As
DRC
Refuses
"Agreement"
with M23, US
Foggy on
Format, Font
or Pink Paper?
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
November 14 --
Both the Democratic
Republic of
the Congo
and
Rwanda have vied for
support of the
US State
Department for
their
positions on
the M23 and
FDLR rebels.
Now
with the DRC
government
saying it will
not in fact
sign any agreement
with
the M23, only
a declaration
since they
view the M23
as
illegitimate
or criminals,
State
Department
spokesperson
Jen Psaki
was asked
about the
issue late in
Thursday's
briefing.
Reading
from
notes Psaki
said the DRC
and M23 have
not agreed on
the format.
There followed
questions of
if this meant
the "font" or
even "pink
paper." Psaki
said she would
have to check.
Admittedly,
the
US State
Department has
a lot on its
plate. There
were dozens of
questions
about
Iran
negotiations,
about Israel,
Syria,
Pakistan and
even belatedly
on drones.
But in terms
of human
casualties,
Africa's Great
Lakes
top all of
these. (We say
"Africa"
because after
the
question was
called "Great
Lakes," there
was mention of
US
Lake Huron.)
So
how and where
will the US
(belated)
position on
the difference
in the
Kampala talks
between
agreement and
declaration be
known?
Recently
for
a State
Department
briefing
about, yes,
the Great
Lakes, Inner
City Press
inquired how
to be put on
Foggy Bottom's
media list.
The
US Mission to
the UN, whose
UN
responses we
acknowledge,
said on this
to ask a
former Mission
staffer now
promoted in
DC; this
led nowhere.
A cold (or
test) call on
behalf of the
Free
UN Coalition
for Access
as well as
Inner City
Press yielded
that these
lists are only
for big or "mainstream
media" -- with
that not
even defined.
Which might be
OK (not
really) except
for things
like
on the Great
Lakes on
Thursday. It's
not easy,
we're sure.
But as was
elsewhere
admitted in DC
on Thursday,
it can be done
better and
fairer. And
that should
happen. Watch
this site.
, 
