Responding to a question on the progress of the UN Panel at a media conference held by the UN chief Friday at the UN headquarters in New York, Mr. Ban said the Panel will be able to visit Sri Lanka following a discussion between himself and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
"After long consultations between myself and President [Mahinda] Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka, I am pleased that the Panel of Experts is now able to visit Sri Lanka and meet with the Commission on Lessons Learned and Reconciliation, and I sincerely hope that the Panel of Experts will be able to have good cooperation, to have an accountability process and make progress as soon as possible,"
The Sri Lankan government vehemently opposed the appointment of the three-member UN Panel, led by former Attorney General of Indonesia Marzuki Darusman, saying that it is unnecessary and unwarranted as the government has already set in motion its own mechanism to probe the events took place during a seven-year period prior to the conclusion of the war.
The government said the panel members, who started their work on the issues on September 16, will not be allowed to enter the country for any investigations.
The UN Chief said the Panel's intended visit is a result of long consultations, and said he appreciates the flexibility of the President Rajapaksa on this issue.
The four-month deadline that has been set for the panel to submit its report on Sri Lanka's war to the UN chief will end in the middle of January next year.
No comments:
Post a Comment