UNESCO to re-examine VoT issue - Matsuura
Director General of UNESCO, Koichiro Matsuura has assured Sri Lanka’s
Ambassador in France and Delegate to the UNESCO, that he will
“re-examine the entire issue” on the UNESCO press release issued earlier
this week regarding the attack on the Voice of Tigers (VoT) Station,
states the Foreign Ministry.
The Director General gave this assurance when Ambassador
Chithranganee Wagiswara met him on Thursday to personally lodge Sri
Lanka’s protest against the recent statement made by the Director
General, in which he had “condemned” the air strike on the Voice of
Tigers radio station, which has been described as a “civilian” radio
station.
On the instructions of Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama,
Ambassador Wagiswara re-asserted the Sri Lankan Government’s position
that the Director General’s statement must be retracted as the VoT is a
clandestine radio station directly operated by the LTTE, a well- known
terrorist organisation and is neither legal nor legitimate.
It was also noted that VoT cannot be considered as a “civilian” radio
station and that those employees at the VoT facility cannot be
considered as “civilian” media personnel.
Meanwhile, Minister Bogollagama, who made a statement on this matter
in Parliament on Wednesday, has also brought the Sri Lanka Government’s
concerns on the UNESCO Director General’s statement to the attention of
the UN Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka, Neil Bhune.
The Resident Coordinator maintained he was neither consulted nor made
aware of the UNESCO Director General’s statement, until he saw it
reported in the media.
The Minister reiterated Sri Lanka’s demand that the statement be
retracted and informed the UN Resident Coordinator that he should make
known to UNESCO the actual facts on the ground relating to the
activities of the VoT.
The Minister emphasized that the VoT was a terrorist broadcasting
organisation and hence, was a legitimate target for attack, in Sri
Lanlka’s fight against terrorism.
The Minister added that the UNESCO Director General’s statement has
been broadly condemned by the Government, as well as Opposition Parties
including the UNP and JVP and has brought embarrassment to the UN System
as whole in Sri Lanka.
Bhune assured the Minister that he would convey the Minister’s
sentiments to the UNESCO Director General and brief him on the matter.
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