| On Myanmar,
ICP Asked UN Why Lok Leaving
In Oct, What's Feltman's
Mandate
By Matthew
Russell Lee, SG exclusive; video
UNITED NATIONS,
October 12 -- The UN's failure
and duplicity in Myanmar is
now fully on display. Just
after Secretary General for
the second time defended long
discredited UN Resident
Coordinator Renata
Lok-Dessalien, who is accused
on the record of retaliating
against UN staff for raising
the plight of the Rohingya,
the UN with less fanfare has
said she will belatedly leave
the country by the end of
October. Inner City Press
addressed this on Canadian TV
on October 12, here,
then asked UN Spokesman Farhan
Haq, UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: now it's
said that… that Renata
Lok-Dessallien is leaving by
the end of October.
Having… since the
Secretary-General so recently
said he fully supports her,
what's the connection between
that and what seemed to be a…
has a replacement been
named? What explains her
leaving at this time? Is
it Mr. Feltman's mandate to…
to get the Government to… to
accept a particular
replacement, to accept an
Assistant
Secretary-General? And…
and what changed between the…
the announcement by the
Secretary-General that he
fully supported her and her
decision now to leave by the
end of the month? Deputy
Spokesman: Well, first
of all, we had announced, even
as early as the spring at this
very briefing, that we
expected to rotate Ms.
Lok-Dessallien over the course
of this year, and we've been
trying to make the appropriate
arrangements. We are now
closer to that stage.
She has been there for 3 years
and 10 months, which is
actually a fairly long time
for her to be in one position.
And the Secretary-General, of
course, continues to support
her fully while she goes about
her job. But, at some
point, she will be back at a
different posting, and so her
time is ending. And the
regular rotation of that
position will go on. Inner
City Press: But when you… when
you say… when you say you're
closer to it, has… has… does
the UN have a candidate that…
that Mr. Feltman will be
arguing for? And also, I
guess it just seems like, if
the reason to not have moved
her out in June was that there
was no replacement in place,
there's still not a
replacement in place.
So, what changed? Deputy
Spokesman: Well, there
are times when we announce our
replacements. We'll…
you'll know it when we
announce it, and we should
announce it at some point."
Then Inner City Press: I
understand you don't have a
name yet on that, but does the
Secretary-General believe that
it should be at the Assistant
Secretary-General level…
General level as
proposed? And does he
have any view whether, in
retrospect, the ending of the
mandate of… was… was then Mr.
[Vijay] Nambiar… was well
timed in terms of the UN
system? I understand
that was a Member State
decision, but given what's
happened since, what is… what
has he learned in terms of UN
reform about that decision?
Deputy Spokesman: Well,
regarding that, as you
yourself pointed out, this was
a decision taken by Member
States. We respect that
decision. We're going to
continue to do our work on
Myanmar. And, as you
see, we raised it up at high
levels regardless. The
Secretary-General himself, as
you know, has taken this up,
including directly with the
Security Council. So,
we're continuing to express
what our concerns are, even
without that position in
place. And of course,
regarding Ms. Lok-Dessallien,
this is, like I said, an
effort that's been under way
for some time now." Inner City
Press asked French Ambassador
Francois Delattre if France
things there should be a UN
ASG in Myanmar, without
answer, video
here. The UK hasn't
addressed the questions. We'll
have more on this. As if to
cover up this failure,
Guterres' spokesman in New
York Stephane Dujarric late on
October 11 announced that lame
duck Department of Political
Affairs chief Jeffrey Feltman
will visit Myanmar for five
days starting October 13. The
goal it seems is to get
Myanmar's government to agree
to an Assistant Secretary
General replacing
Lok-Dessalien, or at least to
agree to a new Resident
Coordinator. Inner City Press
opines, maybe Myanmar can get
Sid Chatterjee from Kenya,
where Sid was given the
Resident Coordinator job by
his own father in law Ban
Ki-moon and has supported the
government even as it stole an
election, and interfered in
South Sudanese politics. We'll
have more on this. The UN's
failure amid Myanmar's murder
and displacement of the
Rohingya, on display today,
was also pronounced under
2007-2016 Secretary General
Ban Ki-moon and his “Special
Advisor” on Myanmar, Vijay
Nambiar. (Guterres' holdover
spokesman Dujarric, we note,
defended all of this failure.)
Once Ban Ki-moon, whose
brother Ban Ki-Ho's mining in
Myanmar Inner City Press
exposed while getting evicted
from the UN under Ban, gave
the Myanmar post to Nambiar,
Ban refused to listen to
anyone else on the issue. And
Nambiar, in turn, allowed his
eyes and ears on the ground to
be one Marianne Hagen. She
failed totally on the Rohingya
issue, obsessed for example
with the Kachin Independence
Army. But there has been no
accountability. [Inside UN
headquarters, this is similar
in structure to the lack of
accountability of Ban Ki-moon
for corruption, and smaller
scale but related his head of
DPI Cristina Gallach for
censorship, and DPI long
termers like Darren Farrant,
Hua Jiang and Maher Nasser -
except that they're still
here, controlling access.]
We'll have more on this.When
belatedly the UN Security
Council heard of Myanmar and
the Rohingya, before the
meeting Inner City Press asked
the representatives of the UK,
Sweden and France about the UN
Country Team's performance, or
under-performance, under
Renata Lok-Dessalien. Video here. On
October 5, Inner City Press
asked UN Spokesman Stephane
Dujarric more about Dessalien.
From the UN transcript:
Inner City Press: again about
Ms. [Renata] Lok-Dessallien,
in this case, saying that she
suppressed a report about the
UN's role in Rakhine
State. And it has,
again, quotes from people that
work for the UN, saying
that… that the…
the Human Rights Up Front,
which was announced with some
fanfare by your previous
Secretary-General you spoke
for, has not been
implemented. So I wanted
to ask, just factually, does
the report exist? Did
she suppress it? and his
statement that he, the SG,
stood behind her, while…
while, obviously, a good thing
to stand behind your
officials, seems to have sent
a message to staff that, even
if you speak up and say my
supervisor retaliated against
me for raising human rights in
an internal UN meeting, that
the Secretary-General will,
out of hand, reject your
claims and side with your
boss. How would you
respond to that?
Spokesman: Okay.
So, let's take the granular
first. I don't agree at
all with your analysis.
If people have grievances,
there are all sorts of
internal systems they can go
through. They can
also… there's a very
strong whistleblower
protection that's available to
every staff member of this
organisation. The
Secretary-General does stand
by Renata Lok-Dessallien, the
Resident Coordinator and the
team that she leads in
Myanmar. There was a
report. It was not
spiked in any way. It
was presented to the UN
country team in April, and I
think, far from suppressing
information or censoring
ourselves, I think, in our
dialogues with the Myanmar
authorities, the UN system has
consistently urged the leaders
of Myanmar, whether the
military or civilian
leadership, to uphold their
responsibilities. I
think, if you look at the
public statements from the
Secretary-General, if you look
at the public statements
earlier this year from the
Resident Coordinator, and from
the team, I think they have
been clear and to the
point. We engage with
the authorities of Myanmar as
we engage with the authorities
in any country. We
engage constructively with
them. Engagement does
not mean that we lose our
principles. On the
contrary, I think we stand
strong on our
principles. I think the
Secretary-General, in his
statement to the Security
Council, whether by letter or
in present to the
security… excuse me, in
his statement that he did in
person to the Security
Council, was extremely clear
about his message to the
Myanmar authorities. And
we will continue to be clear
both in our public statements
and in our private
conversations with the
authorities. Inner City
Press: So just…
thanks. The Guardian
quotes a UN official in
Yangon, quote, “Human Rights
Up Front isn't being
implemented. It just
isn't. They can say that
they are ticking some boxes,
but, in terms of actions that
lead to results, we're seeing
nothing.” And the
other… I just wanted
to… because there is a
perception. You're
saying that, if staff go
internally, then the
Secretary-General won't
automatically side with their
supervisor. But, if they
go public…? Spokesman:
This is not… this
is… the statements that
I'm making I've… have to
do with the attacks that the
Resident Coordinator has been
subject to, the attacks that
the UN team in Myanmar has
been subject to. Let's
not forget where
responsibility lies in terms
of protecting people. It
lies with the Government.
That's where the
responsibility lies. Any
assessment of our public
statements in the last year,
in the last few months, have
been clear in us raising our
concern about the situation,
the human rights situation, in
Rakhine State, about the lack
of humanitarian access.
I think we have been very
clear. Now, current,
past staff members, people
talk to the press.
That's their business. I
think we've said what we have
to say." On September 29,
after a BBC report which
featured Lok-Dessalien's
former chief of staff saying
staff were retaliated against
for raising human rights,
Inner City Press asked UN
Secretary General Antonio
Guterres' spokesman if these
allegations of retaliation
will be investigated.
Apparently not - the
spokesman, Stephane Dujarric,
insisted that Guterres stands
behind Lok-Dessalien. This is
NOT whistleblower protection,
and discourages people from
coming forward. (As does the
UN Security surveillance
camera above the UN media
bullpen area, which Inner City
Press asked about and Dujarric
reformed to answer on, video here).
After the briefing, Dujarric's
office mailed out: "The United
Nations strongly disagrees
with allegations against the
UN Resident Coordinator in
Myanmar, Renata
Lok-Dessallien. The
Secretary-General has full
confidence in the Resident
Coordinator and her Team. The
UN has consistently and
strongly focused on protection
of human rights and inclusive
development on behalf of all
the people of Myanmar,
irrespective of ethnicity,
religion or citizenship
status. The Resident
Coordinator has been a
tireless advocate for human
rights, conflict prevention,
and humanitarian and
development assistance in
Rakhine State. She has drawn
attention to rights abuses and
called for credible
investigations; advocated
against incitement to
violence; and supported
efforts to promote
inter-communal harmony. The UN
in Myanmar, led by the
Resident Coordinator, works
with a wide array of
government and non-government
partners to help enhance
Myanmar’s capacities to tackle
root causes of conflict, to
strengthen democratic
institutions, to expand access
to justice and to reduce
poverty. Human rights stand at
the center of everything the
UN does, and this includes the
rollout of the Human Right Up
Front by her team."
Right. Senior UN
officials exclusively tell
Inner City Press that in the
prior months, Guterres
repeatedly rejected detailed
recommendations made directly
to him by some of his
officials to become more
active on the crisis. The
officials tell Inner City
Press that Guterres responded
that for the UN to become more
active might create problems
for "The Lady," Aung San Suu
Kyi, and the military. So the
UN stood by, as it did in Sri
Lanka in 2008-2009 and in
Rwanda before that, always
with an excuse. There was even
a ten point plan presented
early on to Guterres, on which
he never acted. On September
25, UK Deputy Ambassador
Jonathan Allen in the Council
said, "Burma needs to allow in
humanitarian aid from the
UN... The humanitarian needs
inside Rakhine vastly exceed
the Red Cross’s activities.
Only the UN and its partners
can provide life-saving
aid.... There needs to be a
process so that those who fled
can register as refugees and
return home safely, even if
they don’t have documents.
Burmese authorities should
participate with the UN
fact-finding mission. The
situation in Burma strikes
many of us around the table
with particular poignancy… We
want to see further progress
to democracy, and we want
Burma to thrive…this crisis
now casts a deep shadow over
Burma and its international
reputation…Should they fail to
do so, they will find
themselves on the wrong side
of history, and this Council
will be ready to take further
action." After Allen, Nikki
Haley said: "We have seen
images of acts no person
should ever have to endure. We
have seen women and children
fleeing their homes with only
the clothes on their
backs…we’ve heard reports of
men, women and children
rounded up, detained, and some
brutally killed…a baby who
died fleeing violence in
Rakhine States. I’ve also met
with Burma’s national security
advisor. We’ve supported
regional efforts to
de-escalate the violence….and
still, the exodus out of Burma
continues while the government
refuses to acknowledge the
seriousness of the situation.
I condemn violence against
other minority communities in
Rakhine. We cannot be afraid
to call the actions of the
Burmese authority what they
appear to be: a campaign to
cleanse the country of an
ethnic minority. The Burmese
government claims it is
battling terrorists. If this
is true, let them allow media
and humanitarian aid in to
back up their claims.... The
government has a
responsibility to restore the
rule of law and prevent
attacks by citizens in its
name. An already dire
situation has been made even
worse by some rhetoric coming
from official channels. The
time for diplomatic words has
passed. We must now consider
action against Burmese
military figures. The Burmese
military must respect human
rights. Those accused should
be removed from command and
prosecuted. I’d like to appeal
to the goodness and hope for
the future that exists in the
hearts of the majority of you.
I know you’re sickened by the
images of violence. The goal
of an open, democratic Burma
is still possible. Hold fast
to that vision. Don’t give up
on it. Every Burmese man,
woman and child is a child of
God." On September 18, Inner
City Press asked Guterres'
spokesman Stephane Dujarric,
UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: In Myanmar,
I heard from some people that
work in the Department of
Political Affairs [DPA], and I
wanted to get you to respond
to this, the idea being that
the Secretary-General has been
urged for some time, in fact
months, to be more vocal or be
more active on the issue of
the plight of the Rohingya and
that, at least at an earlier
stage, his analysis was that
this might put Aung San Suu
Kyi in a difficult decision
with the military. Is
that an accurate
depiction? And, if so,
has the plight changed so
much, or does he think he
might have gotten involved
earlier? Spokesman: I
would say it's an accurate
description. I think
anyone who would have read or
seen the Secretary-General's
statements on the situation in
Myanmar over the last two
weeks could only say that he's
being vocal and being
extremely vocal on the
situation. There is a
time for diplomatic
engagement. There's a time for
speaking out more
loudly. There's a time
for speaking out loudly and
remaining engaged
diplomatically. The
Secretary-General has a number
of tools in his kit, and he
uses them as he sees fit.
Inner City Press: And
has he spoken to Aung San Suu
Kyi since…Spokesman: Not
since about ten days
ago. We, obviously, very
much are looking forward to
hearing what she will have to
say in the speech she's
scheduled to deliver, I think
it's about Tuesday in Myanmar,
and I think late tonight here
in New York." On September 15
Guterres spokesman arranged a
background briefing for his
favored correspondents, with
senior UN officials we will
leave UNnamed - but did not
inform or invite Inner City
Press, who asks him many
questions, including about
Myanmar. To this has the UN
descended. The UN Security
Council's September 13 meeting
on Myanmar was a closed
affair, after which the
President of the Council,
Ethiopia, read a statement
that "acknowledg[ed] the
attack on the Myanmar security
forces on August 25," as if
the problem began then. It
goes back decades. And even in
April of this year, this memo
was sent to Secretary General
Guterres: "The United Nations
in-country presence in Myanmar
continues to be glaringly
dysfunctional. Strong tensions
exist within the UN country
team, the humanitarian parts
of the UN system find itself
having to confront the
hostility of the development
arm, while the human rights
pillar is seen as complicating
both. The impact of this
dysfunctionality is a growing
irrelevance of the UN in
guiding and defining the
international community’s
efforts to address the
challenges confronting
Myanmar." After that, the UN
in June 2017 said that
Resident Coordinator
Lok-Dessallien was being
rotated out and the position
advertised. But this week
Inner City Press asked and
found that she is still there;
on September 14 Inner City
Press asked Guterres'
spokesman Stephane Dujarric
why didn't happen and he said
she it does, he'll say. The
UN's hands are not clean,
either, some say. To the
Ethiopian ambassador on
September 13, Inner City Press
asked if there was talk of UN
envoy, without answer.
Periscope video here.
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. On
September 13 Inner City Press
asked UK Ambassador Matthew
Rycroft about criticism of
Lok-Dessallein and the country
team. From the UK transcript:
Inner City Press: There is
talk of the country team at
the UN being too close to the
Government over time. There
was criticism of the resident
co-ordinator. Does the UK feel
comfortable that the country
team has been on top of this
issue, even prior to this
August “terrorist attack” that
was referenced in press
elements? Amb Rycroft: Well
one of the points I made was
that several of us around the
table, including the UN, have
very good and close
relationships with various
parts of the establishment in
Myanmar. Some of us with Aung
San Suu Kyi, others with the
military, and my point is that
it’s time now to be using
those relationships to get
action and to get an end to
this deterioration, rather
than allowing those
relationships to become an end
in themselves and to prevent
us from taking action.
Periscope video here.
We'll have more on this.
Rycroft 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.
And now
Guterres head of
Communications comes from, and
reflexively tweets, the Times.
But the above, is the history
- and for now, the future.
Watch this site.
***
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