UN's Ban Tips Hat to Protesters from High Above NY, Claims He Met With Tamils
by Matthew Russell Lee
It was projected as a light evening of honor for UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, to receive from the Foreign Policy Association a Global Humanitarian Award, along with former US president Bill Clinton.
[pic: by Aquaview]
Clinton, however, canceled his appearance due to "family health issues" -- word on the street, literally 55th Street in front of the St. Regis Hotel, was that Hilary was in a car crash. [Update: the man in the street, as is so often the case, was half-right: Hilary broken her elbow on the way to the White House, but there was no vehicle involved.] And Ban himself was protested, for hours, with chants urging him to resign, or to "go home," or at least to feel shame.
The protesters, it must be said, were nearly entirely ethnic Tamils. Despite the tens of thousands of people killed in the war in Sri Lanka, unlike Darfur, Myanmar or the Middle East, the victims have yet to gain noticeable solidarity from non-Tamils. This feels of abandonment was palpable Wednesday night in front of the St. Regis Hotel.
Inner City Press, which has asked questions at the UN which have cut both ways but focused on civilians, was filming the photographing the protest. Several of the participants asked, where is the rest of the media? A television producer known to Inner City Press stopped by, gave congratulations for having found the news, but emerged from a cell phone calls saying that "there is no crew."
One of the protesters asked, "No clue?" The producer continued along. Later two Turkish journalists stopped by, on their way to covering Ban Ki-moon's speech. They urged Inner City Press to come upstairs and hear it. Since Ban had slipped by the protesters there was little left to do but to go up and hear him.
A half-dozen seats had been set in the back of the ballroom for the press. There had been a reception; dinner had been served. Now Ban Ki-moon arose, and to his credit made a joke. "I was impressed and encouraged," he began, "I know there were hundreds of people who were welcoming me or some other person in front of the hotel."
The audience, a mix of Ambassadors and business people, laughed. Several had been shouted at as they entered. Claude Heller, the Ambassador of Mexico who had at least tried to get the Security Council to consider the plight of civilians in Sri Lanka, had stopped and told Inner City Press, "this is good." But others hurried back the protest, as in finding the mention much less chanting of the word genocide in Midtown Manhattan distasteful.
Ban said of the protesters, "I am aware of their concerns, their pride, their challenges... that is exactly why I went to Sri Lanka four weeks ago." It was May 23, and Inner City Press was with him. Ban said he had visited the IDP camps, "met with government leaders, with representatives of the opposition, representatives of the Tamil minority."
About this last, doubts exist. As the press corps sat waiting on the UN plane at Colombo's airport, Inner City Press was told that Tamil MPs who had been promised a meeting with Ban were barred from the airport.
Inner City Press asked UN officials Lynn Pascoe and John Holmes about this, and was told an answer was been forthcoming. None has been provided. Neither was visibly in attendance on Wednesday night, but seated with Ban was his chief of staff Vijay Nambiar.
Down on 55th Street, a protesters displayed a sign, "$ for the Nambiyar brothers," meaning Vijay and Satish, a former Indian general part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force which occupied northern Sri Lanka in the late 1980s, strafing the population and losing 1500 troops before decamping.
Many, including some of Ban's own senior advisors, say that sending Nambiar at the UN's envoy was unwise. Nambiar has been quoted that the doubts are beneath contempt. If so he better look around himself, as the doubts extend to the UN's 38th floor around him. Ban moved from Sri Lanka to the climate change issue, urging the Foreign Policy Association to help him "seal the deal in Copenhagen."
The FPA, whose board members include former AIG big wig Maurice Greenberg and the CEO of Santander, a bank which allegedly laundered money for Augusto Pinochet, on Wednesday also gave an award to the CEO of an Italian oil company. These hypocrisies are beyond the scope of this article.
Inner City Press had waited outside the St. Regis from six to 8:30 p.m., seeking to get from Ban himself a reaction to the protest. After the speeches and the dinner, Ban was spirited out by a side door, and faced neither the protesters nor the Press. A swag bag was passed out, with publications about oil.
Down on 55th Street, the protesters had been told to leave at 8:30 by the police, who said that hotel had cooperated at much as it would. Ban said he heard the protesters, but he never faced them. His spokespeople have told Inner City Press that they will not comment on "what you read in the news about Sri Lanka." How about mass internment? Watch this site. [courtesy: Inner City Press]
Related earlier live update by Innter City Press: UN's Ban Protested for Inaction on Sri Lanka Ethnic Cleansing
6 Comments
.."Despite the tens of thousands of people killed in the war in Sri Lanka, unlike Darfur, Myanmar or the Middle East, the victims have yet to gain noticeable solidarity from non-Tamils..."
UN is like any other social club for millionaires. All staff members would fill their own pockets while working for their home country. Most of the top young interns that are currently working for NGOs in the third world countries are related to these millionaires. In 20-30 years these young interns would be the next policy makers for UN. In order to protect the interests of Tamils, we should first send many of our young generation to work for these NGOs and then we have to wait for next 20-30 years to get some results.
Ban Ki Moon, John Holmes and Vijay Nambiar sent to the Wanni for the specific purpose of bringing relief and ending the suffering of the Tamil civilians - have failed and let the Tamils down badly. What is worst they have only
succeeded in presenting the Rajapakse regime with clean Certificates, while the rest of the world and the Lankan Tamils know a different tale.
That in February and March 2009 the quantum of food required was in the region of 3,000 monthly the Director General of Essential Services, acting for the GoSL,
only delivered 150 tons and 225 tons (approx) for these months according to figures of the UN Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka. The Govt, however, no doubt with intent to get generous aid from donors claimed on several occasions Tamil civilians in the Wanni were provided with MORE food requirements than
necessary.
It is no secret shipping companies and armed forces men in the shipping and delivery process have made enormous sums of money in the name of these suffering people. This includes a Tamil Minister, a former militant to boot, as well who is given carte blanche to supply foodstuffs from India violating all Tender procedure and transparency. The good name of the UN has been placed in very bad light in view of the total failure of these officials.
ISS
The only person that matters regarding Sri Lanka is the Indian PM. That was true in 1983, and still true today
All insurgencies need the help of the local regional power. And definitely need to avoid alienating the local regional power.
At this point Rajapakse bends before the Indian state
and gets its blessings, whereas the tamil diaspora does not have Indian public opinion on its side
The UN can pass a thousand resolutions, but without Indian Central govt, ( not DMK state govt ), nothing will happen
Indian public opinion, feels that the tamils threw out a wonderful deal in 1987, tried to go for all or nothing and got nothing
The tamil diaspora has not even made outreach to the broader Indian diaspora
If Tamils want Reconciliation with the Sinhalese they really need to cut out the NONSENSICAL RHETORIC about GENOCIDE. It really is insulting to we Moderate Sinhalese who have done nothing wrong to Tamils in our life times. When I see pictures of Protestors trying to LIE to the UN and the West about us then I am inclined to say "GO TO HELL" to any sort of Reconciliation and leave Tamils to their own Devices.
Devinda,
Sir, I am afraid you are no "moderate Sinhalese" You spew venom and the most
vitriolic kind of racial prejudice against Tamils. To you and the Sinhala supremacist clique (SLG, Gomin Dayasiri, Wimal Weerawansa, those blood-thirsty priests of the JHU et al) all Tamils in and out of Sri Lanka are Tigers and therefore must be mercilessly massacred - as the army did to many Tamils in the Wanni recently. Pititfully this included women and children (one a Sinhala woman) all carrying White Flags - as many in the world have taken note of. Many fear your lot is planning the "Final Solution" of the Tamils in Colombo, the South and the Hill country as those dry-runs tested by those bizarre schemes from the sick minds of that frustrated DIG Kotakedeniya, Gothabaya Rajapakse, Mervyn de Silva (Dr?) The world recalls that night where the Police and the army raided hostels in Cbo where Tamil children, women and old men were in residence at midnight. Despite noisy and
tearful please they were humiliated and thrown into waiting buses in their nigh-gowns and banished "to go to where you came from" It is the resolve and the sympathy of India and the IC that saved them - not Mahinda Rajapakse's moral outrage to "save the Tamils - my people" Reonciliation? Yes. But Tamils will have to be careful of who they are dealing with. This is only possible with India's and the IC's solemn and enforceable guarantees. Those at the helm of affairs at the UN are too weak and back-boneless to cause the necessary relief to the suffering in the Wanni and the North.
ISS
Senguttavan,
I am neither a Sinhala Supremacist, nor a Buddhist. I am a Sri Lankan Nationalist. Please understand and note that well. (...preferably with a pen so I don't have to keep repeating myself to you).
Just because you are A Tamil who does not openly support the LTTE does not make you a Moderate either... or for that matter Sensible or Sane... You accuse myself of being "Extremist" yet as I have said before just because I do not concur with your own EXTREMIST position for ETHNIC SEGREGATION, does not make me one too. But feel free to take Anecdotal events and paint the entire Sinhalese community in Broad Strokes, and label everyone who does not share your own TWISTED COMMUNALISTIC and BITTER WARPED RACIST mentality as the Extremists... I'm sure your Sinhalese Friends will appreciate the way you try to compare us all to the THIRD REICH of NAZI GERMANY. I'm sure you will win many Sinhalese over with that.