SRI LANKA: Arrival of U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon who calls for full access to refugees who fled during final months of war against Tamil Tiger rebels

Record ID: 561231

  • Title: SRI LANKA: Arrival of U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon who calls for full access to refugees who fled during final months of war against Tamil Tiger rebels
  • Date: 23rd May 2009
  • Summary: KATUNAYAKE, SRI LANKA (MAY 23, 2009) (REUTERS) UN PLAN LANDS UN SECRETARY GENERAL BAN KI-MOON GETTING OFF THE PLANE, BEING GREETED BY SRI LANKA FOREIGN MINISTER ROHITHA BOGOLAGAMA GUARD OF HONOUR UN SECRETARY GENERAL BEING INTRODUCED TO OFFICIALS (SOUNDBITE) (English) UN SECRETARY GENERAL BAN KI-MOON SAYING: "I sincerely hope that the screening process and the separation of the former combatants will take place as soon as possible, so that they can return to their homes, so that they can integrated as responsible citizens of Sri Lanka. And there should be promotion and protection of human rights and there should be unimpeded access to the sites of IDPs by international humanitarian organisations including the United Nations." SRI LANKAN FOREIGN MINISTER LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (English) UN SECRETARY GENERAL BAN KI-MOON SAYING: "I hope that President Rajapaksa and government leaders will reach out in an inclusive dialogue with minority groups including Tamils and Muslims. This will be most important." BAN KI-MOON SPEAKING, WITH ROHITHA BOGOLAGAMA LISTENING
  • Embargoed: 7th June 2009 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Sri Lanka
  • Country: Sri Lanka
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA9CRN8QFBUDOMHQDQRQYEG76PN
  • Story Text: U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on Sri Lanka on Saturday (May 23) to allow full access to nearly 300,000 refugees who fled during the final months of the war against Tamil Tiger rebels.
    Ban planned to meet the country's leaders and visit at least one of the refugee camps where people are being held in conditions that human rights groups have criticised as unacceptable.
    "I sincerely hope that the screening process and the separation of the former combatants will take place as soon as possible, so that they can return to their homes, so that they can integrated as responsible citizens of Sri Lanka. And there should be promotion and protection of human rights and there should be unimpeded access to the sites of IDPs by international humanitarian organisations including the United Nations," Ban said at the airport after arriving in Colombo.
    "I hope that President Rajapaksa and government leaders will reach out in an inclusive dialogue with minority groups including Tamils and Muslims. This will be most important," the U.N. chief added.
    A senior U.N. official travelling with Ban's delegation told reporters on Friday the secretary-general would press the government to ensure that members of the Tamil minority have equal rights in post-war Sri Lanka.
    Having won the 26-year-old war earlier this week, the government needed to "win the peace" and "settle this conflict so it doesn't go back to a guerrilla war," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
    The official said U.N. aid agencies still lacked full access to the refugees and that the government had hampered the delivery of aid by banning the use of motor vehicles by U.N. officials or aid workers from non-governmental organisations.
    U.N. diplomats say the government intends to screen camp inmates for rebels who might have succeeded in disguising themselves as refugees.
    New York-based Human Rights Watch sent a letter to Ban urging him to push for an international inquiry into possible human rights and humanitarian law violations during the final months of the war.
    More than 7,000 civilians were killed and many more were wounded in these months, according to U.N. figures.
    The senior U.N. official stopped short of endorsing an investigation but said accountability for any such violations would be an important issue.
    He said the Geneva-based U.N. Human Rights Council would be meeting soon to discuss Sri Lanka and might want to launch an investigation.
    Ban and other senior U.N. officials repeatedly criticised the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam during the final months of the war, saying the actions of both had resulted in unnecessary deaths of thousands of Sri Lankans trapped in the conflict zone.
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