Was UN statement meant to end Wimal’s fast?

The wording of the UN Secretariat is in line with the wording of all its previous statements. It’s a reiteration of points (by the United Nations) that had been made in the past. And that was made basically in discussions with the Resident Coordinator, Neil Buhne, Associate Spokesperson for the Secretary-General Farhan Haq has said.

In answer to a question by the media during the UN’s daily noon press briefing on July 12, regarding the situation in Sri Lanka, and whether the statement that the UN Secretariat issued on Friday was somehow negotiated with Sri Lanka with an eye towards ending the two-day hunger strike of Wimal Weerawansa.

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of the noon briefing by Farhan Haq, Associate Spokesperson for the Secretary-General:

Question: On Nepal and Sri Lanka: In Nepal, the acting Prime Minister, as well as others, have been very critical of UNMIN [United Nations Mission in Nepal] for, they say, interfering in the statute-writing plan and communicating in ways outside of what they call normal diplomatic channels. Is the Secretariat aware of this? And does it acknowledge that issues exist? And what is it going to do to change or to try to assuage the Nepalese authorities?

Associate Spokesperson: On this, the UN Mission in Nepal is acting clearly within its mandate and consistently with calls by the Security Council for the parties to take advantage of the UN Mission in Nepal’s expertise and readiness to support the peace process, in order to facilitate the completion of its tasks. The issue dealt with in the non-paper containing the timeline, which is the issue I believe that you’re referring to, is based on consultations by UNMIN, which has been consulting with the main parties in Nepal for some time, and those consultations have taken place with the full knowledge of the Government of Nepal. This is not something new. The ideas it has shared with the parties are part of that discussion and are intended to facilitate advance thinking and planning of the implementation of integration and rehabilitation of former Maoist combatants once political decisions are made by the parties. The completion of UNMIN’s arms monitoring mandate, in large part, is contingent on the parties agreeing on a plan to address the future of the Maoist army personnel.

Question:  And I wanted to ask on Sri Lanka. I wanted to ask you this: it’s been reported and alleged in Sri Lanka that the statement that the Secretariat, or your office, issued on Friday was somehow negotiated with Sri Lanka with an eye towards ending the two-day hunger strike of Wimal Weerawansa. I just wanted to know, did the UN speak with any parties outside the UN before issuing that statement on Friday, in terms of the wording?

Associate Spokesperson: No. In terms of the wording, the wording of that is in line with the wording of all of our previous statements. If you look at what the statement on Friday said, it’s a reiteration of points that we had made in the past. And that was made basically in discussions with the Resident Coordinator, Neil Buhne, who had believed that such a thing would be helpful.

Question: Is Mr. Buhne in town, and can he give a briefing?

Associate Spokesperson: He is, I think, arriving today. I don’t know; he is finishing up his time, so I don’t know whether he will be available for a briefing, but we can check.