On
Syria,
Gap Between
Friday UN SC
Notice &
Mood
Statement
Raises Qs
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
June 16 -- So
why did the UN
Secretariat
inform
Security
Council
members, as
exclusively
exposed by
Inner City
Press, on
Friday of its
Syria
mission's
intention to
"limit mobile
activities" --
but not
announce it
until
Saturday,
after being
questioned by
the Press?
A
full day's
inquiry into
the delay
raises more
questions that
it answers.
Who
pulled the
plug, Friday,
on the UN
observer
mission in
Syria, or at
least its
mobility? The
notice to the
Council,
reported by
Inner
City Press 12
hours before
any other
media had it,
was by the
Department of
Peacekeeping
Operations,
which is
headed by the
fourth
Frenchman in a
row, Herve
Ladsous.
France,
as noted,
wants to
intervene in
Syria as it
dropped
weapons into
Libya in
violation of
UN Security
Council
resolutions.
So did Ladsous
make
the call to
stop the Syria
mission, and
Norwegian
General Robert
Mood
only 12 hours
later confirm
it, after
Press
questions?
What
of the
timing, coming
right before
Mood's
in-person
briefing of
the Security
Council, also
first reported
by Inner City
Press? Does
this indicate
an
orchestrated
move to eschew
observing, and
move toward
more
intervention?
Inner
City Press
raised this
questions on
the morning of
June 16 in
various
formats.
One Permanent
member of the
Security
Council took
issue with it,
saying that a
24 hour delay
between
notification
of the Council
(exclusively
exposed by
Inner City
Press) and
public comment
was not
too much. But
what explains
the timing?
Friday
night before
10 pm New York
time before
10 pm New York
time Inner
City Press exclusively
reported that
the UN mission
in Syria had
"moved to a
posture of
presence in
all Team Sites
and in
Damascus
headquarters,
limiting
mobile
activities."
Having
confirmed
the veracity
of the
memo with
Security
Council
diplomats,
Inner City
Press opined
"to some, this
seems like the
beginning of
the
end."
At that time,
Inner City
Press put
online an
exclusive-must-credit
attachment,
here, Ban
Ki-moon's
"Note on the
Operations of
the United
Nations
Supervision
Mission in
Syria"
submitted to
the Security
Council"on
behalf of the
Department of
Peacekeeping
Operations,"
with its
fourth French
leader in a
row, Herve
Ladsous.
Inner City
Press tweeted
its exclusive,
and to
be sure
sent
notifications
to the chiefs
of two large
wire services:
Matthew
Winkler of Bloomberg
News, and
at Reuters,
Stephen J.
Adler plus
three. Beyond
previously uncredited
use by
both
organizations
of Inner City
Press
exclusives
about for
example the US State
Department
and the UN,
there is
another,
after-arising
reason: their
UN
correspondents
are trying to
get Inner City
Press kicked
out of the UN,
click
here.
Eight hours
after
publishing the
memo, Inner
City Press wrote
to Kofi
Annan's
spokesman
Ahmad Fawzi,
who since May
23 has not
responded to
any of Inner
City
Press'
questions,
which he used
to
"seeking
your
comment, on
the record,
for a follow
up, also
exclusive
(meaning,
please respond
first to this
InnerCityPress
request on
this, which I
see nowhere
else online or
in Google
News, which
we've
previously
discussed. How
would you
describe what
does this
means,
to the JSE's
mission? What
do the JSE
want to happen
now? How it is
related to
General Mood's
upcoming
in-person
briefing?"
Having no
response from
Fawzi, Inner
City Press
submitted
essentially
the same
questions
(requesting
the response
of Ban Ki-moon
and his Herve
Ladsous, not
of Kofi Annan)
to five UN
spokespeople.
Still, no
response from
any of them.
Then Fawzi
replied to
Inner City
Press, thusly:
From:
Ahmad
Fawzi
<fawzi@un.org>
Date: Sat, Jun
16, 2012 at
7:54
AM
Subject: Re:
Hi, Press Q re
Syria Note of
UNSMIS
"limiting
mobile
activities"
for (2d)
exclusive,
thanks
To: "Matthew
Russell Lee
[at]
InnerCityPress.com
You
have
already sent
these
questions to
Martin
Nesirky;
Farhan Haq;
Eduardo Del
Buey; and
Vannina
Maestracci. I
am also aware
that the
UNSMIS
Spokesperson
will issue a
statement
today.
Thanks. AF
Fourteen
minutes
after Fawzi's
belated
response to
Inner City
Press'
questions and
ten-hour old
exclusive, the
following was
sent out to
"undisclosed
recipients"
Statement
attributable
to the Head of
the UN
Supervision
Mission in
Syria,
General Robert
Mood
In
this
high risk
situation,
UNSMIS is
suspending its
activities. UN
observers will
not be
conducting
patrols and
will stay in
their
locations
until further
notice.
Engagement
with the
Parties will
be
restricted.
This
suspension
will be
reviewed on a
daily basis.
Operations
will resume
when we see
the situation
fit for us to
carry out our
mandated
activities.
Sausan
Ghosheh,
Spokesperson
and Chief
Public
Information
Office UNSMIS
Why did
the UN,
General Mood
and DPKO think
they could
turn in such a
notice to all
Security
Council
members and it
would not be
reported for
so long?
Why didn't
Fawzi
simply answer
the questions,
rather than
hide behind
the excuse
Inner City
Press'
understandable
re-submission
of the
questions to
spokespeople
who
have, however
unwillingly,
given the
Press answers
since May 23?
Instead, there
was a belated
(especially
given the time
difference)
rush to make
the contents
of the notice
public to
"undisclosed
recipients"? (Fawzi
for some
reason
re-resent this
out at 11:50
am).
We have noted
that Fawzi
stopped
answering
Inner City
Press
questions, as
did Herve
Ladsous,
simultaneous
with the move
to expel Inner
City Press
initiated by five big
media
(including
Agence France
Presse,
Al-Arabiya and
Voice of
America, using
US tax
dollars) and
thir UN
Correspondents
Association
President,
Giampaolo
Pioli of
Poligrafici
Editoriale who
rented
his apartment
to a senior UN
official
turned Sri
Lanka
Ambassador,
and gave
campaign
contributions
to US
politicians
he ostensibly
objectively
covers, while
theatening to
sue ICP.
The UN
itself has
reneged on
extending
Inner City
Press' accreditation,
now charging
Inner City
Press with "misconduct"
for signing in
as a guest the
Yemeni Nobel
Prize winner
Tawakkol
Karman.
An influential
Twitter
follower of
Inner City
Press -- one
who has accused
Inner
City Press of
"drinking
Ja'afari juice"
referring to
Syrian
Ambassador to
the UN Bashar
Ja'afari --
tweeted:
I
hate it when
you tweet
endlessly
about how you
broke
something
first
but I'll grant
you this:
You
got Mood's
letter a good
half-day
before the
rest. :-)
Watch
this site.
Update
of 11:50 am
June 16
-- so despite
the 10:48 pm
notice to
Stephen J.
Adler of
Reuters, his
company wrote
after Mood's
statement
without
credit,
re-tweeted by
UN
correspondent
Louis
Charbonneau: http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE85F09C20120616?irpc=932
At
Bloomberg
News, despite
the 10:44 pm
notice of
scoop to
Matthew
Winkler, his
company ran
the story off
Mood's
statement,
too, no
credit.
So
too did Voice
of America: no
credit 9:09 am
tweet by
Margareet
Besheer,
followed by a
VOA "blog," no
credit. US
taxpayer
dollars at
"work."
, 
