Inspired Leaks: A New Form Of Diplomacy For The UN?

In a surprising departure from best practices for a multi-lateral organization, the UN last week leaked to the media an email purportedly sent by one of its demining experts in a thinly veiled move to pressure the government of Sri Lanka on allegations of human rights violations by its forces during the last stages of the conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam which ended in May 2009.

Beginning a new wave of anti-Sri Lanka propaganda, the report was widely carried by media worldwide, and cast further doubts on the impartiality of the UN. It alleged that a leaked UN email claimed the discovery of cluster submunitions in the former LTTE stronghold of Puthukudiriyuppu.

The AP report carried in the Washington Post stated: 

The Associated Press obtained a copy Thursday of an email written by a U.N. land mine expert that said unexploded cluster bomblets were discovered in the Puthukudiyiruppu area of northern Sri Lanka, where a boy was killed last month and his sister injured as they tried to pry apart an explosive device they had found to sell for scrap metal.

The email was written by Allan Poston, the technical adviser for the U.N. Development Program’s mine action group in Sri Lanka.

“After reviewing additional photographs from the investigation teams, I have determined that there are cluster sub-munitions in the area where the children were collecting scrap metal and in the house where the accident occurred. This is the first time that there has been confirmed unexploded sub-munitions found in Sri Lanka,” the email said.

During the final weeks of the war, tens of thousands of civilians and Tamil Tiger rebel fighters were trapped in a tiny section of Puthukudiyiruppu as attacking government forces closed in on them.

Lakshman Hulugalla, a Sri Lankan government spokesman on security matters, said the military had not used cluster munitions in the war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

“We are denying that information,” he said.

The U.N. did not immediately respond to an AP request for comment.

UN’s Allan Poston however, responding to an emailed query by this writer admitted that he was the concerned Senior Adviser and suggested that the query be made from the Sri Lanka Mine Action Centre. 

“It is suggested that you contact the Sri Lanka National Mine Action Centre (NMAC), which is the entity leading mine action in Sri Lanka.  The United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) role is to provide technical assistance to NMAC. In addition, there is a standard procedure within UNDP for engagement with the media and as the concerned Senior Adviser I would defer to the senior management of UNDP,” the email received on Thursday stated.

Madhushala Senaratne, Communications Associate at the UNDP to whom the email had been copied also declined a response from the UNDP and requested that the NMAC be contacted. However, NMAC’s Monty Ranatunge could not be contacted via telephone and did not respond to an email.

Sri Lanka’s Media Centre for National Security firmly denied that the armed forces used any cluster munitions. In a Press Release Friday, it said:

The rehashed allegation in international media that the Sri Lankan Armed Forces used cluster munitions during the Humanitarian Operations is baseless.  It is a repetition of similar allegations that were made earlier on several occasions and is not based on any facts.

The UNDP official quoted in the news report has confirmed that his email to superior officials in the UN Headquarters, which was quoted by the media, was only meant to explore the possibility of obtaining further assistance for Mine Action Program in Sri Lanka and that he made no reference to alleged use of cluster munitions by the Sri Lankan Forces.

The Sri Lankan Forces comprehensively defeated the LTTE in May 2009 and liberated over 290,000 hostages who were forcibly held by the terrorists as a human shield. Neither ‘Cluster Munitions’ nor illegal weaponry were used.  The Sri Lankan Armed Forces used only carefully planned precise military actions in this humanitarian endeavor. 

The leak of the email from the UN’s secure internal email system and a later allegation by an unidentified medical officer (in another story by the same AP writer) appeared to have been carefully timed to coincide with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s three-day visit to New Delhi. 

However, the current allegations follow a pattern set on earlier occasions when so-called human rights organisations made subjective pronouncements in support of wild claims against Sri Lanka.

Hardly 24-hours after the AP news report alleging the discovery by the UN of cluster submunitions in Sri Lanka, another report by the same AP writer alleged that an unidentified medical worker had seen an injury caused by an unexploded cluster bomblet. 

The report published Friday by ABC News on its website stated:

A Sri Lankan man was wounded in the final months of the country's bloody civil war by an unexploded cluster bomblet that tore into his leg and buried itself in the gash, a medical worker who saw the injury told The Associated Press on Friday.

The revelation, along with a photograph that purports to show the wound, added further credence to accusations cluster munitions had been used during the final months of the war.

Many of the thousands wounded in the government offensive against ethnic Tamil rebels in northern Sri Lanka also had burns consistent with those caused by incendiary white phosphorus bombs, the medical worker said. He spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisals from the Sri Lankan government.

Adding credence to the view that that the leak was UN inspired was the fact that the UN Secretary General repeated some unsubstantiated allegations against Sri Lanka during his visit. In an interview with the Times of India he said:

But in the course of the final few months of the military operations, it was also seen that unfortunately, tens of thousands of people were killed and human rights have been seriously violated. I have been urging president Rajapakse and his government to address this issue for sustainable social and political path. Accountability should be taken. I have established a panel of experts and Sri Lankan government, upon strong urging from the international community has instituted their own Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission. They made good recommendations. It's important for President Rajapakse to implement the recommendations of the LLRC as well as my panel of experts.

Ban Ki-moon understandably, made no mention of the leaked email. His Panel of Experts’ Report was also leaked prior to its official publication. This writer has dealt extensively with the report in an earlier article and called for its withdrawal. The UN has made no attempt to investigate the leaks.

Unsubstantiated allegations contained in the report have been recycled in the media and have helped a former UN staffer sell his book worldwide, on his version of Sri Lanka’s conflict.

The Washington Post report referring to the email from the UN Mine Expert also stated:

Alan Keenan, Sri Lanka project director for the International Crisis Group, said the revelation “makes more clear than ever the need for a thorough and independent investigation of alleged violations of the laws of war by both the government and the LTTE, which only an international body can provide.”

Curiously, the UN Panel of Experts Report to the UN Secretary General also relied on unidentified sources that are not known to have had recourse to Sri Lanka’s judicial system. The recent case of the deportation of an Australian national who was involved in Sri Lankan politics after over-staying his visa has brought to the surface the possibility of a large number of asylum seekers whose applications have been approved by the host countries and given immunity by providing them with new identities.

The current wave of anti-Sri Lanka propaganda appears to be part of a concerted PR campaign in support of attempts by the exiled LTTE activists to haul Sri Lankan leaders before the international court of justice on charges of war crimes and conveniently timed to coincide with the visit to India of the UN Secretary General.

However, UN conventions and international best practices are quite clear that domestic mechanisms must be exhausted before any international interventions can be invoked with regard to violations of international humanitarian law or international human rights law unless they are ineffective or cause undue delays. Sri Lanka’s legal system is being constantly upgraded with international donor assistance and has not been found wanting in this regard.

A news release by the US Embassy in Colombo today, states that Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) of State for Plans, Programs and Operations Walter D. Givhan visited Sri Lanka from April 26 to May 2. DAS Givhan serves in the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Political-Military Affairs and is responsible for providing executive leadership, management, and guidance for U.S. government global security assistance programs and policies. The release further stated:

While in Sri Lanka, DAS Givhan held meetings in Colombo and visited Kilinochchi and Vavuniya.  In the North he met with various Non-Governmental Organizations to discuss the progress of demining activities in the region.  During his field visits to demining sites, he discussed the challenges facing demining and provided support to the ongoing demining process. While in Colombo, DAS Givhan met with Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, Army Commander General Jagath Jayasuriya and Navy Commander Vice Admiral D.W.A.S. Dissanayake to discuss the military bilateral relationship and support towards demining.

The U.S. has provided over $34.5million to aid Sri Lanka’s demining activities since 1993. In 2011, the U.S. donated $2.5million for demining, and increased this support to $5million in 2012.  The U.S. Government will continue to assist Sri Lanka in its demining activities to allow Sri Lankan families to move back to their homes.

Significantly, the US Embassy release makes no mention of the allegations attributed to the UN staffer’s mail.

Neither has the UN mentioned about Sri Lanka using cluster munitions in the various reports, although its current ten-year project is due to end this year. The UN Secretary General’s amplification of the unsubstantiated claims regarding those killed during the last stages of the conflict in Sri Lanka has been viewed with disfavor by the country’s leadership according to a media report. The Island in a report datelined April 29, 2012, stated: 

A statement attributed to UNSG Ban Ki-moon regarding the final phase of the conflict and post-war reconciliation efforts will be taken up by the Sri Lankan government once the former South Korean diplomat returns to New York from Myanmar.

Authoritative sources told The Island yesterday that External Affairs Minister, Prof. G. L. Peiris had instructed Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative at the UN, Dr. Palitha Kohona to take up the issue as the comments attributed to the UN chief were inappropriate. The comments were made in an exclusive interview with The Times of India during a brief visit to India before he left for Myanmar.

The Sri Lankan government feels that the UN chief’s statement is unfair and could be exploited by the LTTE.

The UN Secretary General should investigate the leaks and raise the bar for UN activities around the world. Else, the bulk of the UN membership is likely to lose confidence in the only multilateral organization that binds the majority of nations together, as well as on the UN’s Chief Executive Officer. END.