SRI LANKA CLARIFIES PEACEKEEPERS’ WITHDRAWAL FROM HAITI
Inter Press Service
Ambassador Palitha Kohona, Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, points out that the Sri Lankan peacekeepers 'were not deported by the UN, which has no authority to do so under its mandate.' 'They were withdrawn by Sri Lanka on its own volition and later investigated.' Clarifying our story yesterday, he writes: ' A number were penalised severely. This was noted by a Congressional delegation which had lunch with troop contributors, including me, last week. There are no other similar precedents for the violation of UN rules on fraternising even though the scandals involving peacekeepers in the Congo, Bosnia Herzegovina, Cambodia, Kosovo, etc have been widely documented.'
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