| On Myanmar,
UNSC Meeting Will Be Closed,
ICP Asked Who's UN Res
Coordinator, Lok
By Matthew
Russell Lee, video here
UNITED NATIONS,
September 12 – 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, now said
to have offered assurances to
Lankan war crimes defendant
Jagath not to worry. Now the
UN Security Council's
September 13 meeting on
Myanmar will be a closed
affair, with the Presidency
announcing a closed "Any Other
Business "AoB on Myanmar
jointly requested by U.K. and
Sweden. USG Feltman will be
briefing the Council on the
matter and Ms. Mervat
Shelbaya, Chief of Section for
the Asia and Pacific region of
OCHA." In terms of the UN
Secretariat, while it said in
June that dubious UN Resident
Coordinator Renata
Lok-Dessallien was being
rotated out and the position
advertised, when Inner City
Press asked UN Spokesman
Stephane Dujarric on September
12 who the Resident
Coordinator in Myanmar is, he
first said he didn't know,
then after the briefing his
Office e-mailed this:
"Regarding your question on
Myanmar at today's noon
briefing, the Resident
Coordinator is Renata
Lok-Dessalien." So despite
saying she was being rotated
out and the post advertised,
and despite Guterres saying
how concerned he is about
Myanmar and the Rohingya,
three months and thousands of
dead later, she's still in.
And the Spokesman, Dujarric,
didn't even insert this answer
into "his" transcript. This is
today's UN. As things
get worse, the UK has asked
for a meeting of the UN
Security Council - but a
"private" one. UK Ambassador
Matthew Rycroft two days
before it on September 11
said, on Myanmar "we have
asked for a formal discussion
in the Security Council on
Wednesday and that is a next
step, which I hope will lead
to a public outcome in some
way. And I think it’s a sign
of the significant worry that
Security Council members have
that the situation is
continuing to deteriorate for
many Rohingya who are seeking
to flee Rakhine state in Burma
and move into Bangladesh. It’s
up to the Presidency to work
out if it’s an AOB or a
consultations. I think it will
be a private meeting but with
a public outcome of some
form." On September 7 Inner
City Press asked UN Spokesman
Stephane Dujarric, who has
refused to answer on
Coomaraswamy, this about his
new boss and Myanmar, UN
transcript here:
Inner City Press: on
Myanmar. I know that the
Secretary-General made the
statement that he made, but
since then, there are reports
of villages that people have
been chased out of being
burned to the ground, and
there are also some reports of
landmines placed by the
Myanmar military on the border
with Bangladesh. So, I
wanted to know if the UN is
aware of these reports and
also has the Secretary-General
actually placed any phone call
to Aung San Suu Kyi? And
if he has… Spokesman: As
I said yesterday, he has been,
over the last few months, in
touch with Aung San Suu Kyi,
both by phone and through
correspondence. We've
seen the reports. We're
obviously extremely concerned
about the reports of
continuing violence,
especially violence that
targets civilians. The
reports of land mines is not
one we can confirm, but,
obviously, if they were to be
true, those would be extremely
troubling if they were to be
confirmed. Inner City
Press: If you don't…
when… when's the last time,
since this is kind of a… it's
a fast deteriorating
situation. When's the
last time that he spoke to
her? Spokesman: "I have
no… at this point, I have no
further details to share with
you." On September 4 before a
UN Security Council meeting
about North Korea, Inner City
Press asked UK Ambassador
Matthew Rycroft about the
recent upsurge of killings and
ethnic "cleansing" of the
Rohingya in Myanmar. Video here;
from the UK transcript: Inner
City Press: Will there be
another meeting on Myanmar?
Given what’s happening? Amb
Rycroft: "We are following the
situation in Burma very
closely as well. If it
continues to deteriorate then
one of the things that we can
do is to hold further meetings
to shine a spotlight on the
situation there. We call on
Aung San Suu Kyi to use all of
her many qualities to unite
the country, to stop the
violence, and to bring
everyone together in a way
that respects the right of all
people in Burma." On August
30, after a closed door
Security Council "any other
business" meeting about
Myanmar, Inner City Press
asked UK Ambassador Matthew
Rycroft, video here,
UK transcript here: Inner City
Press: Is there any discussion
of the people caught in this
no man’s land between Myanmar
and Bangladesh? Is there any
message to Bangladesh in terms
of opening the border? Amb
Rycroft: "Yes, several of us
raised that issue, a lot of us
talked about the
responsibilities of Bangladesh
as a good neighbour and indeed
praised them for what they
have been doing so far and
encouraged them to continue to
do so." Before the meeting,
Inner City Press asked
Rycroft, video here
(with Sweden's deputy Skau's
answer too), UK transcript
below. On August 31, US
Ambassador Nikki Haley said,
"“The United States supports
democracy for the Burmese
people, and we condemn attacks
by militant groups in Rakhine
State. However, as Burmese
security forces act to prevent
further violence, they have a
responsibility to adhere to
international humanitarian
law, which includes refraining
from attacking innocent
civilians and humanitarian
workers and ensuring
assistance reaches those in
need. We call on all members
of the Security Council to
support the Burmese government
in ensuring the rights and
dignity of all communities in
Rakhine State and throughout
Burma." From the UK's August
30 transcript: Inner City
Press: Aung San Suu Kyi has
said that international aid
groups are somehow assisting
terrorists. Do you think those
comments are helpful? What do
you think? Amb Rycroft: "Well
as I said I think it’s
important that all of the
parties de-escalate now to
reduce tensions and look to
the long-term, including
through Kofi Annan’s
recommendations." On August
28, Inner City Press asked the
top three UN spokespeople -
they had canceled the noon
briefing - the following: "In
Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi has
said that international aid
NGOs are somehow helping
“terrorists.” What is the
Secretary General's statement
and action on this?"
Lead spokesman Stephane
Dujarric, who ignored Inner
City Press' other questions
after evicting and still restricting
it, replied, "We expect a
statement shortly." An hour
later, this - which does not
address ASSK's comments: "The
Secretary-General is deeply
concerned at the reports of
civilians being killed during
security operations in
Myanmar’s Rakhine State. This
latest round of violence comes
after the attacks on Myanmar
security forces on 25 August.
The Secretary-General, who
condemned those attacks,
reiterates the importance of
addressing the root causes of
the violence and the
responsibility of the
Government of Myanmar to
provide security and
assistance to those in need.
The Secretary-General fully
supports the recommendations
of the report by Kofi Annan
and urges the Government to
effectively implement them.
Recognizing that Bangladesh
has hosted generously refugees
from Myanmar for decades, the
Secretary-General appeals for
the authorities to continue to
allow the Rohingya fleeing
violence to seek safety in
Bangladesh. Many of those
fleeing are women and
children, some of whom are
wounded. He calls for
humanitarian agencies to be
granted unfettered and free
access to affected communities
in need of assistance and
protection. The United
Nations stands ready to
provide all necessary support
to both Myanmar and Bangladesh
in that regard." On August 14,
Inner City Press asked UN
deputy spokesman Farhan Haq,
UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: India had
announced that it intends to
deport Rohingyas from Myanmar
regardless of whether they're
registered as UN refugees or
not. It's a pretty
high-profile announcement, and
I'm wondering, given António
Guterres's interest in this
issue, what's his statement on
it?
Deputy Spokesman:
Obviously, we have our
concerns about the treatment
of refugees. Once
refugees are registered, they
are not to be returned back to
countries where they fear
persecution. You're
aware of our principles of
non-refoulement, and that's
what applies in this case.
Inner City Press: And who will
convey that to India given
that they've said at the level
of a minister that this is
exactly what they intend to
do?
Deputy Spokesman: Well,
I believe the first point of
contact will be through UNHCR
[United Nations High
Commissioner for
Refugees]. Have a good
afternoon, everyone.
On August
10, Inner City Press asked the
UN's lead spokesman Stephane
Dujarric, UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: over the
weekend, the Government's own
investigative commission on
Rakhine State said that
there's no evidence of war
crimes and was very dismissive
of reports, including UN
reports, saying there are
problems there. But then
there's also some, there's a
report of a UN precautionary
security notification to its
own staff in western Myanmar
saying that there's a
possibility of, I guess,
Buddhist extremists. And
so I just, can you confirm
that the UN views this as a
danger? How serious a
danger is it?
Spokesman: Well, I think
that, our colleagues said
they're aware of planned
protests in Rakhine State,
and, obviously, for us, it's
important that we call for
peaceful and respectful
demonstrations. We
routinely issue precautionary
safety and security
notifications from the
perspective of staff safety
and security of our assets and
field activities. The UN
underscores that all the
people of Myanmar, regardless
of ethnicity or background,
should be able to live in
equality and harmony. As
far as the, as the human
rights report, our, the
Government report, and
situation in Rakhine State, we
understand from our human
rights colleagues that the
full report has not yet been
made public. They look
forward to seeing it and
studying it. On the
executive summary that was
released, the High
Commissioner's office said
that, noted that many, the
commission recommended many
allegations of human rights
violations must be further
investigated. And I
think, given the scale and
nature of the human rights
violations documented by the
UN's own office for human
rights earlier this year, it
continues to urge the
Government of Myanmar to fully
cooperate with the Fact
Finding Mission mandated by
the UN Human Rights Council,
including giving it full
access.
In its
typically murky fashion and
without explanation, the UN
has said
"The President of the Human
Rights Council, Ambassador
Joaquín Alexander Maza
Martelli (El Salvador), has
decided to establish a new
composition of the
Fact-finding Mission on
Myanmar and appoint Mr.
Marzuki Darusman (Indonesia)
to serve as a member and its
Chair." Indira Jaising is
gone, replaced by Darusman
who, as Inner City Press has
reported, previously went soft
on Buddhist extremism in Sri
Lanka, against the Tamils. See
previous report here.
We'll have more on this. On
July 21 Inner City Press asked
UN Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq
about Department of Political
Affairs official Miroslav
Jenca being snubbed while in
the country. From the UN transcript:
Inner City Press: when Mr.
Jenca, Miroslav Jenca, went to
Myanmar he was, quote,
snubbed, unable to meet with
any high officials. Do
you deny that? Who did
he meet with there?
Deputy Spokesman: Well,
Mr. Jenca, actually the report
was inaccurate in a number of
ways — Mr. Jenca told us, in
fact, he was there as you know
for the Panglong conference
and as part of that, in the
evening at the dinner to the
Panglong conference, he did,
in fact, meet with Aung San
Suu Kyi somewhat briefly, but
he also had longer meetings
with several other
minister-level officials, so
the idea they didn't meet with
him is simply not true.
We'll see.
While the UN has remained
silent in the face of Inner
City Press questions on June
30 and before other than the
generic statement that
countries should cooperate, on
July 10 US Ambassador Nikki
Haley said, "No one should
face discrimination or
violence because of their
ethnic background or religious
beliefs. It is important that
the Burmese government allow
this fact-finding mission to
do its job. The international
community cannot overlook what
is happening in Burma – we
must stand together and call
on the government to fully
cooperate with this
fact-finding mission." On June
30, Inner City Press
asked UN Secretary
General Antonio Guterres'
Spokesman Stephane Dujarric,
UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: I'm
sure you've seen that Myanmar
has announced officially that
they are not… they are going
to ban visas for the three UN
investigators and any of their
subordinates. And so I'm
wondering, combined with the…
the… the arrests of three
journalists that were, you
know, speaking to groups that
now are themselves negotiating
with the Government, the
Secretary-General, what does
he think of this? Is this…
Spokesman: I think… we
think it's obviously important
for every country to cooperate
with the UN's human rights
mechanism, whether they be
Special Rapporteurs or
investigations put forward by
the Human Rights Council.
Inner City Press: What
communications has the
Secretariat, either through
its new or the existing
Resident Coordinator
otherwise, had with the
Government, given this open
statement of…
Spokesman: I'm not aware
of anything that I'm able to
share with you at this
point.
On June 28 Inner
City Press asked 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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