Ira de Silva London, Canada

Date: Thu, 1 Jul 2010 16:31:36 -0400

Mr. Matthew Lee
Inner City Press
New York, N.Y.
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Dear Mr. Lee:
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Reference your latest posting regarding Sri Lanka and the UN, what is very clear is that you do not agree with the UN’s attitude to Sri Lanka and are aggressively supporting the illegal action of the Secretary General in his appointment of a panel of “experts” supposedly to advise him on Sri Lanka.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  You completely ignore the fact thatƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Ban’s UN is making excuses to interfere in the internal matters of a sovereign country, a member of the UN which is against the UN Charter itself.
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It is well known that Ban’s agenda is driven by your own government’s goal of punishing Sri Lanka for not permitting the US to evacuate the leadership of the LTTE so that they could continue to terrorise Sri Lanka from outside the country. The “influence” of the LTTEƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ supporters in the U.S. seem to be guiding policy at the State Department as well as at the UN. Are you also “influenced” by them? If you recall, in May 2009, Mrs. Clinton called for a pause and negotiation with the LTTE when the Sri Lankan forces had surrounded them, a group that your own FBI had called the most ruthless terrorist organization in the world. Would the U.S. “pause and negotiate” with the leadership of Al Qaeda and Taliban who they are pursing in foreign countries, killing thousands of civilians by indiscriminate bombing andƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ creatingƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ millions refugees all in the name of capturing or killing those the U.S. perceives to be “bad terrorists”ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ in contrastƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ to the LTTE who, according to Mrs. Clinton, are “good terrorists”.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Such is the hypocrisy of the US position on terrorists and Sri Lanka.
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As for the panel that Ban has named, the problem is that Ban ki MoonƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ does not have the authority to do so and by establishing this panel has acted in violation of the UN charter. A Statement made by the Russian Foreign MinistryƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ indicates that the Secretary General needs the approval of the Security Council or that of the General Assembly to appoint such a panel. Mr. John Bolton, the former U.S. ambassador to the UN in an op-ed to theƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Washington Times on June 24,2010, regarding Israel and the events on May 31,2010 regarding the clash off the Gaza strip states, “United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is close to making an enormously significant misjudgement about his role and authority.” He further states, “for Mr. Ban to act without express U.N. Security Council authorization, however, would far exceed his legitimate authority”. You report from the UN. Are you unaware of the rules governing the actions of the Secretary General or are you so blinded by your bias against Sri Lanka that you continue to express your biased views? Do you not realise that you are just exposing yourƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ bias, your ignorance of facts and compromising your credentials as a journalist whose views are of any worth?
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You are critical of the UN regarding the terms of reference of the panelƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ “the preparation of which was offered as an excuse for the 90 day delay between announcing and forming the panel”.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It appears that even after 90 days, the UN failed to cover up the fact that it was illegalƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  to appoint a panel in the manner in which it was done.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Perhaps they were aware that Ban did not have the authority and thought they would try to interfere in Sri Lanka anyway at the behest of the U.S. and other western countries hoping that no one would notice. However, Sri Lanka did realise it and was justified in their objections. John Bolten considers it “illegal” when applied to Israel. Why not Sri Lanka? That is the double standard that the west and people such as you believe which nullifies the validity of your criticism of Sri Lanka.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 
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The fact that the UN calls the panel an advisory body is probably meant for the head of the panel who believed that he had the mandate to “investigate” even before he had the terms of reference which established that he wasƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ready and willingƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ to find Sri Lanka guilty even before he knew what he had to do. Your report thatƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ perhaps the panel will not even conclude with a written report. Could it be that Ban has realised that he has exceeded his authority and does not want it documented for future reference so that this same precedent can be applied to other countries such as Israel?ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 
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If you want to be accepted as a credible journalist on Sri Lankan matters perhaps it would be advisable for you to adopt a less biased, vindictive approachƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ before youƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ issue these vitriolic reports about the UN and Sri Lanka. You seemƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ to have an unrealistic sense of your own importance which probably accounts for your accusatory tone.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Also,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ you seem to believe that you are an authority on Sri Lanka and the UN but your reports clearly indicate thatƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ you are not. The question I have for you is what or who is motivating you to write these ignorant, vindictive reports. Please advise.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 
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Yours truly,
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Ira de Silva
London, Canada