Sri Lankan commander heading the UN peacekeeping force in Mali Lt.Col. Kalana Aumunupura will be brought to the country once an official communiqué is received for his repatriation, the Military Spokesman Brigadier Sumith Atapattu told the Sunday Observer. He said the military is bound to honor the request of the UN, but denied that the Commander was involved in any human rights violations as alleged and went on to say that the Army is yet to receive an official communique on this from the UN.
“A background check is carried out on all military personnel selected for UN peacekeeping missions abroad and Lt.Col. Amunupura was cleared before his departure in December last year, the military Spokesman said.
The UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, during the noon briefing on Friday at the UN Headquarters in New York, said, following an ‘extra procedure’ done on the Sri Lankan contingent, that involved vetting of the officers on peacekeeping missions, this decision to ask for his repatriation was taken. The Spokesperson was responding to a query by a member of the media.
“This decision follows information… new information that was received by the UN, and so we acted on that information, and we’ve now asked the Sri Lankan authorities to find a replacement for the commander of their contingent,” he said adding that the commander will be asked to leave immediately. According to media reports the information has been received by a report produced by a South Africa based international Truth and Justice Project. The military spokesman confirmed that there was 200 strong Sri Lankan peacekeeping force in Mali.
UN Colombo office and Sri Lanka Foreign Ministry refrained from commenting on the matter when contacted by Sunday Observer.