At
UN
on Libya, Ban
Ki-moon Letter
Asks for 3
Month UNSMIL
Mission,
Martin Said to
Head, NATO
Unmentioned
By
Matthew
Russell Lee,
Exclusive
UNITED
NATIONS,
September 8 --
Scaling back
the UN's
initial plans
for 200
military
observers in
Libya,
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon to the
Security
Council has
proposed a
three month UN
Support
Mission to
Libya (UNSMIL)
in a letter
obtained by
Inner City
Press and put online
here.
Ban
writes
that
UNSMIL will
"be headed by
a Special
Representative
and will have
a Deputy
Special
Representative."
Well-placed
UN
sources tell
Inner City
Press that
with mediator
Al Khatib
frozen out
-- not even
mentioned in
the letter --
Ian Martin is
slated to be
the
SRSG, with or
without Libyan
approval.
The Deputy
SRSG, the
sources
have told
Inner City
Press, would
be Finland's
Georg
Charpentier,
accused by
human rights
groups of
being far too
close with
Khartoum
in Sudan.
While
much
limited from Ian Martin's
initial
military plan,
excluively
obtained and
published by
Inner City
Press, sources
say the
Transitional
National
Council is
still dubious.
Ban
sets
forth six
mandates he
wants the
Security
Council to
approve, see
here.
These include:
(a)
restore public
security and
order and
promote the
rule of law;
(b)
undertake
inclusive
political
dialogue,
promote
national
reconciliation
and embark on
the
constitution-making
and electoral
processes;
(c)
extend state
authority,
including
through the
strengthening
of emerging
accountable
institutions
and the
restoration of
public
services;
(d)
protect human
rights,
particularly
for vulnerable
groups, and
support
transitional
justice;
(e)
take the
immediate
steps required
to initiate
economic
recovery; and
(f)
coordinate the
support that
may be
requested from
other
multilateral
or bilateral
actors.
Ironically,
Ban's
support for
this endeavor
comes from
some countries
which
abstained
on Resolution
1973, now on
the theory
that it is
better for the
UN to
take the lead
rather than
NATO.
Thursday
in front
of the
Council, South
Africa's
Permanent
Representative
Baso Sangqu
told Inner
City Press,
"we hope the
NATO bombing
stops."
But NATO is
not mentioned
in Ban's
letter, nor
reportedly in
the
resolution
that the UK
was preparing
even before
Ban's letter.
Khatib, Ban
& Martin
on Aug 26, no
Qs on Martin
plan allowed
A
wild card here
is that in the
UK the
Conservative
David Cameron
government is
not
enamored of
Ian Martin,
who is
decidedly to
the Left,
having run for
political
positions for
Labor and
being involved
in the Fabian
group.
But
Ban's
political
chief Lynn
Pascoe, also
slated to
brief the
Council at
11:30 am on
Friday, has
reportedly
sought to
appoint Martin
and other
Brits to top
posts in an
attempt to
forestall a UK
push for the
top
DPA post that
he holds.
Sources
say Pascoe
has more to
fear from
Washington
wanting a more
Obama-aligned
Under
Secretary
General. Watch
this site.
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