UNITED NATIONS: UN chief Ban Ki-moon Friday called Friday on Sri Lanka to "normalize conditions" around the UN office in Colombo after days of angry demonstrations over a UN war crimes panel.

Following Thursday`s recall of the UN`s top envoy to the island, Neil Buhne, Ban again urges Colombo "to take urgent action to normalize conditions around the (UN office) so as to ensure the continuation of the vital work of the organization to assist the people of Sri Lanka," the UN Secretary General`s office said in a statement.

It said the "strong reaction" to a UN probe into alleged rights abuses during the final stages of Sri Lanka`s civil war "is not warranted," adding that the Panel of Experts had only an advisory capacity.

The panel, the statement said, "has been set up to advise the secretary general... on the modalities, applicable international standards and comparative experience relevant to an accountability process."

Its objectives, it added, include "further fostering of reconciliation... as well as reflecting the commitment by Sri Lanka to the promotion and protection of human rights and the importance of accountability in order to continue the strengthening of peace and development in that country."

Many observers in Sri Lanka view the UN panel, headed by Marzuki Darusman, a former Indonesian attorney general, as a precursor to a full-blown war crimes investigation.

The Tamil Tiger guerrillas were defeated in May 2009 and the United Nations has said that at least 7,000 ethnic Tamil civilians were killed in the military`s final offensive to end 38 years of civil war.

The protests in Colombo have been led by Housing Minister Wimal Weerawansa, who has just resigned and begun what he says will be a hunger strike to the death outside the UN Regional Center.

Late Friday, top diplomatic representatives in Colombo from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Switzerland, US and the European Union delegation expressed "dismay" over the blockade of the UN office.

"Peaceful protest is part of any democracy, but blocking access to the United Nations -- of which Sri Lanka itself is a member -- as well as intimidating and harassing UN personnel is a breach of international norms and harmful to Sri Lanka`s reputation in the world," they said in a joint statement.

It asked Sri Lanka to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel and premises.

BDST:0912HRS, July 10, 2010