In
Egypt
Coup-Volution,
UN Tells ICP
Feltman Met
with MB, Not
When Planned
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
August 25 --
So amid
continued
crackdown in
Egypt, in what
Inner City
Press has
dubbed that
country's coup-volution,
ex-US
now-UN Feltman
has left Cairo
and headed to,
where else,
Doha.
On
Friday August
23 at the UN,
Inner City
Press asked
again about
Feltman: did
he even meet
with Muslim
Brotherhood
leaders in his
four
days in the
country? From
the UN's
August 23
transcript:
Inner
City Press:
Mr. Feltman,
in his visit
to Egypt,
there is a
quote from
the Muslim
Brotherhood,
Mr. Darrag,
saying that
they weren’t
reached out to
and that they
had no meeting
with Mr.
Feltman. Given
that they are
the party that
was ousted in
what many
people call a
coup, did Mr.
Feltman seek
to meet with
them? It seems
like a clear
question.
Deputy
Spokesperson
Del Buey:
Well,
Under-Secretary-General
Jeffrey
Feltman
today
concluded his
three-day
visit to
Cairo, meeting
with a broad
range of
interlocutors.
He listened to
diverse view
points and
conveyed the
United
Nations’ full
support for an
Egyptian-led
peaceful path
to resolving
the crisis.
Inner
City Press: A
final
follow-up.
Does that
broad range
include the
Muslim
Brotherhood
that was
removed from
power?
Deputy
Spokesperson
Del Buey: As
mentioned, Mr.
Feltman saw
and spoke with
a broad number
of
interlocutors
from the
Government,
civil society,
human rights
and political
parties,
including from
the Muslim
Brotherhood.
So
Feltman and
the Muslim
Brotherhood
was left to an
"If-Pressed."
And looking at
the phrasing,
it only says
that Feltman
"SAW"
the
Brotherhood. A
cynic later on
Friday asked
Inner City
Press: was
this
conversation
with Muslim
Brotherhood in
a taxi? With
the driver?
Thomas
Friedman
style?
After
Inner City
Press
first reported
with
on-the-record
audio that
Feltman's trip
would happen
but
was
arranged
before the
killing of
hundreds of
protesters on
August
14, the UN
spoon-fed its
confirmation
of the trip to
Reuters,
which
did
not mention
that the trip
was planned
before the
killings,
nor
that Feltman
used to
represent the
US State
Department in
the same
region.
This
is the UN's
and Reuters'
alliance: spoon-fed
scoops for
shallow
coverage that
makes the UN
look good
(and for spying
for the UN
like
here.)
Then
the UN battens
down the
hatches,
refusing to
answer basic
questions
(not only
about the spying
but also)
about even
WHEN Feltman's
trip
was arranged.
On at the August
21 noon
briefing Inner
City Press
asked
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's now
retired and
DC-bound
deputy
spokesperson
Eduardo Del
Buey:
Inner
City Press:
the spokesman
for the
Egyptian
Foreign
Ministry has
given
their readout
on the meeting
with Mr.
Feltman. They
have said that
it shouldn’t
be
internationalized,
it has no
international
implications,
but they also
said, this is
a quote, that
the trip by
Mr. Feltman
was arranged
“a few weeks
ago”. So, I
wanted to
know, either
now or when
you can check
in your
office, when
was this
trip arranged,
because it is
presented as
sort of the
Secretariat’s
response to
the killings
of 14 August,
but they are
saying it was
weeks ago.
When was the
trip arranged?
Deputy
Spokesperson
Del Buey:
Matthew, when
we have an
answer to that
we
will let you
know.
And,
surprise
surprise, they
still haven't.
On August 21
the US State
Department's
Voice of
America, on
whose
Broadcast
Board of
Governors
John Kerry
serves,
reported
positively on
Feltman's trip
to Egypt,
with no
mention of
Feltman's
previous
position with
the US State
Department.
It
would be good
to hear from
Feltman, for
him to take
press
questions
for example
about when his
Egypt trip was
arranged, with
whom he met,
and how
whatever
message he is
taking from
Ban Ki-moon
(other than,
of course,
"just
listening" to
the
coup-volution)
is
different from
the US
position.
Watch this
site.
Footnote:
these are the
type of
routine press
briefing by UN
Under
Secretaries
General that
the new Free
UN Coalition
for Access
@FUNCA_info
is demanding
not only of
Feltman (and
the ever-resistant
Herve Ladsous)
but also the
UN's incoming
chief counsel,
replacing
Patricia O'Brien.
More on that
to come.