[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 April 2009, 12:09 GMT]
Noting that Sri Lanka's and Foreign Secretary Palitha Kohona's statement that Mexico will keep Sri Lanka issues off-the table, and the analogy to Chiapas as inaccurate, the Mexican Ambassador to U.N, Claude Heller, said , "we were clear, in the case of Sri Lanka, there is a concern, there is a 'responsibility to protect' the population that are in very difficult situation," InnerCityPress reported. Mexico will work to assure humanitarian assistance to population, the Ambassador further said.
Accusing Sri Lanka's and Foreign Secretary Palitha Kohona of consistent misrepresentation, the ICP report said: "Kohona's now rebuked mis-summary of their meeting with Mexican officials is not the first case of cognitive dissonance. It has happened regarding telephone calls with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon."
Elaborating further, ICP report continued: "It should again be noted that Sri Lanka's foreign secretary Palitha Kohona, who said the UN High Commission for Human rights "is not the UN" and now blatantly mis-summarizes his meetings in Mexico himself served in and led the UN's Treaty Section. "He knows better," one official told Inner City Press. After a call by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to President Rajapaksa and his brother(s), Sri Lanka summarized that "Mrs. Clinton appreciated the assurances given by the Secretary of Defense that civilians would not be subjected to any attacks by the military, stating the U.S. looked forward to working with Sri Lanka once the current conflict ends.
"The US State Department, to the contrary, said that “The Secretary stated that the Sri Lanka Army should not fire into the civilian areas of the conflict zone... She urged the President to give international humanitarian relief organizations full access to the conflict area and displaced persons camps, including screening centers."
External Links:
Noting that Sri Lanka's and Foreign Secretary Palitha Kohona's statement that Mexico will keep Sri Lanka issues off-the table, and the analogy to Chiapas as inaccurate, the Mexican Ambassador to U.N, Claude Heller, said , "we were clear, in the case of Sri Lanka, there is a concern, there is a 'responsibility to protect' the population that are in very difficult situation," InnerCityPress reported. Mexico will work to assure humanitarian assistance to population, the Ambassador further said.
Mexico's Ambassador to UN, Claude Heller
Elaborating further, ICP report continued: "It should again be noted that Sri Lanka's foreign secretary Palitha Kohona, who said the UN High Commission for Human rights "is not the UN" and now blatantly mis-summarizes his meetings in Mexico himself served in and led the UN's Treaty Section. "He knows better," one official told Inner City Press. After a call by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to President Rajapaksa and his brother(s), Sri Lanka summarized that "Mrs. Clinton appreciated the assurances given by the Secretary of Defense that civilians would not be subjected to any attacks by the military, stating the U.S. looked forward to working with Sri Lanka once the current conflict ends.
"The US State Department, to the contrary, said that “The Secretary stated that the Sri Lanka Army should not fire into the civilian areas of the conflict zone... She urged the President to give international humanitarian relief organizations full access to the conflict area and displaced persons camps, including screening centers."
External Links:
| UN: | Video: Mexican Ambassador responding to ICP | |
| ICP: | Mexico Invokes Responsibility to Protect, Rebukes Colombo's "Inaccuracies" | |
| SL: | Mexico reassures Sri Lanka of its support |