After
Apologizing
to Turks, Now
Ban Thanks UN
Security for
Restraint
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
September 29
-- After six
days of UN
stonewalling
about the
Turkish
delegation
beat-down of
UN Security
and UN
Secretary
General
Ban Ki-moon's
fast apology
to Prime
Minister
Erdogan, on
Thursday
morning Ban
belated put
online a note
to UN staff,
particularly
Security and
Protocol,
thanking them
for their
"restraint."
See below.
Fast
reactions from
UN
staff included
disgust,
amazement and
anger. Why did
Ban
immediately
apologize to
Turkey, even
as at least
three UN
Security
officers lay
injured? One,
Inner City
Press has
learned, is
still using
crutches.
Meanwhile
questions
have arising
about the role
of the UN's
Protocol
Office.
For three
days, Inner
City Press has
asked a simple
factual
question:
how many extra
ID passes to
enter the UN
were given to
the Turkish
delegation?
On September
27, Ban's
spokesman
Martin Nesirky
said he
would check.
But he had no
answer on
September 28,
or since. The
goal
seems to be to
have the story
die, due to
lack of
answers.
But
the UN is a
public
organization.
On September
28, Inner City
Press asked
the
spokeswoman
for the
President of
the General
Assembly, who
referred
all questions
back to
Nesirky, who
would not
answer them.
Meanwhile
UN
Security
sources said
that beyond
Officer
Matthew
Sullivan with
injured ribs
and the female
officer beaten
in the face,
another male
UN Security
officer was
left walking
on crutches,
suspended then
on
"administrative
leave" after
Ban apologized
to the Turks.
Ban &
Security chief
Staff: thanks
for nothing,
guards say
The level of
anger at Ban
is growing,
but as
numerous of
Ban's guards
tell Inner
City Press,
Ban is totally
isolated,
"living in his
own world."
And
from the
world, here's
is Ban's
belated double
speak:
Message
from
the
Secretary-General
Posted:
Thursday, 29
September
2011,
New York |
Author:
Secretary-General
BAN Ki-moon
As
the
66th General
Debate draws
to a close, I
would like to
express my
immense
gratitude to
all officials
and staff of
the UN
Secretariat
for their hard
work and
dedication.
The demands
have been
great and,
as ever, you
have risen to
the occasion.
In
particular,
I wish to
thank the
Protocol and
Security
Officers of
the
United
Nations. The
pressures they
faced in
performing
their duties
were
especially
difficult, and
they met these
pressures with
dignity,
restraint and
high
professionalism
in the best
tradition of
the
Organisation.
To
all,
I ask that you
accept my
sincere thanks
and deep
appreciation
for your
commitment to
the great
causes that
bind us.
BAN
Ki-moon
, 
