By Lucien RajakarunanayakeƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Courtesy The IslandƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  25-06-2010

“He must be over the moon, donƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t you think?”

“What moon are you talking about? All I know is itƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Poson Full Moon here today, and thatƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s a big event.”

“I mean Ban Ki-moon; the Big Moon in New York. DonƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t you think he must be over the moon by now?”

“How can moon be over the moon? It seems he is more moonstruck than over it.”

Moonstruck or not, he has got his Committee of Experts to advice him, so he must be doing the Korean equivalent of a tango, possibly with Louise Arbour of the ICG. They must be feeling really great.

Guess what this Committee of Experts will be advising him about?

Obviously, something he knows nothing about. In this case it is Sri Lanka, and the last stages of the war to defeat LTTE.

But, does he not have a Resident Representative of the UN in Colombo, and so many other UN Organisations over here to advise him, or is it that he does not trust them?

Who knows? Moon insists he needs advise, and he has to wait for the first anniversary of the defeat of the LTTE to a appoint a committee to improve his knowledge about Sri Lanka and the end of that bloody war; just like the European Union, waiting a similar length of time to impose conditions to continue GSP plus for Sri Lanka.

Now donƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t tell me there was conspiracy between the UNSG and the European Commission against Sri Lanka, or were they only acting in collusion?

Who knows? But we learn that there are queues already forming outside the UN Headquarters in New York of those ready to teach Ban Ki-moon about what he is so eager to learn.

Who is lining up so fast?

Surely you can guess by now. There is Human Rights Watch heading the line, followed by the IGG, David Milliband is eager to get ahead of Louise Arbour and HRW. There are the producers of fake videos of Channel 4, Jeremy Page from the Times London who never stepped onto Sri Lanka but gave blood curdling reports about Menik Farm from across the Palk Strait. They are to be joined soon by Keith Vaz from the UK House of Commons, who must be feeling comfortable at the size of the brown paper envelope in his pocket, gratefully given by the Eelam Tamils of the UK, and some other members of the Commons who will also be glad for the chance for some extra buckshee, when the LibDem-Con Government has presented a very harsh budget with expenditure cuts all round.

Sounds like quite list of tutors for Ban Ki Moon.

ThatƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s not all. There is also a whole list of Sri Lankan journalists of one sort or another, now said to be living in exile in the West, some of who contributed to making the Channel 4 video and other misinformation, whom are said to be negotiating terms under which they will come over to educate Ban Ki-moon.

You mean something like witness protection?

No. It is negotiations on financial benefits from such education, or private tuition, as it is usually referred to here. With most of them living in the Euro Zone, where the value of the Euro is fast dropping and the economies are shrinking, they are looking for substantial support from UN resources to live in more comfort in self-exile through the munificence of Ban Ki-moon.

They say he has tried it, but he is not so computer savvy. Also, he gets stumped by place names such as Kebitigollewa and so many Sinhala and Tamil place names unfamiliar to him and also unpronounceable by him that comes up describing LTTE atrocities. He would rather those instances of LTTE atrocities, and especially records of how the Tigers fired from behind at Tamil civilians fleeing them for freedom in the last days of the war, be not brought before him.

So why doesnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t he take some drugs that result in selective amnesia, to help him forget that atrocities of the LTTE and only lend his ear to those who are ready to talk of alleged war crimes by Sri Lankan troops, and the responsibility an answerability of the Sri Lankan State?

Who knows he may have tried. We have no access to his medical records, including that of his psychiatrist. They must he very interesting.

Why do you say that?

Because he has not appointed any committee of experts to advise him on Guantanamo, which even Obama wants to close down but is unable to do so. And he sees no need for any experts to advise him on what is happening in Afghanistan just now, or even in Pakistan.

Do you think he prefers ignorance about such matters involving Human Rights and War Crimes ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” dammit he had no experts advising him of Abu Ghraib either.

Exactly; he must be thinking of the value of such ignorance, in his bid for election to a second term.

Well, it just looks as if we must change our familiar line about ignorance, to read as “Ignorance is Moon” .Plenty of bliss for Ban Ki-moon indeed.