Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today’s noon briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

Good afternoon.

**Secretary-General’s Travel

The Secretary-General met today with President Xi Jinping of China.  He expressed his gratitude to China for its strong support and contribution to the work of the United Nations to promote peace and security, sustainable development and human rights.

Before flying to Beijing in the afternoon, the Secretary-General spoke at the Shanghai Institute for International Studies, where he underscored the importance of taking action on sustainable development and climate change.

In Beijing, he met with Mr. Wu Xinxiong, the Vice-Chair of the National Development and Reform Commission.  The Secretary-General also met with Mr. Li Keqiang, the Premier of the State Council.

Tomorrow, the Secretary-General will travel back to Shanghai, where he will attend the fourth summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA).

** Mali

The Deputy Secretary-General, a short while ago, spoke by phone with Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, the President of Mali.  The Deputy Secretary-General expressed his extreme concern at the recent violence over the weekend which included the killing of eight civilians in Kidal.  Mr. Eliasson said the United Nations condemned these atrocities.  He also conveyed, on behalf of the Secretary-General his sincere condolences to the aggrieved families and to the entire Malian people.

The Deputy Secretary-General stressed the importance of following a political path to solve the current crisis in Mali.  Mr. Eliasson added that he understood that these recent attacks had unleashed a strong emotional reaction in large parts of the population.  He appealed for calm and stressed the need to de-escalate tensions.

As you will have seen over the weekend, the Mission in Mali also issued a number of statements condemning the attacks and calling them a gross violation of the Ouagadougou accord.

**South Sudan

Just a quick update from the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) — which says that the overall situation in the country is relatively calm for now.  However, the Mission did received reports of gunfire last night from Wau town in Western Bahr el Ghazal State.  It also reports sporadic firing on Saturday night from the western bank of the River Nile across Renk in Upper Nile State.  And movement restrictions and harassments of UN staff appear to be continuing.  Overall, nearly 85,000 displaced civilians are being protected by the Mission across the country.

Also from South Sudan, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says that the caseload of cholera is rapidly increasing in South Sudan and the highly contagious disease appears to be spreading.  Since the outbreak of cholera in the capital Juba late last week, the reported cholera caseload has doubled every day; with new reported cases in two additional states, Jonglei and Upper Nile.

UNICEF says that after the first case was confirmed in Juba four days ago, more than 130 additional cases are now being treated.  There are three confirmed deaths.  Dozens of children are among the affected.  In response to the cholera outbreak, UNICEF has helped establish a cholera treatment centre at the Juba Teaching Hospital.  It also provided lifesaving supplies, including medicines, protective gear and equipment, and is expanding preventive measures to halt further spread across the country.  But UNICEF says it urgently needs $10 million to continue current lifesaving operations and increase its cholera prevention work.

**Balkans

From the Balkans and on the floods in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, which according to the latest reports have caused the death of 36 people and forced tens of thousands to be evacuated, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, Valerie Amos, said last night that she is was concerned by the impact on people, many of whom remain without electricity or clean water and face health issues.

Our humanitarian colleagues says that the rains have eased and water levels of most rivers are slowly reducing — except for the river Sava which continues to pose a threat — but many areas are still physically cut off and only reachable by helicopter or boat.

In all three countries, the Government is leading the flood response, distributing food and other relief supplies, and providing emergency shelter.  The United Nations and humanitarian partners have offered assistance to the authorities.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has dispatched a UN Disaster Coordination and Assessment team to Serbia and lifesaving supplies are on their way from Brindisi.  Teams from the World Food Programme (WFP), the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the International Organization for Migration are working with the authorities to help assess people’s needs and provide food, clean water and sanitation support and debris removal.

WFP has also sent a second batch of emergency relief items to Serbia today.  A first charter flight arrived in Belgrade last night.  Another flight is scheduled today to Tuzla, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where WFP is planning to send lifesaving food assistance to 150,000 of the most vulnerable flood-impacted people.  And WFP has more on its website.

** Iraq

From Iraq, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for the country, Nickolay Mladenov, welcomed the announcement by the Independent High Electoral Commission of the preliminary results of the elections held on 30 April.

He said that the people of Iraq have now spoken and he called upon all elected representatives to work together for the future of Iraq.  Mr. Mladenov reaffirmed the United Nations’ readiness to continue working closely with the newly elected Members of Parliament in pursuing the necessary reforms aimed at further enhancing the democratic process and addressing the country’s priorities.  We also expect a statement from the Secretary-General a bit later today — or soon.

** Lebanon

From Lebanon, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon, Ross Mountain, says that the country urgently needs the international community’s support to cope with the growing influx of Syria refugees.  Over 1 million Syrian refugees have been registered in Lebanon and 50,000 new refugees continue to be registered by UNHCR each month.  This is a statement made by Mr. Mountain in Geneva today.  At this rate, it is projected that Lebanon will have 1.5 million refugees by the end of the year.

The humanitarian appeal for Lebanon seeks $1.7 billion but it is only 17 per cent funded so far.  Mr. Mountain asserted that Lebanon cannot be expected to continue to manage without greater external assistance.

** Syria

And just to flag that you saw on Friday we issued a statement from the Secretary-General expressing his concern at the issue of the water supply in Aleppo.  That was issued late on Friday night.

** Nigeria

Turning to Nigeria, the Executive Director of UN-Women Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, met with the UN Country Team in Abuja today during her visit to the country to show solidarity with the schoolgirls and families affected by the abductions in Chibok.

She said she had met with members of Nigeria’s civil society and discussed their chief concerns, including anxiety about the potential collapse of the education system, and the fear that some parents have of sending their children to school.  She assured them that the UN would work with them to ensure that there is no setback for girl’s education in Nigeria.  And she mentioned the need to deal with trauma and to provide safe schools in the country.

Also relating to Nigeria, Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, the Executive Director of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), said today that the UNFPA will be leading a coalition of partners to provide psychosocial therapy to stabilize the parents of the victims in Nigeria and prepare them to offer the necessary assistance to their children, when they are released.  And we have more on UNFPA’s website.

**World Food Programme (WFP) Ambassador against Hunger

Also from our colleagues at the World Food Programme, they announced today the nomination of Jose Mourinho, manager of Chelsea Football Club in the English Premier League, as their Ambassador against Hunger.  He will use his status to raise awareness about WFP’s lifesaving work and champion the Zero Hunger Challenge which aims to eliminate hunger in our lifetimes.

**World Health Organization (WHO)

The World Health Organization’s annual assembly opened this morning in Geneva.  In her opening remarks, WHO’s Executive Director, Margaret Chan, stressed the main health challenges in the world right now, including the international spread of wild poliovirus, the Ebola outbreak in Guinea and the remaining challenges of non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes and obesity.  Dr. Chan said health has an obligatory place on any post-2015 development agenda.  And her full address is available on WHO’s website.

**Secretary-General’s Appointment

The Secretary-General has appointed Major General Hafiz Masroor Ahmed of Pakistan as his new Force Commander for the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI).  Major General Ahmed will replace Major General Muhammad Iqbal Asi also of Pakistan who completed his tour of duty earlier last month.  The Secretary-General is grateful for his dedicated and exemplary service during his two-year tenure as a Force Commander in UNOCI.  Major General Ahmed is currently commanding an infantry division in Pakistan and brings with him 30 years of national and international military experience.

**Press Conferences

Press conferences today.  At 1:30 p.m. today, there will be a press conference here by the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues to discuss the World Conference and human rights.

And tomorrow I am pleased to be joined here by the Spokeswoman for the President of the General Assembly, who will be here to talk about the upcoming High-Level event of the General Assembly on the “Contributions of North-South, South-South, Triangular Cooperation, and ICT for Development to the implementation of the Post-2015 Development Agenda”, which will take place later this month.

Following that, we will hear from Dr. Kim Eva Dickson, UNICEF Senior Adviser of Maternal and Newborn Health, and Professor Joy Lawn of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who are the co-authors of the new Lancet’s “Every Newborn Series”.

I think that is it for me and if it’s not, it should be so I’ve spoken enough.  Yes sir?

**Questions and Answers

Question:  Thank you.  The Foreign Minister of Russia, Lavrov, said that he had sent a letter to the United Nations with request to a new investigation on what happened in Odessa.  Is this letter received or is there any possibility…?

Spokesman:  I’m not aware that the letter has been received but as soon as this meeting is over, I will check and let you know if it’s been received.

Question:  And is there any possibility that a UN investigation, besides what Mr. Šimonović is doing in Ukraine, started?

Spokesman:  I think we will take a look at the — let’s take a look at the letter first.  Matthew.

Question:  Sure, I wanted some other questions, but on Libya, it seems like things are going pretty badly, countries are closing their embassies, withdrawing their staff.  What… what is Mr. Mitri and the Mission… what are they doing as the Parliament is stormed and various things are taking place in Benghazi, Tripoli and elsewhere?

Spokesman:  Yes, obviously the situation in Libya is very worrying and I expect to have a statement from the Secretary-General any time — it’s just not ready yet.  Yes sir?

Question:  Yes, Stéphane.  We have a problem with these microphones all the time.  We don’t know how to handle them.

Spokesman:  It’s not that hard: you hold them and you press a button.

Correspondent:  Yes, okay.  We are getting older actually, that’s the problem.

Spokesman:  You and me both my friend, yes.

Question:  Stéphane, besides what you said on the Balkans flood, can you confirm that some cash money is delivered from the UN… presumably… actually, we’ve heard that UN office in Sarajevo has given $400,000 for the first aid to Bosnia and Herzegovina, so are you aware of that?  Can you tell us something?

Spokesman:  I have not been aware of that, but I’m happy to check.  I know this is something that all our humanitarian colleagues are following very closely and as you saw, we’ve sent an assessment mission and, obviously, whatever we can do, we will try to do, but I’ve not heard this issue of the cash transfers.

[The Spokesman later said that the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs had allocated an emergency cash grant for $50,000 to kick-start immediate relief support.  This was done through the UN Resident Coordinator’s office in Bosnia and Herzegovina.]

Question:  Who is the assessment mission and where is this sent to; to Bosnia, to Serbia, to…?

Spokesman:  It is being Serbia, but there is some — I guess neither you nor I listened to what I just said.  The WFP is going to Tuzla, if I recall what I’ve just read, and there is an assessment mission going to Belgrade, but obviously we are looking at the situation in all three places, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia.  Yes ma’am?

Question:  The Secretary-General and Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini stressed the need of an international involvement on the issue of migrants.  The same need was underlined today in the editorial of the New York Times, which highlights the huge efforts done by Italy and huge… and the UN to cooperate with Italy to handle the emergency.  What’s the position of the Secretary-General?

Spokesman:  The Secretary-General and the UN system as a whole has been following the situation in the Mediterranean and this issue of mass movement of people in very dangerous circumstances in the Mediterranean very closely.  He has raised this specific issue of the migrants coming onshore in southern Italy and Lampedusa and other places, in his various meetings with Italian officials also at the EU level when he was meeting with EU Commissioners earlier this year.  The Secretary-General has repeatedly expressed his appreciation for the efforts that Italy is shouldering on behalf of the Europeans in this situation.  I think what’s important also from our end is that migrants be treated with respect, with dignity and their full basic rights be respected.  And, you know, just to conclude on this, the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN system as a whole has repeatedly said, I think this problem in itself is too big for one country to deal alone.  It needs an international approach and a regional approach to deal with it.  Yes, Pam?

Question:  Stéphane, when… in the meeting with the Secretary-General with the Chinese President, there was a reference to peace and security issues, including the Korean peninsula.  Do you know how the North Korea issue came up?  Was there any effort to bring China on board to try to prevent a future test?

Spokesman:  You know, I don’t have anything more, but obviously China is a very important player in anything that deals with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.  Edie and then Karim.

Question:  Steph, is there any word on when Mr. Šimonović might be back and might come and talk to us?

Spokesman:  No, but as I promised to harvest him, I will bring him here as soon as I can.  What did I say — Karim and then Nizar and then Oleg.  Yes, go ahead.

Question:  The Office of Internal Oversight to the UN, OIOS, issued a report late last week about UN peacekeepers basically saying that peacekeepers avoid using force actually in 8 cases out of 10.  They didn’t use force to protect civilians.  That comes after a former UN staff, Aicha Elbasri from UNAMID, denounced several incidents where peacekeepers didn’t protect civilians in Darfur so I wanted to know how does the Secretary-General feel about this report and more importantly, does it cast a shadow on the efficiency of UN peacekeeping missions, which as you know are more and more [inaudible]?

Spokesman:  I think you know the protection of civilians is a critical part of our peacekeeping missions.  The report which is part of the regular UN audit reports, OIOS reports, was submitted.  Along with that submission, there is a response from the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the Department of Field Service arguing — maybe arguing is a strong word but — challenging some of the points raised in the report.  Obviously these will be discussed further.  Issues that are raised on protection of civilians are important they need to be addressed and they will be addressed.  I think on Sudan, we’ve spoken already on this bit on what was the criticism on the mission, the UN mission in Darfur, and I think as we’ve said there is a review ongoing of the mission to see how some of the issues have been addressed — including the protection of civilians — can help the mission perform better.  Oleg… Oleg and then Nizar, I’m sorry.

Question:  Thank you, Stéphane.  The self-proclaimed Lugansk People Republic which announced its independence based on the referendum, apparently asked… sent a request to the Secretary-General to accept its recognition as a country.  Can you confirm that you received any such request and can you tell us what the next steps should be taken to gain such recognition?

Spokesman:  No, we have not or at least I have… let me put it this way, I’m not aware that it has been received and I think we’ve already said the issue of membership to the UN is a process that is outlined in the Charter and that rests, that ultimate decision rests with Member States not with the Secretary-General.  Nizar, you’ve been patient.

Question:  Yeah, with the return of Homs back to the State in Syria and declared as secure… as a secure town, what kind of help is provided by United Nations for people to return?  Also there were reports that many inhabitants of Homs sovereign are returning from Lebanon.  What kind of help will they get when they come back to their city?

Spokesman:  Well, let me see what I can get in terms of a humanitarian update for Homs, but obviously, as soon as we feel that it is safe for us, for our staff to work even if the conditions remain very challenging, UN humanitarian staff and their partners provide assistance to people who need it, but I’ll see what I can specifically get on returning populations.

[The Spokesman later shared the following information with the correspondent:

“The UN was not part of the agreement among the parties for the withdrawal of the fighters (and some families) to Der Al Kabira.  People are returning to Old Homs to see what they can salvage from their properties.  Around half the city is completely destroyed or unliveable, with no water or electricity.  We remain concerned about unexploded ordnance.  Afterwards, in the Old City, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) delivered 200 food parcels, 200 hygiene parcels and 500 sleeping nets to an NGO for distribution in the area to people returning.  SARC are expected to distribute kitchen sets today to the civilians staying in the City and opening a collective kitchen with the NGO to distribute meals to civilians.”]

Question:  On another issue, the Saudis declared that another victim died today because of this outbreak of disease, the [inaudible] disease…

Spokesman:  Which disease, sorry?  Oh MERS, yeah.

Question:  Yeah, there’s a virus spreading…

Spokesman:  I know, I know, I just didn’t hear you.

Question:  Are there any plans for… to curtail the movement in and out of Saudi Arabia as a result in order to prevent spread of such disease which is very fatal?

Spokesman:  Those are issues that the World Health Organization looks at and follows very closely, but it is obviously up to Member States to also take the decisions they need to take to protect their own public health and international public health.  Benny and then we’ll go here.

Question:  There’s a side event today at the UN about UNRWA [United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East] in which organizers are saying that, you know, UNRWA is just furthering the status of refugees by transferring it from one generation to the next, which the other UN refugee system does not.  Does the Secretary-General plan to follow those events… that event and maybe rethink the definition of refugees by UNRWA?

Spokesman:  I think the issue of refugees in this particular case would be resolved through a political and negotiated solution.  UNRWA provides lifesaving support and longer term support to the populations.  It is mandated to serve throughout the Middle East.  Yes, all the way in the back.

Question:  The issue of the Syrian refugees in Lebanon, you say that only part of… 17 per cent of the money was provided.  Can you say more about it and which countries are supposed to provide the rest of the money and what you’re doing about it?

Spokesman:  Let me put it bluntly, the accounts for these humanitarian appeals is open to every country so it’s not a matter of who’s supposed to or not supposed to, is that any Member State that is willing and has the capacity to fund these appeals, should fund them.  And this is a call that both the Secretary-General and all our heads of humanitarian agencies have repeatedly put out.  I can give you, after the briefing, we can find out the breakdown of who has actually given money and by seeing who has given money, we can see who has not given money.  Linda and then that gentleman and we can go to those who haven’t asked questions.  Go ahead, Linda.

Question:  [inaudible] not to use force to protect civilians in contradiction to, you know, UN mandate to do so.  Do you have any sense or is there any sense of how significant that…that is, in terms of peacekeepers not using force?

Spokesman:  We would expect all peacekeeping contingents to abide by the mandate and the instructions that are issued for each peacekeeping mission including the protection of civilians.  The reality is that sometimes that doesn’t happen but it is something that is expected.  Yes sir?  Sorry, then we’ll go to you in the back.  Go ahead.

Question:  Thanks.  In connection with…questions on Syria.  Is there any progress in naming a replacement for Lakhdar Brahimi?  And secondly, is there… do you have a date for the new commander in Côte d’Ivoire to take over his position?

Spokesman:  Let me find out on Côte d’Ivoire.  On Mr. Brahimi, those discussions, internal discussions, are very much ongoing so I have nothing to add.  Yes, go ahead.

Question:  Is there a shortlist who’s going to…?

Spokesman:  Nice try, nice try.  Go ahead.

Question:  My follow-up… my real follow-up is…

Spokesman:  You’re not on it.

Question:  Is that Mr. Brahimi said that Iranian proposals regarding the solution in Syria worthwhile thinking about and discuss… the discussing so since he is still present… representing the Secretary-General, does he… does the Secretary-General share this view?  Thank you.

Spokesman:  I think you know we’ve always thought that Iran had an important role to play like others countries that have an influence on the conflict.  Yes sir, in the back, you’ve been very patient.

Question:  Follow-up on questions on the Secretary-General trip to China.  I just want…

Spokesman:  Sorry, please go ahead.

Question:  Was tension in South China Sea between Viet Nam and China mentioned in discussion between the Secretary-General and Chinese leader?

Spokesman:  Yes, I mean the overall situation in South China Sea was discussed and the Secretary-General’s message is that — urges all parties concerned to exercise the utmost restraint and to resolve their dispute in a peaceful manner and in dialogue.

Question:  [inaudible] on starvation of children in the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] and I asked her afterwards what affect did the sanctions have upon the deterioration of the health of these children.  She did not deny there was an impact but she it was not within her mandate and I subsequently tried to find some information about that and I was told that any information on the impact of sanctions on the people of the DPRK or any other target people is only permitted… the only people permitted access are in the Department of Political Affairs.  This is a failure of transparency.  Why is it… this information not made public, because…

Spokesman:  What information?

Question:  Of… information about the impact of sanctions on civilian populations in particular the DPRK, because Valeria Amos has had…

Spokesman:  All right, let me look into that specific case and I’ll get back to you.  Pam?

Question:  On the… this new defence unit or military defence unit in Mogadishu, UNGU [United Nations Guard Unit] that’s designed to, or tasked to report to SRSG…

Spokesman:  The Guard Unit?

Question:  Yeah, the Guard Unit tasked to protect UN staff.  These 410 troops that are based at the airport, can you say a little more about where they will be deployed and does this establish some kind of a prototype since UN staff is under attack in other missions?

Spokesman:  Well, I mean they are stationed in the airport because they are there for protective purposes and that’s where most of the UN’s staff is and a lot of our staff resides, not all of them, but quite a few of them.  It’s also important for us, for that they are Ugandan troops, its Uganda’s first contribution to a UN field mission.  It’s not intending to engage in combat, it’s there for defensive purposes.  It’s a static guard unit.  It will stay… [phone rings]  I mean come on, it’s not Easter.  Sorry, it’s a static guard unit, it’s there, as its name applies, it’s there to guard, it’s not there to engage in any sort of proactive security or military operation.

Question:  But if the staff is attacked in other places…

Spokesman:  I mean it’s there… I mean this particular one is a static guard unit meant for the airport.

Question:  Meant to be prototype for other…

Spokesman:  In other places you know we have, in the Central African Republic we have a guard unit from Morocco.  I think you know, we look at all the options that are available to us, we’re obviously in Somalia operating in extremely, extremely dangerous environment and this contribution from Uganda is very valuable and appreciated.

Question:  And is there a reason then it was called the first?

Spokesman:  It’s the first… what I… what I said, it’s the first time the Ugandans are providing…

Question:  But it was called the first guard unit…

Spokesman:  I’ll check.

Question:  Can I just have a follow-up on Oleg’s question?  Is the application process for membership to the UN… doesn’t it go… that’s what Palestine did first to the Secretary-General for vetting?

Spokesman:  It is, like in a number of issues having to do with Member States, the Secretariat, should we say functions sometimes as a post box, but the political decisions, the decisions on memberships are in the hands of the Member States.  Yes sir, and then we’ll go to you Matthew.

Question:  Thank you.  I’ve got a report from Kyiv saying that Ukraine is considering a possibility to go to the International Criminal Court with a question of getting compensation for Crimea annexation… annexation.  What is the possibility of… some results of this action and what is the procedure?

Spokesman:  You would have to contact the ICC.  The ICC operates separate from the Secretariat.  I would encourage you to contact the ICC.  Mr. Lee.

Question:  Sure, great.  I would like to ask about Burundi, Ukraine and Sri Lanka.  On Burundi, I wanted to ask you there’s a human rights defender, Pierre Claver Mbonimpa, that was arrested on Friday, is the head of the human rights… largest human rights group in the country.  He was one of the signatories of the letter to the Secretary-General.  He was arrested for, essentially repeating on radio what was in the UN cable, and I wanted to know, is there any UN action to protect him?  What he alleged beyond the cable is that the youth wing is being trained inside the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Uvira, he’s named the place and I wonder whether MONUSCO [United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo] is going to go and see whether there are, in fact, Burundian youth wing of the ruling party being trained inside the territory of DRC?

Spokesman:  Short answer is I don’t know.  We’ll see what we can get.  Obviously, the issue of the arming of youth wing is one that we’ve expressed deep concern about a number of times from here.

Question:  Okay, on Ukraine, I wanted to ask whether these… beyond one, if you have any response back from the Government.  I’ve seen some reports that they’re claiming that the helicopters were in fact the photos from the DRC two years ago.  Although there’s not any blue helmets around it.

Spokesman:  I don’t have…

Question:  Two journalists have been… the two journalists from Life News that was the media that filmed the helicopters have been arrested and report trade in photographs as bound and with bags over their head and with the Ukrainian authorities with guns pointed at them and I’m wondering whether the UN, Mr. Šimonović, UNESCO…

Spokesman:  We’ll check with Mr. Šimonović.  I don’t have anything particularly on that right now.

Question:  Okay, one the final one is on Sri Lanka.  Report came out over the weekend and on the fifth… this fifth anniversary by Yasmin Sooka, new report about the white flag incident, and the reason I’m asking here is that it has new details about Mr. Nambiar and 17 and 18 May 2009, has… recounts him first stating to an interlocutor that the Government wanted to quote “go all the way”, so it was no use surrendering because they were going to wipe everyone out in less than 24 hours later saying yes they can surrender, they will be treated fine and saying he wouldn’t go to witness it so the implication is what… I guess I’d like to ask you to ask him, what happened between these two communications that 24 hours later he would believe that surrenders would be treated fine who ended up being killed.

Spokesman:  I don’t have anything on Sri Lanka, but if I get something, I will share with you.

Have a wonderful day.

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