By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
October 3 --
As the UN
General Debate
ended on
Tuesday, the
Democratic
People's
Republic of
Korea was
banging on the
table trying
to get the
attention of
President of
the General
Assembly John
Ashe.
On
Thursday Inner
City Press
asked Ashe
about the
incident, and
about an
unexpected
series of
rights of
reply between
Bolivia and
Libya. Ashe
said the rules
provide for
only two
rounds of
replies, first
of ten
minutes then
of five. He
said there was
no way to
predict which
country might
ask for a
reply.
One
wonders: if a
country is
under attack
from a group
or gang of
others,
does it still
only get two
replies? The
answer seems
to be yes --
but
it's two for
each meeting.
So the North
Koreans could
have gotten
more.
Inner
City Press
asked asked
Ashe about the
chair
of the UN's
Fifth
(Budget)
Committee
going from
Germany last
year to
Finland now
--
what about the
developing
world? Ashe
answered that
since there
are
six committees
to chair and
only five
regional
groups, each
year one
of the groups
of developing
countries gets
two chairs.
But these can
be exchanged.
Since
Ashe had
mentioned
openness,
Inner City
Press asked
that he
disclose
which
countries were
paying which
people in his
office. He
said is it
not pay or
sponsorship,
but
"secondment."
Fine - but
will
each instance
be disclosed?
The
first
question, by a
so-called
tradition that
the new Free
UN
Coalition for
Access
contests due
to censorship,
politicization
and
even spying
by the UN
Correspondents
Association's
Executive
Committee,
went to UNCA
-- not to 2013
president
Pamela Falk of
CBS
or
first vice
president Louis
Charbonneau of
Reuters
but their
designee,
previously of
Reuters, who
proceeded to
chide Ashe for
allowing so
many
meetings.
Hey, if you
don't want to
cover them,
don't.
FUNCA by
contrast told
Ashe, the more
meetings, the
better. And
the more
disclosure.
Watch this
site.
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