On
Myanmar,
As UN Dodges
on Kachin
IDPs, Nambiar
Set Off on
Quiet
Diplomacy
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
October 31 --
The UN has an
envoy to
Myanmar, Vijay
Nambiar,
but his work
is kept nearly
secret and he
has repeated
refused to
answer press
questions at
the UN.
On
October 25
Inner City
Press asked
UN spokesman
Martin Nesirky
Inner
City
Press: Tomas
Ojea Quintana,
the Special
Rapporteur [on
the
situation of
human rights
in Myanmar]
had noted that
an offer was
made by the UN
system of aid
to Myanmar to
assist those
being
displaced by
this fighting
between the
Government and
the Kachin
rebels, and
says that the
Government
turned it down
flat. So what
I
wonder is, is
there any
response by
Ban Ki-moon or
Vijay Nambiar,
the
envoy or good
offices, to
this rejection
of help for
people that —
at least
according to
Ojea Quintana
— are in need?
Spokesperson
Nesirky:
I don’t have
anything for
you, and I
will obviously
be
able to check
to see if
there is
anything, and
indeed it may
be
something that
Ms. Amos will
be able to
address
tomorrow when
she
briefs you.
When
Valerie
Amos, the UN
Humanitarian
Coordinator,
spoke on
October 26,
she said
that generally
the will not
do anything
beyond its
mandate, in
order
to not get
thrown out of
a country.
She was
referring to
Sudan --
apparently not
having read
the Darfur
peacekeeping
mission UNAMID's
2007 mandate
regarding
disarming
the Janjaweed
militia --
but this
silence seems
to be the
approach of
the UN or at
least Nambiar
with respect
to Myanmar.
Nambiar
previously
reads from
notes, Q&A
& Kachin
not shown
On
October 27,
Nesirky in the
opening to the
UN noon
briefing read
out this statement:
"just
to
follow up on a
question from
the other day,
regarding
assistance
to vulnerable
people in
northern
Myanmar, we
have asked our
colleagues on
the ground in
Myanmar, who
tell us that
assistance is
being
delivered in
reachable
areas.
Meanwhile,
discussions
continue
to ensure that
assistance
reaches all
those in
need."
Inner
City Press
immediately
asked for
clarification:
Inner
City
Press: what
you just read
out, does that
mean over the
border or
within Myanmar
itself?
Spokesperson
Nesirky:
It says what
it says,
Matthew — to
reach all
those in
need.
Inner
City
Press: You
said
“reachable
areas”, and
the question
was what
[areas inside
Myanmar].
Spokesperson:
Well, there
are two parts.
It says that
assistance is
being
delivered in
reachable
areas, and
meanwhile
discussions
continue to
ensure that
assistance
reaches all
those in need.
I don’t have
anything
beyond what I
have just read
out to you;
otherwise, I
would
have read out
a little bit
more. What’s
your next
question?
Well
the next
question might
be: what if
anything is
Nambiar going
to do or at
least say on
this issue
during his
just stealthy
begun trip to
Myanmar? Watch
this site.
Footnote:
Nambiar
has not only
said no to
repeated
requests to
give a press
conference, he
also rebuffs
UN
correspondents,
and not only
this one,
in the type of
informal
Q&A most
officials
engage in.
As Inner
City Press and
another UN
correspondent
from the
Middle East
recently
waited -- in
vain as it
turned out --
for an in
person read
out of
Middle East
meeting by Ban
Ki-moon and
his staff,
Nambiar came
out of
the elevator.
The other
correspondent
said hello and
began to ask a
question. But
Nambiar was
gone. And now
in Myanmar.
, 
