Amid
Mali Pledges,
UK
Minister
"Misspoke," France
Is Blamed,
Doesn't Know
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
January 29 --
Amid a flurry
of financial
pledges in
Addis
Ababa for the
Malian Army
and the
prospective
AFISMA
mission,
outside
the UN
Security
Council on
Tuesday Inner
City Press
asked French
Permanent
Representative
Gerard Araud
how much
France is
pledging. He
said they are
pledging, but
that he did
not know how
much.
Moments
later
a Security
Council
diplomat told
Inner City
Press, "By
intervening in
Libya, France
caused the
Mali problem.
Let them pay
for it!"
Anonymity was
granted
because the
diplomat is
not the
Permanent
Representative.
Whatever
the
pledges made,
it's worth
remembering
that Western
countries on
the Security
Council
decided not to
pay for the
Kenyan naval
component of
the African
Union's AMISOM
mission in
Somalia, after
its
work in
Kismayo. So
will all of
these pledges
actually be
paid.
Meanwhile,
amid
bafflement at
the statement
by UK Defense
Secretary Phil
Hammond that
Mali is
a
predominantly
Christian
country, Inner
City Press
asked the UK
Mission to the
UN if he said
that.
The
UK Mission's
new Head of
Press and
Public
Affairs, Iona
Thomas, "we
spoke earlier
about the UK
Defence
Secretary’s
comments on
religion
in Mali
earlier today.
I can confirm
that he
misspoke."
It's
appreciated.
Watch this
site.
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