Ban’s spokesman reveals reason for statement delay

The Office of the Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General has conceded that a failure in its ‘system’ had led to the delay in the dissemination of a statement regarding last week’s telephonic conversation between Ban Ki-Moon and President Maithripala Sirisena.

Last Thursday (04), the President’s Media Division has issued a press release on the conversation immediately after the phone call while a statement from the UN was made only yesterday (10), six days after the discussion.   

When inquired by reporters regarding the delay in issuing the readout, which had been the cause for ‘misunderstanding’ in Sri Lanka about the call, the Spokesman for the Secretary-General Stéphane Dujarric said: “It was a failure in my system.”

“I can tell you that the Secretary-General congratulated the President on his accomplishments since assuming office, including on the adoption of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution.  The Secretary-General sought the President’s views on the prospect for electoral reform. He wished him success with ongoing legislative efforts and inquired about next steps.”

“The Secretary-General said he appreciated the President’s emphasis on reconciliation and offered the UN’s continued support to Sri Lanka’s peacebuilding efforts,” Dujarric said, at the daily press briefing yesterday.