Djinnit
Brags About
Guinea, Dodges
Press on Mali,
Fakeout at
Stakeout
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, July
10 -- On West
Africa, UN
envoy Said
Djinnit gave a
surprisingly
upbeat (some
said,
self-serving)
briefing to
the
Security
Council on
Wednesday
morning. The
UN said, by
e-mail then
at the noon
briefing, that
Djinnit would
take press
questions at
12:30.
The
noon briefing
ended at
12:22, and
Inner City
Press and two
other
members of the
Free
UN Coalition
for Access
went
immediately to
the
Council
stakeout,
ready to
question
Djinnit. But
even after
Council
members
streamed out
of the
chamber, he
did not
appear.
Trying
to ensure that
questions
could be
asked, @FUNCA_info
asked
both the
UN
Spokesperson's
office and the
Department of
Political
Affairs,
which oversees
Djinnit's
Dakar-based
operation,
where Djinnit
might
be.
Neither
answered, but
another staff
member told
Inner City
Press
Djinnit
claimed he had
come to the
stakeout, “you
guys weren't
there,” so he
left.
If
he went, it
was before
12:30. Click
here to view
the day's noon
briefing
(the
announcement
that Djinnit
would appear
at
approximately
12:30 is at
Minute 2:40),
and note that
it began at
noon and was
22
minutes long.
The new Press
Briefing Room
is right next
to the
Security
Council and
stakeout: no
eight minutes
there.
One
wag mused,
given
Djinnit's
excuse, what
should we
think of his
report
and statement
to the
Council?
Djinnit
found
a way to brag
about now only
Guinea but
Guinea Bissau.
The
real question
is, with three
UN envoys in
the mix -
Djinnit, Bert
Koenders of
MINUSMA and Romano
Prodi of,
well, Bologna
-- how could
it be that it
was Blaise
Campaore of
Burkina Faso
who mediated
and
made the deal
about Kidal?
And
-- this is a
question --
has that deal
now been
broken?
MINUSMA
engaged with
attacker
outside Kidal.
Is
MINUSMA
covered by the
International
Criminal
Court? Click
here for that.
These are
questions
Djinnit should
have taken and
answered, and
should still
answer. Watch
this site.
, 
