After not taking up the violence in Sri Lanka in Security Council briefings and avoiding calls for a ceasefire in Sri Lanka, the United Nations on called for a halt to ‘indiscriminate fighting’.
“We are outraged by the unnecessary loss of hundreds of lives and the continued suffering of innocent people inside the LTTE-controlled areas,” Ron Redmond a spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said on Tuesday February 10.
“We are calling on both the government and the LTTE to halt indiscriminate fighting” near civilians said Redmond.
Earlier, during a media briefing when Inner City Press asked why United Nations General Secretary Ban Ki-Moon, had not called for a ceasefire in the south Asian island he responded by saying Sri Lanka is not on the agenda of the Security Council, and therefore he cannot call for a ceasefire.
However, this month's Security Council president Yukio Takasu dismissed Ban Ki-Moons argument, stating "the Secretary General has very important responsibility granted in the Charter, he can draw the attention of the international community to any issue that matters to peace and security."
In his lengthy response to Inner Cirty Press, Ban Ki-Moon also said that "respect for the sovereignty of member states is another principle" he makes his decisions by, clearly indicating that Sri Lanka not being in the agenda is not the real reason for UN not calling for a ceasefire.
