Ban-Ki President standoff: “Do not interfere.’’

• BAN TO APPOINT ‘SRI LANKAN PANEL’
• WHY SINGLE OUT LANKA? — PRESIDENT

By Mendaka Abeysekera in New York

The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has decided to establish a special expert panel to advice him on Sri Lankan affairs.
Ban Ki-moon in a telephone conversation with President Mahinda Rajapaksa last Friday (5) informed the president of his intention to go ahead with establishing ‘a panel of experts for Sri Lankan affairs.’
Martin Nesirky, spokesperson for the Secretary-General said on Friday that Ban Ki-moon had explained that such a panel would advise him on the way forward on “accountability issues relating to Sri Lanka.’’
Meanwhile, the Presidential Secretariat issuing an urgent press release in response yesterday stated, President Mahinda Rajapaksa was emphatic in his position. The President said “it was both unprecedented and unwarranted as no such action had been taken about other states with continuing armed conflicts on a large scale, involving major humanitarian catastrophes and causing the deaths of large numbers of civilians due to military action”.
The President also said that establishment of such a panel would be perceived as interference with the current general election campaign being held islandwide.
Ban Ki-moon was told that the allegations on Sri Lanka were motivated by misrepresentations made by apologists of the LTTE, and by some Non-Government Organizations that were clearly working on an agenda that was directed against the country. There are also sections of the western world being increasingly subjected to electoral pressure by the same apologists of the LTTE, the President said.
President Rajapaksa reiterated to Ban Ki -moon that any appointment of such a panel as intended, would compel Sri Lanka to take necessary and appropriate action in this regard. The president stressed that Sri Lanka looked forward to treatment as per the United Nations Charter that provides for equal treatment to all Members of the United Nations, while respecting the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of individual states.
The discussion with Ban Ki concluded with the President stating that he would shortly be addressing a letter to the Secretary General, further to the telephone converasation.