Govt assures security at UN offices

by Shanika SRIYANANDA

The Government has assured security at the UN Head Office in Colombo and its other agencies. No security concerns have been raised due to the protests by the National Freedom Front (NFF).

Protesting against UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s advisory panel to look into accountability issues during the last stages of the military operation to crush the LTTE, Minister of Housing and Engineering Services Wimal Weerawansa is on a fast unto death campaign. Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa told the Sunday Observer that there was no issue of security threats to the UN Offices or its staffers.

“The Government had protected UN officials working in the North and the East during the military operation. We gave them the fullest security protection during those difficult days. Now there is no such security threat in the country,” he said.

Rajapaksa said that the campaign was a peaceful protest and that such protests were held even in front of the UN Head Office in New York. “ There is no reason to think that the security at UN offices and that of its staff are at stake”, he said.

The Defence Secretary said that he had alerted the UN Resident Coordinator Neil Buhne to inform him about any security concern but there was no such complaint.

“The protest was peaceful and the protestors did not disrupt the day-to-day work of the UN offices”, he said adding that security at the UN and of its staffers has been fully guaranteed.

Meanwhile, responding to an allegation that the country office of the UN Development Program (UNDP) has been shut down, Buhne in a statement said that only the UNDP Regional Office in Colombo has been closed.

When contacted, the National Information Officer of the UN Information Centre, Mohan Samaranayake said that all the UN agencies in the country were functioning as usual.

“There are 16 UN agencies in Sri Lanka and they will continue to provide their services on development and humanitarian assistance as scheduled”, he said.

Samaranayake said that there were no security concerns and they had reported for duty as usual.

“We will review the situation tomorrow morning and decide whether to go ahead with the usual cadre or to assign essential staff”, he said.

However, Ban ki-Moon in a new statement has said that the three-member advisory panel is not an investigative body but it would advise him on how to proceed with the objectives of the joint statement on May 23, 2009 between Sri Lanka and the UN.

“These objectives include the further fostering of reconciliation and related issues, as well as reflecting the commitment by Sri Lanka to the promotion and protection of human rights and the importance of accountability to continue the strengthening of peace and development in that country.” He added that the panel would be a resource to assist the Government to apply the international best practice to the Commission on Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation.