human rights records and a history of violating international law.MPs specifically want to know which British arms were used by Sri Lankan forces in this year’s final offensive against the Tamil Tigers, in which an estimated 20,000 civilians died, The Times said.A spokesman for the Foreign Office told the Daily Telegraph newspaper: "As a result of the intensified fighting in Sri Lanka earlier this year, the Government launched a full review of export licensing decisions to Sri Lanka. This review is nearing completion, and the outcome will be reported to Parliament."In the last quarter of 2008 Britain approved 21 licences for more than £1.3 million of supplies and declined two that were deemed to violate EU rules on such sales, The Times reported.The code focuses not on the lethal potential of the weapon but on its end use. Between April last year and March 34 licences were granted for military exports to Sri Lanka.Malcolm Bruce, a Liberal Democrat MP who visited Sri Lanka in April, told The Times of the licences: “There were too many unanswered questions. With hindsight, Britain’s sales did violate the EU code of conduct.”MPs rejected the Government’s claim that it could not have anticipated the civilian toll in Sri Lanka, noting the dramatic increase of hostilities after the collapse of the ceasefire in 2006. Bill Rammell, the Foreign Office Minister, also argued that a British arms embargo on Sri Lanka would have prevented them attaining any leverage to press for a ceasefire.The United States suspended all military aid and sales to Sri Lanka early last year because of concerns about worsening human rights abuses against both Tamil fighters and civilians. British MPs and activists against the arms trade said that the EU should have done the same even earlier, when the ceasefire first collapsed.“Of course it could have been anticipated,” Mr Berry told The Times.“Anyone who knows anything about Sri Lanka realised where things were going. We think there are enormous lessons to be learnt from Sri Lanka, to put it mildly.”
The Parliamentary committee says that while the situation in Sri Lanka made it “impossible” to know how British weapons were deployed, there were legitimate concerns that they may have been used against civilians.“Sri Lanka highlights the need for the UK Government to monitor closely the situation in countries recently engaged in armed conflict,” Mr. Berry said.“It must assess more carefully the risk that UK arms exports might be used by those countries in the future in a way that breaches our licensing criteria.”
Britain approved the sale of more than £13.6 million of weapons and military equipment to Sri Lanka during the last three years of its civil war, including armoured vehicles, machinegun components, semiautomatic pistols and ammunition.However, Britain is legally bound by the European Union code of conduct on arms transfers, which restricts the arms trade to countries facing internal conflicts or with poor human rights records and a history of violating international law.MPs specifically want to know which British arms were used by Sri Lankan forces in this year’s final offensive against the Tamil Tigers, in which an estimated 20,000 civilians died, The Times said.A spokesman for the Foreign Office told the Daily Telegraph newspaper: "As a result of the intensified fighting in Sri Lanka earlier this year, the Government launched a full review of export licensing decisions to Sri Lanka. This review is nearing completion, and the outcome will be reported to Parliament."In the last quarter of 2008 Britain approved 21 licences for more than £1.3 million of supplies and declined two that were deemed to violate EU rules on such sales, The Times reported.The code focuses not on the lethal potential of the weapon but on its end use. Between April last year and March 34 licences were granted for military exports to Sri Lanka.Malcolm Bruce, a Liberal Democrat MP who visited Sri Lanka in April, told The Times of the licences: “There were too many unanswered questions. With hindsight, Britain’s sales did violate the EU code of conduct.”MPs rejected the Government’s claim that it could not have anticipated the civilian toll in Sri Lanka, noting the dramatic increase of hostilities after the collapse of the ceasefire in 2006. Bill Rammell, the Foreign Office Minister, also argued that a British arms embargo on Sri Lanka would have prevented them attaining any leverage to press for a ceasefire.The United States suspended all military aid and sales to Sri Lanka early last year because of concerns about worsening human rights abuses against both Tamil fighters and civilians. British MPs and activists against the arms trade said that the EU should have done the same even earlier, when the ceasefire first collapsed.“Of course it could have been anticipated,” Mr Berry told The Times.“Anyone who knows anything about Sri Lanka realised where things were going. We think there are enormous lessons to be learnt from Sri Lanka, to put it mildly.”
Floods threaten Tamils in Sri Lanka’s detention camps - HRW
Floods and disease are threatening the health and lives of hundreds of thousands of Tamils detained enmasse in violation of international by the Sri Lankan government, HRW said Tuesday. The floods have caused emergency latrines to flood or collapse, causing sewage to flood several areas of the camps, heightening the risk of outbreaks of contagious diseases. The camps are located in places that are known to flood during the onsetting monsoon season.
Meanwhile, HRW says camp residents are getting increasingly frustrated by the difficult conditions in the camps. In late June, camp residents held at least two protests, which were dispersed by the security forces. Since then, the military administration of the camps, apparently fearing more unrest, has divided the camps into smaller sections, which are easier to control. The full text of HRW’s statement follows:Floods caused by heavy rains unnecessarily threaten more than 260,000 displaced Tamil civilians whom the Sri Lankan government has unlawfully detained in camps in northern Sri Lanka, Human Rights Watch said today. Permitting displaced families to move in with friends and host families would quickly address the deteriorating conditions in the camps with the onset of the rainy season, Human Rights Watch said. "The government has detained people in these camps and is threatening their health and even their lives by keeping them there during the rainy season floods," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "This is illegal, dangerous, and inhumane."In violation of international law, the government has since March 2008 confined virtually all civilians displaced by the fighting between government forces and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in detention camps, euphemistically called "welfare centers" by the government. Only a few thousand camp residents have been released and allowed to return home or to stay elsewhere. During the last several days, heavy rain fell on northern Sri Lanka, flooding several camps. Zones 2 and 4 of Manik farm, a large complex of camps west of the town of Vavuniya, were particularly affected by rain. More rain is expected with the onset of the rainy season next month, further worsening conditions in the overcrowded camps."Aanathi," a 30-year-old woman living in zone 2 with her 1-year-old son, told Human Rights Watch: "Within seconds, the water was pouring into our tents. ... After a couple of minutes, everything was flooded. We lost all of our things. We had no place to cook. We couldn't get help from anybody, because everybody was in the same situation. It was terrible. We were already frightened, and this made it worse." Seven people from three families were living in Aanathi's tent, which was designed to house five people. According to the United Nations, the majority of the camps are severely overcrowded; zones 2 and 4, with a joint capacity of 50,000 people, held more than 100,000 people as of July 28, 2009. For their protection, the residents who spoke with Human Rights Watch were not identified by their real names. The rain caused emergency latrines to flood or collapse, causing sewage to flood several areas of the camps, heightening the risk of outbreaks of contagious diseases. "Shantadevi," also in zone 2, told Human Rights Watch: "Some of the toilets are completely flooded. It looks like they are floating in water. The pits have collapsed and raw sewage is floating around with the storm water in a green and brown sludge. It smells disgusting."Aanathi explained to Human Rights Watch that the area where the camp is located usually floods during the rainy season: "If they don't release us before then, we will be washed away by all the water, there will be outbreaks of diseases here. It will be terrible." The camps have already suffered from outbreaks of contagious diseases with health officials recording thousands of cases of diarrhea, hepatitis, dysentery, and chickenpox. Observers report that camp residents are getting increasingly frustrated by the difficult conditions in the camps and that the current heavy rain caused unrest that was quickly defused by the military camp administration without the use of force. In late June, camp re
sidents held at least two protests, which were dispersed by the security forces. Since then, the military administration of the camps, apparently fearing more unrest, has divided the camps into smaller sections, which are easier to control. Humanitarian organizations have long advocated the release of the displaced from the camps. Many of the camp residents have relatives, including close family members, with whom they can live if they are allowed to leave. Aanathi told Human Rights Watch that she would go to live with her mother in Jaffna or her mother-in-law in Trincomalee if released. "The camp is like a desert, there are no trees here," she told Human Rights Watch. "When it is sunny, it gets really hot. When it rains, you can't walk because of all the mud. With a 1-year old it is very difficult to move around, and I can't leave him alone in the tent. It is painful to speak about my situation here. I am lonely, very lonely. If I could go to Jaffna or Trincomalee, I would have a good life again."The government has refused to release the displaced from the camps, contending that it needs to screen them for Tamil Tiger combatants. In response to calls to release them, Foreign Secretary Palitha Kohona, recently named Sri Lanka's ambassador to the UN, told the BBC on August 10 that it was "mischievous to talk of rights in the absence of security."On August 15, the minister of resettlement and disaster management, Rizad Bathiudeen, told the Sri Lankan Daily Mirror that he held UN agencies responsible for the flooding in the camps, saying, "[T]he Government cannot be blamed for the poor condition of the drainage systems which burst and failed.""The government bears full responsibility for the situation in the camps," said Adams. "Locking families up in squalid conditions and then blaming aid agencies for their plight is downright shameful."
sidents held at least two protests, which were dispersed by the security forces. Since then, the military administration of the camps, apparently fearing more unrest, has divided the camps into smaller sections, which are easier to control. Humanitarian organizations have long advocated the release of the displaced from the camps. Many of the camp residents have relatives, including close family members, with whom they can live if they are allowed to leave. Aanathi told Human Rights Watch that she would go to live with her mother in Jaffna or her mother-in-law in Trincomalee if released. "The camp is like a desert, there are no trees here," she told Human Rights Watch. "When it is sunny, it gets really hot. When it rains, you can't walk because of all the mud. With a 1-year old it is very difficult to move around, and I can't leave him alone in the tent. It is painful to speak about my situation here. I am lonely, very lonely. If I could go to Jaffna or Trincomalee, I would have a good life again."The government has refused to release the displaced from the camps, contending that it needs to screen them for Tamil Tiger combatants. In response to calls to release them, Foreign Secretary Palitha Kohona, recently named Sri Lanka's ambassador to the UN, told the BBC on August 10 that it was "mischievous to talk of rights in the absence of security."On August 15, the minister of resettlement and disaster management, Rizad Bathiudeen, told the Sri Lankan Daily Mirror that he held UN agencies responsible for the flooding in the camps, saying, "[T]he Government cannot be blamed for the poor condition of the drainage systems which burst and failed.""The government bears full responsibility for the situation in the camps," said Adams. "Locking families up in squalid conditions and then blaming aid agencies for their plight is downright shameful." United States provides $6 million to support de-mining in North
U.S. Department of State is contributing $6 million to be shared by four non-governmental organisations, Danish De-Mining Group (DDG), Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD), Halo Trust and MAG (Mines Advisory Group) for de-mining activities to increase their demining capacity and expand their work over the next twelve months in the Northern Province, according to a press statement issued by the U.S. Embassy in Colombo. The U.S. military, through U.S. Pacific Command, will provide equipment and training to the Sri Lanka Army for humanitarian demining in the Northern Province, the statement further said.
Full text of the press statement issued by the US Embassy in Colombo follows:
United States Contributing $6 Million to Support Demining in Northern Sri Lanka
Colombo, August 19, 2009: The U.S. Government is contributing an additional $6 million for demining activities in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province to help people displaced by the conflict return to their homes as quickly as possible.
This funding, through the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Political and Military Affairs Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement (State/PMWRA), was granted to four non-governmental organizations (NGOs) currently working on demining activities in Sri Lanka. This additional funding is allowing the demining NGOs to increase their demining capacity and expand their work over the next twelve months. The demining process includes initial assessments of the land where mines may have been planted, technical surveys of minefields, clearing of mines and the destruction of unexploded ordinance.
DDG (Danish De-Mining Group), FSD (Swiss Foundation for Mine Action), Halo Trust and MAG (Mines Advisory Group) are sharing the award and using the funds to hire additional staff for survey teams and demining teams and to purchase new equipment to remove the mines.
“The U.S. Government is pleased to provide this funding and assist with demining in northern Sri Lanka,” stated James R. Moore, U.S. Charge d’Affaires. “Demining is a critical step in the process so that people can return to their homes, and we support the Government of Sri Lanka’s commitment to return all those displaced quickly and safely,” he continued.
In addition to this new funding, the Humanitarian Mine Action (HMA) team, a group of U.S. military and civilian demining experts from the Office of the Secretary of Defense, U.S. Pacific Command, Special Operations Command Pacific, and U.S. Army Pacific visited Sri Lanka on June 22-26. The team met with a number of Sri Lankan government officials, members of the Sri Lankan military and representatives from non governmental organizations involved with demining to identify how the United States can best assist the Sri Lankan military in its humanitarian demining efforts in northern Sri Lanka. The U.S. military, through U.S. Pacific Command, will provide equipment and training to the Sri Lanka Army for humanitarian demining in the Northern Province.
The U.S. Government has provided more than $68 million for humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka in 2008 and 2009, including more than $42 million in emergency food aid and more than $11 million in emergency non-food relief. Most of this assistance has been directed to serve Sri Lankans displaced by the conflict in the North.
Full text of the press statement issued by the US Embassy in Colombo follows:
United States Contributing $6 Million to Support Demining in Northern Sri Lanka
Colombo, August 19, 2009: The U.S. Government is contributing an additional $6 million for demining activities in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province to help people displaced by the conflict return to their homes as quickly as possible.
This funding, through the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Political and Military Affairs Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement (State/PMWRA), was granted to four non-governmental organizations (NGOs) currently working on demining activities in Sri Lanka. This additional funding is allowing the demining NGOs to increase their demining capacity and expand their work over the next twelve months. The demining process includes initial assessments of the land where mines may have been planted, technical surveys of minefields, clearing of mines and the destruction of unexploded ordinance.
DDG (Danish De-Mining Group), FSD (Swiss Foundation for Mine Action), Halo Trust and MAG (Mines Advisory Group) are sharing the award and using the funds to hire additional staff for survey teams and demining teams and to purchase new equipment to remove the mines.
“The U.S. Government is pleased to provide this funding and assist with demining in northern Sri Lanka,” stated James R. Moore, U.S. Charge d’Affaires. “Demining is a critical step in the process so that people can return to their homes, and we support the Government of Sri Lanka’s commitment to return all those displaced quickly and safely,” he continued.
In addition to this new funding, the Humanitarian Mine Action (HMA) team, a group of U.S. military and civilian demining experts from the Office of the Secretary of Defense, U.S. Pacific Command, Special Operations Command Pacific, and U.S. Army Pacific visited Sri Lanka on June 22-26. The team met with a number of Sri Lankan government officials, members of the Sri Lankan military and representatives from non governmental organizations involved with demining to identify how the United States can best assist the Sri Lankan military in its humanitarian demining efforts in northern Sri Lanka. The U.S. military, through U.S. Pacific Command, will provide equipment and training to the Sri Lanka Army for humanitarian demining in the Northern Province.
The U.S. Government has provided more than $68 million for humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka in 2008 and 2009, including more than $42 million in emergency food aid and more than $11 million in emergency non-food relief. Most of this assistance has been directed to serve Sri Lankans displaced by the conflict in the North.
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