On
Myanmar,
ICP Raises Journalists'
Arrests to Spox for UN
Guterres Who Restricts Press
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS,
June 28 – With Myanmar
thumbing its nose and
rejecting the UN Human Rights
Council's planned fact-finding
mission, three members were
nevertheless named on May 30:
Indira Jaising of India,
Christopher Dominic Sidoti of
Australia and Sri Lanka's
Radhika Coomaraswamy - to whom
Inner City Press last directed
questions in July 2012, when
she praised Myanmar for its
movement toward an action plan
on child soldiers. On June 28,
Inner City Press asked UN
Secretary General Antonio
Guterres' Spokesman Stephane
Dujarric if Guterres is ready
to speak up for press freedom
in Myanmar, even as Duajrric
continues to restrict
it in New York. UN transcript
here:
Inner City Press: in Myanmar,
in a pretty high-profile case,
the Government has arrested
three journalists for
reporting on the conflict in
Shan State and actually
didn't… turned them over to
the police. So, they
were held by the army. A
number of Governments around
the world have spoken out on
it. And I'm wondering,
is the UN aware of it? Has Ms.
[Renata Lok] Dessallien
left? Is there anything
whoever is in charge now of
the country team?
Spokesman: I will
look. I have personally
not seen these reports, but I
will check with our
colleagues.
On
May 31, Inner City Press asked
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric
about the panel, and a video
on the New York Times site
showing Myanmar military abuse
(in Shan State). From the UN transcript:
Inner City Press: I
wanted to ask you about a
video that's emerged in
Myanmar of Government soldiers
kicking a person on the
ground. It's something
that they say took place in
Shan State. So I wanted
to… and the Government of Aung
San Suu Kyi said they have no
time to explain it.
They're too busy, whatever
else they're doing. So I
wanted to know, has the UN
system taken note of it?
Now that three panelists have
been named for the Human
Rights Council's supposed
visit to check in on the
Rohingya, is it… is this
something… did the
Secretary-General get any
commitment from Aung San Suu
Kyi? Did he raise this
issue in particular given that
it's now… there are now
individuals, including Radhika
Coomaraswamy, who are supposed
to go and the Government has
said they can't go?
Spokesman: We think it's
important that Myanmar
cooperate with the human
rights mechanism. As for
the video, we'll take a look
at it. I don't know if
maybe our colleagues on ground
have said something. I
haven't seen it.
Hours later, even after Inner
City Press tweeted a link to
the video to Dujarric,
nothing. On May 10, UN
Secretary General Antonio
Guterres in a London Q&A
session was asked about the
problem. As tweeted
-- the event was not live
streamed and five days later
the UN has not put the video
on its website despite twice
telling Inner City Press it
would happen "very soon" -
Guterres said it is for him a
"complex decision when to
speak out, citing need to work
with government of Myanmar
& criticize rights
violations of Rohingya." Now
on May 15, this: "The
Secretary-General met today in
Beijing with H. E. Daw Aung
San Suu Kyi, State Counsellor
and Minister of Foreign
Affairs of Myanmar, on the
occasion of the Belt and Road
Forum for International
Cooperation. The
Secretary-General and Daw Aung
San Suu Kyi discussed the
United Nations’ support to the
democratic transition in
Myanmar, the peace process and
the way to a fair solution
addressing the root causes of
the current crisis in Rakhine
State." But what will it mean
for the (UNmentioned, at least
by name) Rohinga? At the May
10 UN noon briefing, Inner
City Press asked Guterres'
holdover spokesman Stephane
Dujarric to explain this, but
he declined, instead telling
Inner City Press that the
video was already online on UN
Webcast or would be "very
soon." Video here
from 12:38. A full day and
three hours later it was not.
From the UN's May 10 transcript:
Inner City Press: I wanted to
ask you about the
Secretary-General, his London
speech. Maybe I
misunderstood. Just
first, when… did you say it’s
gonna be put on the webcast?
Spokesman: Yeah, we’re
getting the video, and it’s
going to be placed… if it’s
not already placed on the UN
webcast, it should be there
very soon.
Inner City Press:
There’ve been various
summaries of… he was asked a
question about Myanmar and
one… at least one written…
since there was not any
livestream of it, I’m going
off what people have tweeted
about it. They said it’s
a complex decision when to
speak out, says [António]
Guterres, citing need to work
with Government of Myanmar and
criticize rights violations of
Rohingya. So I wanted to
know, what… just can you
unpack it a little bit?
What is this balance… does
this balance apply to all
countries that he’s dealing
with? Has he reached out
to Aung San Suu Kyi to try to
do quiet diplomacy about
getting the UN team in and the
Rohingya… [inaudible]
Spokesman: Yes, there
have been contacts with Aung
San Suu Kyi, and I think, you
know, the balance is in
everything we do; we need to
stand by our principles, and
we also need to work with
Governments. I’ll admit
to you I was preparing for the
briefing while the speech was
going on, so I haven’t had a
chance to look at it.
And I think whether you asking
about it or me answering about
it, I think both of us need to
listen to the whole thing.
Where has
Guterres criticized Myanmar's
human rights violations? Or,
for example, Cameroon's in
cutting the Internet to
millions of people for 94
days? We'll have more on this.
On Myanmar, Inner City Press
on May 9 asked Gro Harlem
Brundtland and Lakhdar Brahimi
of The Elders about the
Rohingya and whether Aung San
Suu Kyi was or is on the path
to becoming an Elder. Gro Harlem
Brundtland said Suu Kyi was a
form of Elder while
imprisoned, but cannot be
while involved in politics.
And after she retires? If the
Rohingya are still treated
this way? Brahimi cited
co-Elder Kofi Annon's report
forthcoming in October.
Myanmar does not appear on the
list of six issues The Elders
were set to discuss in a
closed door meeting with the
UN Security Council, where the
US under Samantha Power agreed
in November 2016 to have a
closed door meeting on Myanmar
on which there was no output,
no statement at all. Meanwhile
UN Secretary General Antonio
Guterres, he of quiet
diplomacy, has nothing to say.
On May 3, Inner City Press
asked Guterres' holdover
spokesman Stephane Dujarric,
UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: On Myanmar,
yesterday, Aung San Suu Kyi,
in a press conference with the
EU, said they will not allow
in the fact-finding mission
agreed to by the Human Rights
Council in March. She
said: “We disassociate
ourselves from the resolution
because it has… it’s not in
keeping with what’s happening
on the ground.” I’m
wondering, given that there
was a lot of work behind that,
is the Secretary-General or
somebody, the… the remnants of
the good offices mission,
thinking of contacting Aung
San Suu Kyi about this
rebuffing of the UN Mission?
Spokesman: I think
that’s a question right now
more aimed at the… our
colleague at the Human Rights
Office. We, obviously,
as a matter of principle,
encourage all Member States to
cooperate with the various
human rights mechanisms.
Just
after the Rakhine Commissioner
under Kofi Annan released its
report, Inner City Press asked
UK Ambassador to the UN
Matthew Rycroft, president of
the UN Security Council for
Match, about it. From the UK
transcript:
Inner City Press:
Have you seen the Rakhine
Commission report by Kofi
Annan about Myanmar- do
you think the recommendations
are sufficient and should all
be or some be implemented?
Amb Rycroft: So we have a
session on Burma, on Myanmar
coming up tomorrow and that
will be on our agenda.
An hour
later Inner City Press asked
UN holdover spokesman Stephane
Dujarric who long spoke for
Vijay Nambiar and Ban Ki-moon
whose brother Ki-ho mined in
Myanmar, UN transcript
here:
Inner City Press:
I wanted to ask you about
Myanmar. There's a new
report out by the Rakhine
commission by… under Kofi
Annan. I don't know if
the Secretariat has… has… has
a view on it. And also,
the UK [United Kingdom]
Ambassador asked him about it,
and he said that there's
actually a Security Council
session on Myanmar
tomorrow. I wanted to
know if the Secretariat is
briefing? Who’s doing
it?
Spokesman: Yes.
Jeff Feltman will brief
tomorrow on Myanmar.
We're obviously aware of the…
of the report. I know
the Secretary-General spoke to
his… not to his immediate, but
one of his predecessors, to
Kofi Annan recently about the
report. We hope that the
recommendations are an
opportunity for the Government
and the people of Rakhine
State to work together on
concrete measures to improve
the lives of the communities
in the state. And we
will continue to encourage
Governments to allow full
humanitarian access in
northern Rakhine State and
follow on its promises to
establish an independent
investigation into allegations
of human rights violations.
Not
only have the UN's “Good
Offices” on Myanmar been ended
- now the former office holder
Vijay Nambiar is engaged in
genocide denial after leaving
the UN, still in New York, in
his personal capacity. He did
much the same previously on
Sri Lanka. See below.
On the
morning of February 22, Inner
City Press submitted questions
to UN holdover spokesman
Stephane Dujarric, including
"On Myanmar, please state what
if anything the UN is doing to
protect (Rohingya) Jamalida
Begum who 'fears for her life
after telling journalists how
she and other women had been
raped by military personnel.'"
More than
two hours later, having no
response at all, Inner City
Press posed a (UN cover up of)
humanitarian crisis questions
to new Secretary General
Antonio Guterres, adding
audibly that his spokesman
Dujarric is not answering
basic Press questions. Video
here. Two more hours
later, still no answer. Seems
Dujarric should go the way of
Nambiar. Watch this site.
On February
8, Inner City Press asked the
UN's holdover spokesman
Stephane Dujarric about
Myanmar. UN
Transcript here:
Inner City Press:
I want to ask you about
Myanmar again. Two UN
officials, not giving their
names, have said that up to
1,000 people have been killed,
Rohingya. These are
described as working for two
separate UN agencies in
Bangladesh. So I wanted
to know, does the UN actually
have a figure? And if
that is the figure, why
doesn't the UN come forward in
a more formal way with
it? And, again, what
does the Secretary-General,
given that the Council has yet
to take it up, does he think…
what number would trigger
Article 99 and some kind of
action?
Spokesman: You know, I
don't want to get into how
many people need to be
killed. I think the UN
has been extremely forthright
in reporting what we
know. You saw the
reports with the horrific
information contained in the
report put out by the High
Commissioner for Human Rights
interviewing people who had…
who were in, I think, Cox's
Bazar, who had fled
Myanmar. I think anyone
who reads it and the detail
that are contained in it can
only be horrified by the
situation. You know, I
can't comment on blind
quotes. People
speak. I think whenever
we have information, we've
shared it, whether it was on
what the UN saw when the
humanitarian coordinator went
to Rakhine State, and we're as
transparent as we possibly can
be.
Inner City Press: Is
this an attempt by the UN to
sort of off-the-record chide
the Government with this 1,000
figure? Is this an
unauthorized...
Spokesman: I don't…
again, I don't know who spoke,
why they spoke, and so
on. I think the UN has
been very clear and
transparent in putting forward
information that we have on
the state of affairs in that
area.
On
February 7, Inner City Press
also asked Dujarric about
Myanmar. UN
transcript here:
Inner City Press:
I wanted to ask you about
Myanmar. There was that
statement yesterday by Adama
Dieng saying that the existing
commission there is not
sufficient to do the
investigation, and that
commission has since rejected
both reports. So I guess
I wanted to know, one, if
there's a response. But,
two, this morning, one
Security Council member said
this Rohingya issue should be
taken up by the Council.
Another said he wasn't
sure. And I'm wondering
whether the Secretary-General
himself… this would seem to be
a kind of an Article 99.
Does he believe that, given
the split in the Council —
there's at least one member
that doesn't want any outcome
on anything to do with Myanmar
— that he should raise it to
the Council?
Spokesman: We would very
much hope that the Council
agrees on its agenda.
They have heard briefings on
Myanmar in the past from the
Special Envoy, and we
obviously stand ready to brief
them should they request so.
Inner City Press: I
guess what I'm say… the last
time that a briefing was held,
there was an agreement in
advance that there would be no
outcome. I think… and so
I'm just… I'm wondering…
Spokesman: If they
request such a briefing, we
would be happy to supply one.
On February
3, Inner City Press asked
Dujarric about reports of
further abuse of the Rohingya,
video
here, UN
transcript here:
Inner City Press:
I wanted to ask you about this
very detailed report about
abuses of the Rohingya in
Myanmar, I know that the
mandate of the Good Offices
expired, but I'm wondering,
what is the
Secretary-General's
thought? I asked the UK
ambassador. He said
there different ways being
considered for the UN to deal
with this problem. Is
there any proposal by the
Secretary-General either to
revive that office or a
different office or have some
increased focus…?
Spokesman: I don't think
there will be a revision of
that office, but that is not
to say that there will be…
there continues to be keen
interest in the situation in
Myanmar, obviously, on the
human rights issue but also
what the UN can assist and can
do on the development issue
through the coordinated work
of the UN development agencies
in Myanmar and, obviously, on
the political front, in which
DPA will be in the lead.
But, it will be a coordinated
outlook on behalf of the UN
system.
Inner City Press: Right,
but when you say the
political, do you mean in
terms of… does the
Secretary-General believe, for
example, that the Rohingya are
and should be acknowledged as
citizens of Myanmar?
Spokesman: I think we
have… this is an ongoing
discussion. I think the
Secretary-General, the UN has
been very clear on the need to
address the needs of the
Rohingyas in a way that
respects their rights and that
is good for country as a
whole.
On January
31, Inner City Press asked the
UN's holdover spokesman
Dujarric,
From
the UN transcript, Periscope
here:
Inner City Press:
I wanted to ask, again, it has
to do with the Rohingya, in
this case, in
Bangladesh. Maybe you've
seen reports that the
Government of Bangladesh is
considering moving the people
that were able to cross the
border in camps near the
border to an island that's
described as being often
underwater. Does the UN
or, in particular, António
Guterres have any…?
Spokesman: I haven't
seen those reports…
Inner City Press: It's
in the New York Times.
Spokesman: I'll see what
I can find.
Six hours
later and counting, nothing.
On January 17,
Inner City Press asked the
UN's deputy spokesman Farhan
Haq about disappearances in
Shan State, where just-left
Secretary General Ban
Ki-moon's brother Ban Ki Ho
has been mining. UN
transcript here:
Inner City Press:
it's a case that involves two
individuals, which has become
pretty high profile, in
Myanmar. There are these
two Baptist leaders, one of
whom used to show journalists
the effects of airstrikes by
the Government in Shan State,
and Fortify Rights has called
for the Government to… to say
where they are. They've
been disappeared. Is the
UN aware of it? And
who's been sort of monitoring
the human rights aspects of
Myanmar, not just the Special
Rapporteur, but is there still
a Secretariat function, as
used to be carried out by Mr.
[Vijay] Nambiar?
Deputy Spokesman: There
still is a Secretariat
function that's being carried
out now by the Department of
Political Affairs, and I'll
check with them whether
there's anything to say about
this particular case.
From the January
12 UN
transcript:
Inner City Press:
you'd said that Vijay Nambiar
had stepped down at the end of
December, the office was not
funded. But, I've seen
he did an interview on 8
January with a Bangladesh
publication, Prothom Alo,
where he said he denied that
there's genocide of Rohingya
and Myanmar or he said that
UNHCR had said that and then
taken it back. I wanted
to, I guess, ask you, in what
capacity… is he speaking for
the UN in any way in saying
that there's no genocide in
the area?
Spokesman:
No, Mr. Nambiar is speaking in
his personal capacity.
Myanmar
was the quiet
topic of the UN
Security Council
on the evening of
November 17,
between meetings
on South Sudan and
Syria chemical
weapons.
Inner
City Press was informed that
while the US requested the
closed door briefing, the US
agreed as a condition that there
would be no outcome to the
meeting. And now, Myanmar
is not listed in any way, even
in the footnotes, of the January
Program of Work of the UN
Security Council, click here for
that.
On
November 17 the briefer was
Vijay Nambiar, Ban Ki-moon's
envoy on Myanmar as he was,
disasterously, on Sri Lanka. And
sources tell Inner City Press
that amid the burning of
Rohingyas' homes and rapes and
killings in Rakhine State,
Nambiar advised the Council to
go easy on Myanmar and give them
time. This is is disgusting, all
around. The UN has refused
to provide a summary of what
Nambiar said.
On
January 5, Inner City Press
asked holdover UN spokesman
Stephane Dujarric, video
here.
Ban
Ki-moon's brother Ban
Ki-ho did
mining and other
business in Myanmar, after
being on a “UN delegation.”
***
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