IMF
Advised
S.
Sudan But
Silent on
Currency War,
Only
Monitoring
Libya
By
Matthew
Russell
Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
July
21 -- With a
currency war
now threatened
between newly
independent
South Sudan
and the north,
and the
Contact Group
on Libya
recognizing
the
Benghazi-based
rebels as the
government,
Inner City
Press on
Thursday asked
the
International
Monetary Fund
about its
role in both
countries.
IMF
spokesman
David
Hawley
replied, “As
you know,
South Sudan
has applied
for
membership
with the Fund,
announced
April the 20.
Concerning out
involvement on
currency
issues.
earlier this
year the Fund
provided
technical
advice on
currency issue
including
options on an
exchange
rate regime
and a road map
for an orderly
introduction
of a new
currency.”
The
introduction,
of
course, has
been less than
orderly, with
north Sudan
threatening
to not redeem
Sudanese
pounds
circulating in
the South. So
what
happened?
Hawley
continued,
“Things
have moved on
since the time
of that
technical
assistance,
advice... We
have not been
involved in
the launchng
of the new
currency
announced this
week. Going
forward we
stand ready to
assist
the government
of South Sudan
to manage its
monetary
policy.”
He
concluded,
perhaps
understandably,
“I don't have
a specific
comment on the
currency
wars.”
Inner
City
Press
had submitted
its questions
to the IMF in
Washington by
computer in
New York --
specifically,
from a laptop
at a table in
front of the
UN
Security
Council where
both Sudan and
Libya are
considered. To
the
reporters in
the room in
DC, Hawley
explained that
South Sudan is
not
a member, but
in the context
of technical
assistance,
the IMF can
give it to non
members of the
Fund.
Inner
City
Press
then
reiterated a
question about
Libya it had
earlier
e-mailed to
the
IMF, with this
new
information:
since the IMF
can assist
non-members,
now that the
Contact Group
on Libya has
recognized the
National
Transitional
Council as the
government of
Libya, can the
IMF provide
the NTC with
technical
assistance?
Hawley
replied,
“At
this stage the
role of the
Fund is to
closely
monitor
developments
and we stand
ready to
engage further
as soon as
conditions
allow. But
there isn't
anything fresh
on contacts.”
And
so it goes at
the IMF -
which won't
have another
briefing until
August
18 - and in
Benghazi and
Juba. Watch
this site.
* * *
In
S.
Kordofan,
UN
Says It Can't
Move, No
Comment on
Sudan
Currency War
By
Matthew
Russell
Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
July
18
-- Amid
reports of
worsening
violence in Southern
Kordofan,
not only at
the UN
peacekeepers
there
preparing to
leave:
even while
still there,
they “cannot
move” even if
they see war
crimes
committed in
front of them,
the UN told
Inner City
Press on
Monday.
Last
week
outgoing
UN
Peacekeeping
chief Alain Le
Roy told Inner
City Press
that while
they cannot
patrol or use
force, if the
peacekeepers
saw
something
happen in
front of them,
they would
respond “as
humanitarians.”
But
Secretary
General
Ban Ki-moon's
spokesman
Martin Nesirky
on Monday
disagreed
when Inner
City Press
asked for
confirmation
of Le Roy's
statement.
“They cannot
move,” Nesirky
said, “whether
you like it or
not
or whether we
like it or
not, the
United Nations
does not have
a
mandate to
operate
there.”
If
UN
personnel
present in a
war zone are
told by the
Secretary
General's
spokesman
that they
“cannot move,”
what does it
mean to
repeatedly say
“never again”?
We'll see.
Beyond
saying
its
peackeepers
“cannot move”
in Southern
Kordofan, the
UN didn't
even have a
comment on
North Sudan
declaring
itself ready
for a
currency war
with South
Sudan,
refusing to
redeem
billions in
Sudanese
pounds
circulating in
the South.
Inner City
Press asked
for
comment, from
envoy Haile
Menkerios or
new envoy to
South Sudan
Hilde
Johnson, but
Nesirky said
the UN has
nothing to
say.
So
what
is the UN's
role in and on
Sudan? From
the UN's July
18 noon
briefing
transcript:
Inner
City
Press:
In
South
Kordofan, I
understand
that a lot of
it rides on
the Security
Council
mandate, but
there have
been over the
weekend
more and more
reporting of
bombing, and
of
surrendering
Nuba
soldiers. And
so,have any of
the existing
peacekeepers
left the
area? Are they
there? What
are they
doing? What
does the UN
say
about events
in the last 48
hours in South
Kordofan?
Spokesperson
Nesirky:
Well,
I
think the
answer remains
the same as
last week.
Whether you
like it or not
or whether we
like it or
not, the
United
Nations does
not have a
mandate to
operate there.
It is
something
that, clearly,
we had wished
to be
otherwise. And
the
Secretary-General
made very
clear that
there should
not be any
vacuum
or gap in our
ability to
monitor what
is happening.
But that is
the
case. That is
the case. And
as for the
presence of
the troops,
the
peacekeeping
troops there,
they are in
the process of
moving out as
they are
required to do
under this
liquidation
resolution.
But they
have not yet
fully
withdrawn.
That’s where
we are.
Inner
City
Press:
[inaudible
-- per the UN]
Spokesperson:
I
think
it’s very
important here
to look at the
reality. The
reality is
that the
Security
Council passed
a resolution.
The
reality is
that the
Government of
Sudan did not
allow the
mission to
continue. Did
we want it to
be otherwise?
Yes, we did.
That’s
why the
Secretary-General
went to
Khartoum. It’s
regrettable
that
we do not have
the ability to
do what needs
to be done.
Inner
City
Press:
Is
it Alain Le
Roy, when at
the stakeout,
he’d said
they have no
mandate to use
force or to
patrol, but if
they witness
things, they
will respond
as
humanitarians.
So, have they
witnessed
anything? Have
they
responded? He
seemed to say
that they
wouldn’t
just sit
entirely idly
by, that there
was some sort
of baseline--
Spokesperson:
Well,
they
are not in a
position to do
that, they are
not in a
position to
move. They are
not in a
position to
move, and
that’s
the reality.
That’s the
reality at the
moment, okay.
Inner
City
Press:
this
just less,
less physical
violence, but
there is this
idea of a
currency war
that South
Sudan is
creating its
new currency
and so North
Sudan has said
it is going to
create a new
currency and
won’t redeem
any of the
Sudanese
pounds that
are in
circulation in
South Sudan. I
am just… one,
I am wondering
if the UN has
any
comment, and
two is, is
this the kind
of issue that
Menkerios
would
work on or who
is there? It
seems to be…
Spokesperson:
No,
I
don’t think we
have any
comment on
that at the
moment. If
that changes,
I’ll let you
know.
Inner
City Press
later sent the
question to
the
spokespeople
of the
International
Monetary Fund,
which is
ostensibly a
part of the UN
system:
“We've
seen the IMF
Survey stating
on South Sudan
that 'the
parties have
not
yet agreed on
what will
happen with
the Sudanese
pounds that
are
currently
circulating in
the South.'
But the deputy
governor of
the
Central Bank
of Sudan, Badr
al-Deen
Mahmood, has
said the north
is
ready for a
'currency
war.' Central
Bank governor
Mohamed Kheir
al-Zubeir say
said: 'We do
not want to
buy [the old
currency]. We
want them to
surrender it
to us because
it is
valueless.'
This
is
a
request
for the IMF's
view of this
'currency
war.'
The
IMF
has a
briefing later
this week.
Watch this
site.
* * *
As
UN
Council
Can't
Agree
on Kordofan
Statement,
UNclear Who's
Still
There
By
Matthew
Russell
Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
July
15,
updated
at end --
After UN
humanitarian
chief Valerie
Amos
gave a
closed door
briefing about
Southern
Kordofan to
the Security
Council,
the
New
York
representative
of the Office
of the High
Commissioner
for Human
Rights Ivan
Simonovic came
to present the
issue to the
press.
Inner
City
Press
asked
Simonovic
who in the UN
system, or
which unit,
was being able
to report from
Southern
Kordofan, and
what he and
his Office
made of
allegation
that UN
peacekeepers,
even before
their mandate
expired on
July 9, didn't
do enough to
protect
civilians in
Kordofan.
Simonovic
said
that
reporting
is
difficult
because on
July 9 “we
lost our
mandate
[and] our
presence.”
It
was
not clear
who Simonovic
meant when he
said “we.” The
Amos-headed UN
Office
for the
Coordination
of
Humanitarian
Affairs? Or
are all
representatives
of the Office
of the High
Commissioner
for Human
Rights
attached to
the UN Mission
in Sudan,
which ended on
July 9?
Simonovic
indicated
that
they
were
tied to the
Mission. One
wonders if
they
tried to
negotiate with
Omar al
Bashir's
government
before then to
be
able to stay.
If not, why
not? Simonovic
took two
questions from
Inner City
Press -- he
dodged the
question of
inaction by
Egyptian
peacekeepers,
perhaps
because his
Office is
entirely
aligned with
the
Department of
Peacekeeping
Operations --
and then he
left.
It
is
important
that the UN be
clear on what
expired on
July 9. On
July
13 Inner
City Press asked
UN
spokesman
Martin
Nesirky about
the bombing in
Kordofan:
Inner
City
Press:
There
are
these
reports of
continued
bombing in
Kadugli
and South
Kordofan.
It says the UN
has reported,
I guess to
BBC,
that these
bombs are
falling.
One, can you
confirm that?
And two,
this would
seem to
indicate that
the UN is at
least in a
position to
report what
they hear or
see. I am just
trying to
figure out
what
the UN
presence in
Kordofan is
going to be
between now
and the end of
August. Is
there going to
be some kind
of at least
visual
observation
and reporting?
Spokesperson
Nesirky:
Well,
it
depends
on
what you mean
by the UN,
Matthew,
because there
is a UN
Mission in
Sudan (UNMIS)
which is now
being
liquidated,
because that’s
what has to
happen. And
there are
other
members of the
UN family, so
to speak, who
would also
presumably be
in the area,
too. That’s
the first
point. The
second is that
I
would need to
check with my
colleagues to
see whether
they have any
further
information on
the bombings
that you have
referred to.
But
we’ve made
clear, I have
made clear
from here,
that the UN
Mission
in Sudan is in
now the phase
of winding
down. It no
longer has a
mandate to
operate. It’s
not what we
wanted, but it
is a fact. And
so,
therefore, it
is not
possible for
the Mission —
the
previous
Mission — to
be active in
patrolling and
so on. I would
need to find
out if these
reports are
correct and
where they
emanate
from.
Inner
City
Press:
There
are
these reports
of continued
bombing in
Kadugli
and South
Kordofan. It
says the UN
has reported,
I guess to
BBC,
that these
bombs are
falling. One,
can you
confirm that?
And two,
this would
seem to
indicate that
the UN is at
least in a
position to
report what
they hear or
see. I am just
trying to
figure out
what
the UN
presence in
Kordofan is
going to be
between now
and the end of
August. Is
there going to
be some kind
of at least
visual
observation
and reporting?
Spokesperson
Nesirky:
Well,
it
depends
on what you
mean by the
UN, Matthew,
because there
is a UN
Mission in
Sudan (UNMIS)
which is now
being
liquidated,
because that’s
what has to
happen. And
there are
other
members of the
UN family, so
to speak, who
would also
presumably be
in the area,
too. That’s
the first
point. The
second is that
I
would need to
check with my
colleagues to
see whether
they have any
further
information on
the bombings
that you have
referred to.
But
we’ve made
clear, I have
made clear
from here,
that the UN
Mission
in Sudan is in
now the phase
of winding
down. It no
longer has a
mandate to
operate. It’s
not what we
wanted, but it
is a fact. And
so,
therefore, it
is not
possible for
the Mission —
the
previous
Mission — to
be active in
patrolling and
so on. I would
need to find
out if these
reports are
correct and
where they
emanate
from.
Two
full
days
later, Nesirky
had not
provide any
information in
this regard.
Now
Simonovic has
said that the
human rights
monitoring in
Southern
Kordofan was
so aligned
with UN
peacekeeping
that “we lost
our
mandate and
presence.”
Later
on
Friday
Security
Council
president
Peter Wittig
came and read
out some
“elements to
the press”
summarizing
the Council's
discussion. A
real Press
Statement
could not be
agreed on.
Inner
City
Press
asked
if
the satellite
photographs
reportedly of
mass graves
had been
discussed.
Wittig replied
that Amos had
used different
sources.
Later, Amos
released a
statement with
this sentence
in which the
word
“grave”
appears three
times: “We do
not know
whether there
is
any truth to
the grave
allegations of
extra-judicial
killings, mass
graves and
other grave
violations in
South
Kordofan.”
Inner
City
Press
asked
Wittig
why this
wasn't even a
Press
Statement, and
wouldn't go
on the
Council's web
site. We
thought speed
was important,
Wittig
said. But what
is being
accomplished?
Who is even
trying?
Upate
of 5:56 pm --
sources in the
negotiations
says that
"some
delegations"
wanted to list
the specific
allegation
(though not
including the
satellite
photos),
and others
wanted to
"welcome"
OHCHR's
intention to
issue a report
in
the future --
both were
blocked, or
could not be
agreed by 2pm.
Hence
the mere
"elements to
the press."
Watch this
site.
* * *
, 
in