At
UN,
Russia's Churkin Complains About Non Quiet, Others Talk of Leaks
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
March 22 -- The day after Russian
Ambassador Vitaly Churkin
chastised a Western Security Council member's spokesman for offering
“distortions” to the media without waiting for the President of
the Council to speak first, the predictions were of more attacks
and
tensions in and around the Council.
A
Council member's
Permanent Representative told Inner City Press, explicitly “on
background,” that Churkin has been making three critiques.
First,
that there are too many people in the Council's closed door
consultation room, some of whom are “leaking.” (This is a
critique other Council sources say that the US Permanent
Representative Susan Rice has echoed, urging more junior diplomats of
Council members not to give information to the press).
Second,
he said,
Churkin has complained about Western countries' spokespeople spinning
the media, on an anonymous basis. Russia's spokesman Anton Uspensky
rarely joins this gaggle: Inner City Press has suggested that might
be a better approach.
Third
and the only
one of the three that Churkin expressed to Inner City Press when
asked, the so called “Quiet Room” is not quiet enough. “There
are people laughing,” Churkin told Inner City Press.
Churkin previously speaks to press, spokesman not shown
It is a
waiting room where non-Council member states can wait and lobby. But
during these Libya meetings, Ambassadors from all over the world stop
it, and it can get loud.
During
three March
21 stakeouts about Sudan, the speakers' remarks were routinely
drowned out by unrelated loud and plaintive questions shouted from
the other side of the stairs.
French
Ambassador Gerard Araud was asked,
loudly, why the African Union could not fly into Libya.
“There is no
mechanism, Madame,” Araud answered.
And
what mechanism
is there for adjudging Churkin's claims, either the one he's made
public, or the anti-leaking one he's said to share with Susan Rice?
Watch this site.
* * *
At
UN
on
Libya, Churkin of Russia Tells Western Spokesman Not to Spin the
Press, "This Is Where Distortions Come From"
By
Matthew
Russell
Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
March
21 -- Outside the UN Security Council on Monday
afternoon, a Western Council member's spokesman was telling reporters
that as he had predicted, the Council had declined requests for any
meeting about the military action in Libya
until Thursday.
Russia's
Ambassador
Vitaly
Churkin came out of the Council chamber and
apparently heard this. He stopped on the steps up to street level,
turned back and said, “I must say to that young man, the President
of the Council is supposed to brief the media.”
He
pointed at the
Western spokesman and asked, “You are from which delegation?”
The
Western
spokesman answered. (Since these spokespeople say they are speaking
on background, for now the answer is being withheld.)
Churkin
continued,
“Double
check with your Ambassador. It's really impolite
and rude. It's the President who is supposed to brief the media.”
After
Churkin
went
upstairs, there was speculation about what had triggered the
confrontation. On March 16, Churkin had complained about being
portrayed as an obstructionist.
Inner City
Press later on March 16
asked US Ambassador Susan Rice about what Churkin had said about
Russia's ceasefire in Libya proposal. She said the proposal did not
go far enough.
On
March 21,
Churkin came back. “Now we know where all the distortions come
from.”
Inner
City
Press
suggested to him that the Russian Mission's spokesman should brief
the media more often.
While that
seems to be the consensus among most
of the stakeout press corps, others note that some delegation's
spokespeople are more likely that others to tell reporters about
other countries' positions, while demanding off the record treatment.
This happened
during the first Council resolution on Libya earlier
this year, when Portugal
was accused off the record of being “weak”
on the referral of the case of Libya to the International Criminal
Court.
Later,
reporters
were
urged to “ask Brazil” if they were making problems with the
ICC referral. In fact they were, though not at the spinner had
implied. Rather, Brazil objected to the US demanded
carve out from
the ICC referral for countries that are not members of the ICC: not
only the US, but such countries as Algeria and Ethiopia, which are
not members of the ICC.
“Now we know
where all the distortions come from”? Oh that it were so. Watch
this site.
Click
for
Mar 1, '11
BloggingHeads.tv re Libya, Sri Lanka, UN Corruption
, 
