Amid
Conflicts in
Libya, Syria,
Sudan &
Kosovo, Horn
of Africa Famine,
UN Reduces
Q&A by
40%, Has
"Nothing to
Say"
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
August 12 --
As the Arab
Spring turns
to a bloody
late summer,
and according
to the UN
famine spreads
in the Horn of
Africa, UN
headquarters
in New York
Friday
confirmed it
is moving to
reduce its
availability
to the press
by 40%.
With
UN Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon back
in his native
South Korea,
Inner City
Press on
August 12
asked Ban's
acting deputy
spokesman
Farhan Haq to
explain why
two of the
expected five
daily
briefings next
week, and
possible the
week after
that, are
being canceled
at this time.
Haq
replied that
there would be
"nothing to
say," and
accused Inner
City Press of
being the only
one "worried
about this one
way or
another,"
claiming to
have polled
journalists at
the UN and
gotten their
agreement to
cancel
briefings.
(See UN's
partial
transcription,
below).
Haq
refused to
provide any
details of his
polling; at a
press-related
event hosted
by the US
Mission to the
UN the evening
of August 11,
there were a
number of
complaints
about Ban's
Spokesperson's
Office
refusing to
even do a
daily ten
minute
briefing, as
Inner City
Press had
reported,
despite events
in the world.
Even
on the
questions
asked of Haq
on August 11,
few were
answered.
Inner City
Press asked
about the
reported
"buzzing" of
the Zam Zam
IDP camp in
Darfur by
Sudan's air
force. Haq had
no information
on this, and
said that
"some of these
reports have
not checked
out."
Three weeks
ago, UN
official Ivan
Simonovic said
that the UN's
human rights
report about
Southern
Kordofan in
Sudan, which
includes
descriptions
of Egyptian UN
peacekeepers
doing nothing
as civilians
were kiled,
would be
formally
released "in
two weeks."
Inner City
Press asked
Haq to explain
the delay, one
week and
counting. Haq
said it isn't
delay, he'll
announce when
it's released.
In the
Security
Council, there
are countries
dissatisfied
by the UN's
delay, and
trying to get
emergency
meetings of
the Council.
The
Secretariat's
lackadaisical
delay and
Haq's
statement that
these weeks
there's
"nothing to
say" sends a
message: there
is no
emergency, or
even urgency.
Any
response to
letters to Ban
from municipal
officials in
Northern
Kosovo? No,
Haq said, the
letters are
being
"studied."
Haq at
briefing on
Haiti,
responses to
Qs not shown:
nothing to
say?
For
months Ban's
Spokesperson's
Office claimed
that a letter
from the New
York State
AFL-CIO then a
group of
Congresspeople
about UN
attacks on the
broadcast
engineers'
union was
"being
studied." On
August 12, Haq
confirmed
Inner City
Press' August
11 report that
seven more
engineers are
being laid
off, on top of
17 other posts
lost, as a
"cost cutting"
move.
Inner
City Press
asked Haq if
the 40%
reduction in
briefings is a
cost cutting
move. Haq
replied that
it's "standard
procedure."
But what about
Ban Ki-moon's
repeated
canned claim
to be "deeply
concerned"
about the loss
of civilian
lives in a
conflict in
Libya in which
under Security
Council
resolution
1973 Ban is to
have a
coordinating
role? Because
it's August
(Haq said
Ban's lead
spokesman is
out to August
29) -- and
Ramadan --
will there be
"nothing to
say" about
that?
In
fact, at least
in Syria and
Libya, it has
been said that
"every day
will be
protest Friday
during
Ramadan." Is
this the time
for the UN to
cancel
briefings and
press question
and answer
sessions?
Inner
City Press
asked, asks
and will
continue
asking, what
is the problem
with devoting
a ten minute
briefing each
week day to
answering
questions?
Watch this
site.
From
the
UN's
transcription
of its August
12, 2011, noon
briefing,
for
video
click here:
Inner
City
Press: you’d
said this
thing about
the limited
briefings next
week. Is this
a cost-saving
move in the
sense of the
way that you
announced with
broadcast
engineers? And
two, given
that the UN
has
100,000
peacekeepers
with weapons
in the field,
why is it
unreasonable
to think that
for 10 minutes
a day you
could take and
answer
questions in
this room?
Acting
Deputy
Spokesperson
Farhan Haq:
First of all,
Matthew, I
just wish
you could see
some of the
expressions of
your
colleagues
when you
asked that
question.
Inner
City
Press:
[inaudible]
Acting
Deputy
Spokesperson:
I think I am
doing a favor
for as many of
you
as for any of
my colleagues
who man the
various
services.
Inner
City
Press: Who did
you speak to?
How many
[inaudible]?
Acting
Deputy
Spokesperson:
Secondly,
Matthew, I
have been here
as a
Spokesperson
for 12 years,
and every
summer, there
is a period
and
indeed the
week between
Christmas and
New Year’s,
there are
times
when we cut
back on
briefings. A
lot of that
has to do with
low
audience. That
is standard
procedure, and
we’ve done
this on and
off.
Inner
City
Press: Who did
you speak to?
Acting
Deputy
Spokesperson:
Like I said
before, if
events
warrant, we
would
revise that
and hold
further
briefings. But
there is no
real purpose
in holding
briefings that
might be
sparsely
attended on
which we have
nothing
particular to
say. And
everyday, like
I said, we
will, as we
do every other
summer on days
when we don’t
give the
briefings, we
will come up
with updates
on the
website.
Inner
City
Press: Is the
UN doing less
work in the
field in
August?
Acting
Deputy
Spokesperson:
And frankly,
Matthew, you
have been here
for
five or six
years, and so
you are about
as used to
this as I am.
Inner
City
Press: I guess
what I was
unused to is
this idea that
somehow
you’ve polled
people and
then I’ve
talked to a
number of
people
that weren’t
polled. So how
did you decide
to say that
journalists
here want less
information
rather than
more? I don’t
understand
the basis.
Just tell me
how many did
you speak to?
Acting
Deputy
Spokesperson:
No, whenever I
am around and
frankly, many
summers I am
not around, I
actually do
ask a bunch of
reporters just
to test
whether this
is a good week
to do it or
not.
Inner
City
Press: In this
case…
Acting
Deputy
Spokesperson:
But that’s
standard. And
frankly, every
time
I do it, the
vast majority
of people I
talk to say
“yeah, this is
a
good week to
do it”.
Inner
City
Press: Maybe
it’s based on
who you speak
to.
Acting
Deputy
Spokesperson:
If that
changes, like
I said, if
that changes,
we’ll change.
But frankly,
there isn’t a
single person
who is
worried about
this one way
or another.
[inaudible]
Inner
City
Press: I don’t
think it’s
true. I
actually heard
from
others, but
are you in the
office,
actually, I
mean, is that
office
manned in the
week?
Acting
Deputy
Spokesperson:
Sure, sure. I
will be here
all week long
and
you can always
feel free to
come by and
ask me
questions.
Inner
City
Press: I mean
is 10 minutes
too much? I
don’t
understand it,
I guess, is
what I am
saying.
Acting
Deputy
Spokesperson:
You can have
10 minutes
with me, as
well. The
question is:
what’s useful
and what’s not
useful. This
is hardly
exceptional,
not even for
this, but for
offices
elsewhere in
the
country and in
the world at
this time of
the year.
Inner
City
Press: When is
the lead
Spokesman
coming back?
Acting
Deputy
Spokesperson:
He should be
back on I
think 29
August,
possibly
before.
Inner
City
Press: Okay.
* *
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