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Clegg strengthen's Sri Lanka's hand against UN Sec Gen
Accusing a section of the international community of targeting Sri Lanka over alleged war crimes, Sri Lanka says the UN, which recently appointed a panel to advise Secretary General Ban-ki Moon on accountability issues should now act on Deputy British PM Nick Clegg’s recent assertion that the invasion of Iraq was illegal. Clegg, while standing in for Prime Minister David Cameron, who is on an official visit to Washington, slammed the then former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw of Tony Blair’s Labour government for what he (Clegg) called Straw’s role in the most disastrous decision of all, which is the illegal invasion of Iraq. Government spokesman Lakshman Hulugalle, Director General of the Media Centre for National Security told The Sunday Island that Deputy British PM’s statement could not have come at a better time for Sri Lanka. Responding to a query, Hulugalle asserted that Clegg’s statement made in the Commons could be the basis of an international inquiry. Referring to The Telegraph report on the Iraq issue carried by The Island World View in its July 23 issue, Hulugalle said that obviously the British government was engaged in a damage control exercise. He said:``Whatever they may say now, the Conservatives will have to make their position clear. Will Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron publicly reject the position taken by his coalition partner, the Liberal Democrats?" According to international wire services, there are about 400 UK Navy trainers with the Iraqi Navy, though the British coalition partners were on a collision course over their Iraq policy. Hulugalle said that Sri Lankan Opposition political parties trying to blame the Rajapaksa administration should open up their eyes and see what was happening around the world. Clegg’s declaration meant that not only the British, but all countries which contributed men and material to the US-led invasion in 2003 could face legal charges. National Freedom Front (NFF) leader Wimal Weerawansa, MP said that those who accused him of seeking cheap political mileage by opposing Ban Ki-moon’s expert panel should not ignore what an outgoing Swedish head of a UN unit battling internal fraud had to say about the ‘big man.' Unfortunately the Sri Lankan media had not exploited the situation to the country’s advantage, he said adding that a section of the international community of double standards. The International press quoted Inga-Britt Ahlenius, the former head of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), as saying that the UN boss sought to thwart her efforts and led the the world body into "decay." In a 50-page memo to Ban leaked to the Washington Post, Ahlenius accused the secretary general of systematically undercutting her authority, notably by thwarting her efforts to hire her own staff. Ahlenius, who stepped down last Friday at the end of a five-year term, also launched a rare, personal attack, saying there was no accountability at the United Nations and more broadly questioning Ban's stewardship.
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