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Driving
for
9 Votes,
Palestine
Targets
Bosnia, Gabon
& Nigeria,
Mulls
Quartet
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
September 26
-- When
Palestinian
Observer Riyad
Mansour
spoke to the
press on
Friday
afternoon, he
began by
maintaining
that
the nine
Security
Council
members which
have
previously
recognized
Palestine will
vote "yes" on
membership.
Inner
City Press
asked, what
about Bosnia,
has Palestine
met with the
Republica
Srbska
third of the
government?
Mansour
described a
Palestinian
visit to
Bosnia at
which the
delegation was
well
received; he
said he
visited
Belgrade in
Serbia and
spoke with the
relevant
people. But
who can reach
Republica
Srbska? It is
not clear.
As
South African
Permanent
Representative
Baso Sangqu
entered the
Security
Council,
Inner City
Press asked
him if there
would be three
African Union
"yes" votes
for
Palestinian
membership. I
can only speak
for my vote,
Baso said.
South Africa
is a yes;
Gabon and
Nigeria less
so. According
to Mansour,
both will also
be new visits.
Asked
about
Friday's
Quartet
Statement,
Mansour said
that the
Palestinian
leadership
will meet
about it on
Wednesday. But
he said that a
cessation of
the
settlements is
required. The
Quartet didn't
speak to
that, as noted
by Mahmoud
Abbas to the
media on his
way back to
Ramallah.
Mansour also
noted that
Israel has not
embraced the
Quartet
Statement.
Beyond
the fight
between UN
Security and
the Turkish
delegation
that Inner
City Press
exclusively
reported on
Friday, Inner
City Press has
been informed
that while
Abbas gave his
speech on
Friday,
Avigdor
Lieberman did
come into the
GA Hall --
only in order
to immediately
leave it.
Abbas gets
ready to rock
the GA, Sept
23, 9 votes
&
Lieberman not
shown
Even
before
Monday's
consultations
started,
spokespeople
told the Press
that
there would be
an open
meeting on the
Council on
Wednesday to
formally refer
Palestine's
application to
an "Ad Hoc"
committee on
membership --
all 15 members
are on the
committee --
and
that the
committee will
meet for the
first time on
Friday. And so
it
goes at the UN
- watch this
site.
* * *
Hurry
Up
and Wait at UN
on Palestine
Application,
Ashton Wants
Talks
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
September 23
-- Palestinian
Friday at the
UN turned out
to be as
dramatic, or
more, than Mahmoud Abbas
had predicted.
Abbas
turned in
Palestine's
application
for statement
to Ban
Ki-moon, who
passed it on
to the
Lebanese
President of
the Security
Council.
(Inner City
Press is putting
it online,
here.)
Then the
Middle East
Quartet
convened a
2:30 meeting
at the UN,
with convoys
of black
vehicles
screeching up
to the UN as
the UN's top
security
official ran
outside,
following a
dust-up
between
Security and
Turkey inside
the UN.
Following
the Quartet's
meeting and
statement, the
EU's Catherine
Ashton came to
speak and to
take
questions.
Inner City
Press asked
her if the EU
members on the
Security
Council will
all vote the
same way on
Palestine's
application.
Ashton said
that is not
her focus, she
is
concentrated
on
negotiations
between the
parties that
could lead to
peace for the
two peoples.
Lady Ashton
Sept 23, won't
say how EU
members of
SC'll vote
Just
as Ashton was
finishing it
was announced
that Nawaf
Salam,
President of
the Security
Council for
September,
would speak at
the Council
stakeout at
3:30. He did
not take any
question, but
announced that
there will be
Council
consultations
on Palestine's
application
Monday at 3
pm.
Inner
City Press
asked a member
of the
Lebanese
delegation
about Benyamin
Netanyahu's
statement that
the Security
Council this
month is led
"by
Hezbollah."
After a pause,
the
representative
said, "He can
say what he
wants."
Back
in the North
Lawn building,
after Tony
Blair took to
the
microphone,
Hillary
Clinton
followed but
did not take
any questions.
Will the UN
"have" to
veto? That is
a question.
Watch this
site.
Click
for
July
7, 11
BloggingHeads.tv
re Sudan,
Libya, Syria,
flotilla
Click
for Mar
1, '11
BloggingHeads.tv
re Libya, Sri
Lanka, UN
Corruption
* * *
These
reports
are
usually also available through Google
News and on Lexis-Nexis.
Click
here
for a Reuters
AlertNet
piece by this correspondent about Uganda's
Lord's Resistance Army. Click here
for an earlier Reuters
AlertNet piece about the Somali
National Reconciliation Congress, and the UN's
$200,000 contribution from an undefined trust
fund. Video
Analysis here
Feedback:
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718-716-3540
Other, earlier Inner City Press are
listed here,
and some are available in the ProQuest service,
and now on Lexis-Nexis.
Copyright 2006-2011 Inner City Press,
Inc. To request reprint or other permission,
e-contact Editorial [at] innercitypress.com -
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