|
ICP
Asks UN Of S
Korea Kim
Jong-pil
Saying Ban
Will Run,
Runaroundm
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
October
7 --
What has Ban
Ki-moon turned
the UN into,
as he seeks to
run for
President of
South Korea?
On October 7,
Inner City
Press asked
Ban's deputy
spokesman
Farhan Haq, UN transcript
here
Inner City
Press: there's
been a number
of media
outlets in
South Korea
that have
quoted former
Prime Minister
Kim Jong-pil,
who has met
with Ban
Ki-moon and is
viewed as a
supporter and
ally. He
has been
quoted on the
record saying
Ban Ki-moon
has made up
his mind and
is running for
president.
So I wanted to
know, when's
the last time
the
Secretary-General
spoke with Mr.
Kim
Jong-pil?
Because it
becomes
important to
know to assess
the
credibility of
his statement
of Mr. Ban's
intentions.
Deputy
Spokesman:
On this, as we
have made very
clear, the
Secretary-General
has spoken, he
is going to
work as
Secretary-General
and continue
to concentrate
his energies
on being
Secretary-General
of the United
Nations until
the end of his
mandate.
He'll make his
decision after
that.
Question:
Right.
So he's
wrong.
So his ally is
not…
Deputy
Spokesman:
That is what
the
Secretary-General
has
said.
Have a good
weekend,
everyone.
On October 3
Inner City
Press asked
Haq about a
political
party's offer
to Ban, UN
transcript
here:
Inner City
Press: there
was a proposal
today, or a
law proposed
and announced
by the Saenuri
Party in South
Korea, which
would provide,
quote,
privileges or
benefits to
the
Secretary-General
when he leaves
here, which
would include
a bodyguard,
office,
security,
secretary.
And so some
have raised…
is there any
provision for
this? Is
this
consistent
with UN ethics
rules in terms
of a country
offering these
things to a
sitting UN
official?
Deputy
Spokesman:
Well,
regarding
that, you'd
have to ask
the officials
in South Korea
what their
arrangements
are.
This is…
obviously, the
Secretary-General
doesn't accept
these favours
in his time as
Secretary-General.
I wouldn't
have any
comment on his
post-Secretary-General
career.
On
September 30,
a concert in
the UN pitched
as only about
South Korea's
25th
anniversary at
a UN member
was converted
into an event
for Ban
Ki-moon's
legacy.
Oh Joon, who
has spoken
about Ban and
South Korea's
presidency,
was there, as
was Ban's male
personal
assistant and
his spouse
(but not Ms
Eun Ha Kim.)
UN officials
Adlerstein and
Dieng,
Ombudsman and
successor
candidate
Helen Clark
were there.
Some
Ambassadors
showed up at
the top and
then left;
Kazakhstan, we
note, stuck it
out.
The music was
great - but,
it was
disclosed,
paid for by
investment
bank G C
Andersen. Ban
cited Han
Seung-soo, who
he's let be a
UN official
while on the
boards of
directors of
Doosan and
Standard
Chartered
Bank. (Inner
City Press
asked the new
President of
the General
Asssembly
about this on
September 30,
here).
Ban's
nepotism has
come to the
fore, but his
polling is up,
and he'd
headed on the
road. We will
cover it,
watch this
site.
* * *
These
reports
are
usually also available through Google
News and on Lexis-Nexis.
Click here
for Sept 26, 2011 New Yorker on Inner City
Press at UN
Click
for
BloggingHeads.tv re Libya, Sri Lanka, UN
Corruption
Feedback:
Editorial [at] innercitypress.com
UN Office: S-303,
UN, NY 10017 USA
Reporter's mobile (and weekends):
718-716-3540
Other, earlier Inner City Press are
listed here,
and some are available in the ProQuest service,
and now on Lexis-Nexis.
Copyright 2006-2015 Inner City Press,
Inc. To request reprint or other permission,
e-contact Editorial [at] innercitypress.com
|
, 
