Tuesday
May122009
U.S. And UK Continue Bilateral Talks
Tuesday, May 12, 2009 at 6:31PM
By Kayleigh Harvey - Talk Radio News Service
The United States and United Kingdom will join forces to come up with a strategy to help address humanitarian issues in Sri Lanka it was announced today.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made this announcement at the State Department as she met with British Secretary of State David Miliband for the third time since Clinton took her post in January.
The two Secretaries will also discuss issues relating to bilateral U.S.-UK actions in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran.
Clinton said, “He and I have already forged a close working relationship on not only out bilateral issues but on so many of the global concerns that we both care greatly about.”
Miliband said, “I am delighted to be back in Washington," adding that “The agenda is indeed broad and deep and I am looking forward to our discussions of Afghanistan and Pakistan, of the Middle East, the wider Middle East, given the importance of the visits that are coming through to Washington over the next few weeks and also this humanitarian catastrophe that’s really playing out in the north-east of Sri Lanka which has called the conscience of the world.”
Clinton and Miliband took no questions from reporters as they left to
begin their discussions.
The United States and United Kingdom will join forces to come up with a strategy to help address humanitarian issues in Sri Lanka it was announced today.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made this announcement at the State Department as she met with British Secretary of State David Miliband for the third time since Clinton took her post in January.
The two Secretaries will also discuss issues relating to bilateral U.S.-UK actions in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran.
Clinton said, “He and I have already forged a close working relationship on not only out bilateral issues but on so many of the global concerns that we both care greatly about.”
Miliband said, “I am delighted to be back in Washington," adding that “The agenda is indeed broad and deep and I am looking forward to our discussions of Afghanistan and Pakistan, of the Middle East, the wider Middle East, given the importance of the visits that are coming through to Washington over the next few weeks and also this humanitarian catastrophe that’s really playing out in the north-east of Sri Lanka which has called the conscience of the world.”
Clinton and Miliband took no questions from reporters as they left to
begin their discussions.
Sri Lankan Violence Against The UN Erupts
By Tala Dowlatshahi
Hundreds of protesters broke through police barricades Tuesday outside the UN office in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Civilians are angered by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon’s call for an independent three person panel of experts to investigate alleged human rights violations committed by the Sri Lankan government during the final stages of war against Tamil Tiger separatists in May 2009.
Some two-hundred UN personnel were trapped inside the compound when protesters broke through police lines. UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said this afternoon:
“We have been contacting Sri Lankan officials at all levels as for the safety of staff. It has been clear visitors were blocked from entering the compound. As of now, all staff have been able to leave the offices.”
A massive opposition to the UN investigation is mounting. A 118-member body calling themselves the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is leading the opposition. The group sent a letter of protest to the Secretary-General this week demanding a full stop to the investigation and citing the panel of experts would act “against the clearly expressed wished of the country concerned, and without any mandate from the (UN) Human Rights Council, the Security Council or the General Assembly.”
The protests this morning were led by the government including Housing Minister Wimal Weerawansa. The group demanded the UN to end its probe and burned an effigy of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Government officials allege that Ban Ki-Moon wants to force a break in the country’s current unification and path towards peace.
The government has put the blame back on the Tamil Tigers, which it calls a terrorist organization that brutally tortured thousands for nearly three decades. The UN estimates some 7,000 people were killed in the final stages of fighting last May.
Since the fighting ended, the international community including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, have put pressure on the government of Sri Lanka to be open to an investigation which would allow for closure and ensure the government acted in an accountable and transparent manner.