Inner City Press: Investigative Reporting from the United Nations

With Euro Tanking On Reports of Greece Turning to IMF, of Half Answers, on Dodd Bill and Sri Lanka

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, March 18, updated -- As Angela Merkel speaks darkly about ejecting from the Euro zone non compliant countries like Greece, that country's renewed threat of turning for help to the International Monetary Fund has the market selling off the Euro.

Near the end of the IMF's fortnightly press briefing on Thursday morning, spokesperson Caroline Atkinson, beyond saying the IMF has not had a request for financial assistance, declined to describe various aspects of Greece's relations with the IMF. Her boss, Dominique Strauss Kahn, previously bragged that the IMF would "intervene" in Greece upon request.

France's finance minister Lagarde, belatedly added to the UN's climate finance group after Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was confronted with the fact he'd named men to all 19 positions on the panel, has said the EU can still be Greece's interlocutor and helper, not the IMF.

Her president Sarkozy has a personal motive to oppose IMF help to Greece: Strauss Kahn is polling ahead of him for the next French election.

Strauss-Kahn, ready to "intervene" in Greece, could leave IMF - "hypothetically"

Inner City Press submitted to the IMF during its briefing, but without answer yet, questions about financial reform and the Fund's apparently stalled consideration of a third tranche to Sri Lanka. It was mostly Greece on Thursday, with few answers from the IMF.

Update: later these two answers came in from the IMF:

Re Senator Dodd’s bill, overall, we support the thrust toward comprehensive reforms that would address the gaps in financial regulation illustrated by the crisis. Strong and prompt implementation would both help to secure financial stability going forward.

Re Sri Lanka, not much update. As you know, staff will visit Colombo after the parliamentary elections and the formation of the new cabinet, to discuss with the government its plan for a 2010 budget.

Best regards,
Yoshiko Kamata
Media Relations, IMF

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IMF's Strauss-Kahn Coy on Opposing Sarkozy and Intervening in Greece, IMF and Greek Denials, Yemen Deferrals

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, February 4, updated -- The managing director of the International Monetary Fund Dominique Strauss-Kahn bragged Thursday to radio station RTL in his native France that he might leave the IMF early -- and perhaps challenge Nicolas Sarkozy for the French presidency -- and that if asked by Greece, the IMF could "intervene" in the country.

Questions about both comments were dodged later on Thursday by the spokesperson for Strauss-Kahn and the IMF, Caroline Atkinson. Strauss-Kahn is quoted that "As it stands... I am planning to see out my mandate. But if you ask me whether in certain circumstances I could reconsider this question, the answer is yes, I could reconsider this question."

This is consciously leaving open the door to reconsider and leave. But Ms. Aktinson emphasized only his "planning to see out my mandate" and called everything else "hypothetical."

On Greece, Strauss-Kahn said regally, "I have a mission on the ground to provide technical advice requested by the Greek government. And if we're asked to intervene, we will." He added, "I understand that the Europeans don't want this for the moment."

Inner City Press on Thursday morning asked Dimitris Droutsas, Alternate Foreign Minister of Greece, to describe his government's thinking about IMF help. Mr. Droutsas responded on the record, "Categorically may I state, any idea of the IMF... there is no idea about that."

Still, at Thursday's IMF biweekly briefing, Ms. Aktinson emphasized the "the IMF" -- not just Strauss-Kahn -- "had a technical team in Athens because the Greeks are very interested in getting any help from us on the technical implementation of the plan."

Later on February 4 Droutsas told Inner City Press, on camera, that he was unaware of any IMF team having been in Athens. Video here, last question. One wag wondered, has the IMF become like the CIA, or Xe / Blackwater, whose presence is alleged and denied?

But the IMF under Strauss-Kahn brags about being present. As with the wider UN, the rush to be relevant.

It was surprising, then, that when Inner City Press asked Ms. Aktinson about Yemen -- using as the lead in a quote by UK Foreign Secretary (Ivan Lewis) that "we address the economic problems that face Yemen, especially through the IMF program" -- Ms. Atkinson said she didn't have information about Yemen and would have to respond later to Inner City Press. But as February 4 hit midnight, no information was provided. Yemen is in the news, and one would expect the omnipresent Strauss-Kahn to be all over it. We'll see.

Ms. Atkinson gave a pro-IMF spin in responding to Inner City Press' question about the IMF's new loan to Haiti, but we'll be writing about that later, along with the IMF's Yemen response. Watch this site.

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As Russia Denies Paulson's "Dump Fannie Mae" Story, Chinese Tricks Explored

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, February 2 -- Buried in the just released memoir of former U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is the allegation that in August 2008 Russia asked China to join with it in dumping on the market the securities of Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac.

While Paulson does not draw the connection, it was in August 2008 that Russia's conflict with Georgia about the territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia flared up into a war. The U.S. Administration jumped to Georgia's defense, at least verbally, and according to Paulson, Russia try to lure China into a "dump the GSEs" campaign. As it turned out, Russia did sell its over $60 billion stake in the two mortgage giants.

Inner City Press asked a senior Russian representative to the UN about Paulson's story on February 2, as the Security Council met about its program of work for February. "I don't think so," the diplomat said.

Why then would Paulson tell the story? "We are getting closer with the U.S.," the diplomat said. "People get jealous." He went on, "We don't have a good relationship with China right now. The U.S. does not have a good relationship with China." He shrugged. "People don't want Russia and the U.S. to get along."

Paulson sources his story in "On the Brink: Inside the Race to Stop the Collapse of the Global Financial System" to the Chinese, bragging perhaps that they hadn't gone along with Russia's urging. So, in this view, was China trying to drive a further wedge between Russia and the U.S.?

Paulson, China: Russia's "dump Fannie Mae" strategy not shown

At the time of the South Ossetia and Abkhazia conflict, through which Russia recognized both territories as countries independent from Georgia, China expressed unease. What if Tibet or Taiwan, or even Uighur Xinjiang Autonomous Region, were similar recognized by another state?

If Chinese officials did in fact pass dirt about Russia along to the U.S. Treasury Secretary, perhaps the disagreement about recognizing breakaway separatist states explains it. It's something that should be expected to be covered more in the media, as Paulson hawks his book. It is may arise further at the UN -- watch this site.

These reports are usually also available through Google News and on Lexis-Nexis.

Click here for a Reuters AlertNet piece by this correspondent about Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army. Click here for an earlier Reuters AlertNet piece about the Somali National Reconciliation Congress, and the UN's $200,000 contribution from an undefined trust fund. Video Analysis here

Other, earlier Inner City Press are listed here, and some are available in the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.

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