Guatemala's
Morales Declares UN Velasquez Non Grata, ICP
Asked UN, SG Is "Shocked"
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS,
August 27 – When Guatemalan
President Jimmy Morales came
to New York to meet with UN
Secretary General Antonio
Guterres on August 25, media
mostly Spanish and Inner City
Press set up a stakeout in the
UN Secretariat lobby, to
afterward hear his views on
Ivan Velasquez and the future
of the CICIG. The meeting
began at 5 pm, but it was well
after 6 pm when Guterres came
down to his waiting car and
driver. Inner City Press
asked, Que pasa con la CICIG?
But Guterres merely waved.
Moments later his spokesman
Stephane Dujarric, who
declined to answer or even
confirm receipt of written
questions from Inner City
Press, issued a canned
read-out which "reiterated his
confidence in Commissioner
Ivan Velásquez.” Now on August
27, after not speaking at or
even coming to the waiting
stakeout at the UN, Morales
has issued a video, on
Twitter, declaring Valasquez
persona non grata. Here.
Guterres is with sheikhs in
Kuwait; Inner City Press asked
his spokesman Stephane
Dujarric: "This is a Press
request on deadline for the
UN's / Secretary General's
response to this,
from Jimmy Morales of
Guatemala. Also please explain
why UN Photo still does not
have any photo of the Morales
/ SG photo op online, and
state where Yemen envoy IOCA
is, if he is not in Kuwait
(didn't see him in the photo).
Inner City Press has more
questions and will be
submitting them for responses,
while noting that Friday's
question was not even
acknowledged, much less
answered. Please explain." He
replied, "Statement coming
shortly." Then, a tweet from
Jeffrey Feltman's DPA: ".@UN
Secretary-General shocked at
announcement that Guatemala's
President has declared
@Ivan_Velasquez_ persona non
grata." Shocked implies that
Morales didn't raise this
possibility in their long
meeting on Friday. More to
follow.
More to
come.
***
Feedback:
Editorial [at] innercitypress.com
Past
(and future?) UN Office: S-303, UN, NY 10017 USA
For now: Box 20047,
Dag Hammarskjold Station NY NY 10017
Reporter's mobile (and weekends):
718-716-3540
Other,
earlier Inner City Press are listed here, and some are available in
the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.
Copyright
2006-2017 Inner City Press, Inc. To request reprint or other
permission, e-contact Editorial [at] innercitypress.com
for
|