AI's secret pay-offs revealed
Diplomats call for transparent probe:
Sri Lanka's diplomatic sources say there should be a transparent
probe into the recent revelation that former Secretary General of the
London headquartered Amnesty International (AI), Irene Khan and her
deputy Kate Gilmore received a staggering 533,000 and 325,244 pounds
respectively, as secret pay-off packages.
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Irene Khan |
Diplomats add that it is important for AI to maintain accountability,
which they call for from countries about which it often reports and has
been a key aspect of policy during the time of Khan. Amnesty declined to
discuss the payouts to their top officials.
But the scale of the payments throws a harsh light on the group's
management decisions following years of increasing criticism, Daily Mail
reports.
AI runs appeals for donations from the public, which include attempts
to inspire money-raising campaigns among young people and in schools.
The payment to Bangladeshi-born Khan, who has a reputation as a
campaigner against poverty, was more than four times her annual salary
of pounds 132,490.
Amnesty's International Executive Committee Chairman Peter Pack said:
"The payments to outgoing Secretary General Irene Khan shown in the
accounts of AI (Amnesty International Ltd) for the year ending March
31,2010 include payments made as part of a confidential agreement
between AI Ltd and Irene Khan.
"It is a term of this agreement that no further comment on it will be
made by either party."
Khan has been criticised from the political left for her failure to
do more to protest about abuses by American and British troops in Iraq,
and notably for a muted response to the Abu Ghraib torture scandal.
During Khan's tenure as Head, AI targeted the Sri Lankan cricket team
during the last World Cup in the Caribbean in 2007 over the country's
war against LTTE terrorism.
Other critics accused the 54-year-old of doing too much to highlight
abuse at Guantanamo Bay and too little to expose its inmates alleged
links with the Taliban and terror groups.
Khan also failed to impress all of Amnesty's supporters with her
emphasis on alleviating poverty, Daily Mail reports. priu.gov.lk |
