New York: Sri Lanka's deputy UN ambassador, who was a top commander during the final stages of the country's civil war, has been dropped from a group advising Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on payment to troops participating in UN peacekeeping operations.
The group's chair, former UN deputy secretary-general Louise Frechette, said in a statement yesterday that after consulting other members she had advised Major General Shavendra Silva "that his participation is not appropriate or helpful”.
She gave no further explanation, but Silva headed Division 58, which was named in a UN report in connection with alleged war crimes.
The report by a panel of experts appointed by the secretary-general concluded that tens of thousands of people were killed in the last five months of Sri Lanka's civil war, primarily by government troops. The 26-year war between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels ended in May 2009.
A call to Sri Lanka's UN Mission early Wednesday evening seeking comment was not answered.
Philippe Bolopion, United Nations director for Human Rights Watch, praised Frechette's action.
"By defeating Silva's attempt to pose as a respectable peacekeeping expert, Louise Frechette took a principled stand," he said. "She should not be left alone defending the UN's integrity. Member states and the UN secretary-general should publicly back her decision."
PTI
First Published: Thursday, February 23, 2012, 11:46