Sri Lankan Police officers ‘bribed’ by UN: Government

(July 07, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The minister of the Government and the National Freedom Front leader MP Wimal Weerawansa threatened to convert their protest to a fast unto death campaign if the UN fails to respond to their demands by evening today.(Photo credit-Lankadeepa)

Weerawansa who led yesterday’s protest outside the UN office in Colombo told journalists that police officers involved in assaulting protesters were ‘bribed’ by the UN.

He said that the UN advisory panel will end up calling for war crimes tribunal.

However the UN has registered its strong objections to protests organized outside its offices in Colombo that prevented the world body’s staff and visitors from entering or leaving the premises.

“While respecting the right of citizens to demonstrate peacefully, preventing access to UN offices hinders the vital work being carried out by the UN each day to help the people of Sri Lanka,” UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said in New York.

“The Government has provided assurances for the safety and security of our staff and for their full access to their offices,” he added.

“We will be closely monitoring developments and trust these commitments will be honoured.”

The UN comments came as a government statement pointed out that police remained vigilant to ensure the safety of the UN complex and of the personnel within it.

Hundreds of people took part in the protests, which called for an end to the UN advisory panel set up last month by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Mr Ban appointed a panel of experts to advise him on accountability issues relating to alleged violations of international human rights and humanitarian law during the final stages of the conflict that ended last year between the Government and the LTTE.

The three-member panel – comprising Marzuki Darusman of Indonesia, Yasmin Sooka of South Africa and Steven Ratner of the US – is expected to wrap up its responsibilities within four months of starting work.

A statement issued by Sri Lanka's Information department added: "The government of Sri Lanka dealt with the protest outside the UN complex in Colombo in compliance with both domestic as well as international obligations.

"At the domestic level, Sri Lanka being a democratic society, the Government had to respect the entitlement to voice opinion, including through peaceful demonstrations. Accordingly, the Police permitted a peaceful gathering in front of the complex," the statement added.

It said the Government was also absolutely mindful of its international obligations and Police were deployed in adequate strength and remained vigilant.

The government expects that the UN complex in Colombo would continue to function as normal in the days ahead, it added.