Sri Lanka Protests at the Undiplomatic act of the World’s Top Diplomat
By Our Special Correspondent
New York, 19 September, (Asiantribune.com):
The Asian Tribune reliably learns that the government of Sri Lanka strongly protested against the unprecedented move by Ban Ki Moon, the Secretary General of the UN, to share the famously-biased Darusman report with the UNHCHR, before informing them - which is the accepted norm in the diplomatic sphere.
The government views it as a slap in the face: it is lnot only the lack of basic courtesy but also a dangerous deviation from the normal practice.
The highly unusual step taken by Mr Moon deepened the controversy further, when it became clear that neither a single body of the UN nor any other leading organization called for such a report. The time-honored norm is to inform the member state of such a course of action, not to use it as a virtual platform to cause embarrassment to the state in question – and its inhabitants.
The growing tendency of the Secretariat to read the riot act before weaker nations while ignoring the allegations against the more powerful,l has shocked many countries of the NAM – Non-Aligned Movement. They are of the view that the new form of action by the Secretariat may be counterproductive in the long run, unless the fairness is made an integral part of the course of action that the organization pursues.
The government of Sri Lanka regrets the inability of the Secretary General to play an active role in the process of reconciliation and reconstruction. Since the Panel of Experts was not appointed in line with the existing law, Sri Lanka refused to take it seriously and accept its findings as gospel truth.
The government of Sri Lanka views the report as something deeply flawed and heavily-biased towards the defeated terrorist outfit. It had noted the vast array of inaccuracies and inconsistencies which reflects the mindset of the people who carried out the compilation of report – and the audience they had in mind.
- Asian Tribune -
Comments
While the UN has done good
While the UN has done good work in a number of areas all over the world, we feel that the Sri Lankan issue has been mishandled, and done in a hurry and in an underhand manner by the UN. That there is conduct unbecoming on the part of the UN is evident. The decision makers in the UN must consider the following obvious points prior to any action :
(1) Sri Lanka was under Colonial Rule for nearly 500 yrs till Independence from Britain in 1948.
(2) Over one and a half million Tamil people were brought in as indentured labor by the British & the Dutch during their rule in Sri Lanka. Many Tamil people have also come in as illegal migrants, particularly during ltte rule of the North & East.
(3) These Tamil people were brought in such huge numbers, they have NOT been able to assimilate into main stream life in Sri Lanka unlike in earlier periods in Lanka's history. Much more time must be given to them and others for their assimilation into mainstream life in Lanka.
(4) The internal problems within the Tamil community itself have not been considered adequately. The other problems that beset the whole of Lanka such as joblessness/poverty also have not been considered adequately.
(5) Other considerations such as the proximity of Tamil Nadu with its own problems have not been considered.
(6) That over 50% of Tamil people live among the Sinhala people and others in the South has not been considered.
(7) Human Rights are great, but right now it is Human Survival for all that really matters considering such issues such as Climate Change and Global fiscal problems, higher aspirations of the poorer sectors of society, etc. What is required is a joint effort toward Reconciliation & Rebuilding by all citizens in a United Lanka. Besides, the focus should be on Human Survival & Rights for all in Lanka, not just a part of its community. That Sri Lanka is also caught up in Global events is obvious to all, and has to work her way through the present day problems with care. Hasty solutions put together without careful consideration to all Lankan citizens will create only more problems in the future.
(8) Organisations such as the UN should help and not hinder this process.
Forgive my blunt writings, but I do not see any other way to present the issues.
In spite of some of the good
In spite of some of the good work being done by several UN agencies, it has definitely damaged itself beyond repair due to their handling of the Israel - Palestinian issue, failure to prevent killing of over 1000 people in Gaza Strip, failure to stop the killing of over 1000 people in Lebanon, initiating and supporting a war of destruction in Iraq by a falsified claim of availability of weapons of mass destruction in that country, initiating wars in Afghanistan and Libya, just to name a few.
UN Secretary General handling of the Sri Lanka issue, although is wrong, is insignificant when compared with the damage it has done to several other nations and their people.
At the moment, it is considered as the necessary evil because of the need for some of the UN agencies. Just like the Arab Spring, I will not be surprised if the ordinary people rise up against UN in time to come.
GoSL has good reason
The Sri Lankan Govt. has very good reason to be concerned about the way these matters have been handled by the UNSG in contravention of established procedures, thereby creating dangerous precedent for UN actions that blatantly contravene the "Neutrality" of this world body, and creating mistrust in an office that has been vested with the specific responsibility to protect world peace.
If allowed to proceed without address and correction by the General Assembly, it would mean that one-sided, biased reports that do not permit fair and adequate hearing of both sides of situations, would become common practice. The raison d'etre of the UN would collapse.
What is needed is for the UN to appoint a body to study and recommend procedures on how to deal with terrorist/insurgent groups that use civilians for their protection, irrespective of the goal of these non-state actors .
This was what was expected from the Darusman Report, instead of which the Panel turned it into an attack on Sri Lanka, and neglected the primary issue - that of civilians being deliberately used as Human Shields by non-state actors in internal conflicts.