At
UN
on Syria, “Watered Down” Proposal for
Tuesday, Under Yemen Precedent
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
April 25 -- Amid the crackdown in Syria, among the members
of the UN Security Council in New York a draft statement was
circulated Monday morning.
In
front of the
Council Monday afternoon, the Press asked entering Ambassadors what
they thought about the draft. “What do you think?” US Deputy
Permanent Representative Rosymary Dicarlo said. (She later told Inner
City Press that she'd been joking).
Lebanon's
Permanent
Representative Nawaf Salam said, “That's for tomorrow,
not today.” Later another member's Permanent Representative
predicted that the Arab League, and thus presumably Lebanon, would be
urging to go slow on Syria -- unlike their request on
Yemen.
Even
the
Permanent Representative of one of the countries which introduced
the proposal told Inner City Press on Monday evening that the draft
is “watered down,” and said their country would prefer a
“Security Council debate on Syria, to send a message.”
But
it is unclear
what message will be sent. Also on Monday evening, Chinese Permanent
Representative Li Baodong told Inner City Press that China is
concerned about issues getting put so quickly onto the Security
Council agenda.
He
pointed at the
rejection
last week in the Council of a draft statement on Yemen,
noting that after that, President Saleh reportedly reached an
agreement with the regional Gulf Cooperation Council. Under this
agreement, which Saleh's own statements have since called into
question, Saleh would leave power in exchange for immunity for
himself and his family.
One
cannot imagine,
at least at this point, Assad leaving in this way. Council members
were told to get instructions and, on that basis, respond to the
draft by 10 am on April 26. Watch this site.
* * *
At
UN
on
Yemen, Russia Blocks Lebanese & German Security Council
Statement Supporting
GCC
By
Matthew
Russell
Lee, Exclusive
UNITED
NATIONS,
April
19 -- When the UN Security Council got a briefing
on
Yemen on April 19, a statement was proposed by Germany and
Lebanon. But it was not agreed to.
Inner
City
Press
has seen the proposed statement, and it is very simple:
“The
members of the Security Council heard a briefing from... on the
situation in Yemen.
“They
expressed their concern at the political crisis in Yemen, and called
on the parties to exercise restraint and to enter into a
comprehensive dialogue to realize the legitimate aspirations of the
Yemeni people.
“They
also expressed their full support to the mediation role of the Gulf
Cooperation Council.”
A
Western
spokesperson told the Press pointedly that “the usual suspects”
had blocked this simple statement by saying that they needed
instructions from their capitals. Other sources in the Council,
however, reduce the suspects to a single one: Russia.
They
describe
a
standoff between the second and third highest diplomats in Russia's
Mission to the UN -- top ambassador Vitaly Churkin was not involved
-- and Lebanon's Permanent Representative Nawaf Salam.
The
Russians,
they say, asked Salam why Lebanon wasn't taking the anti-statement
position. Salam in turn raised his voice, saying that Russia should
be following the Arab countries' lead, and that Russia's Ambassador
in Beirut would to asked to explain why not.
Inner
City
Press
will venture this explanation: Russia sees the GCC as a pro-American
grouping and does not want to support it.
Ban & Saleh, previously, Russia and 2d term not shown
Another
Western
spokesman,
on background, said that the real purpose of the briefing
was to provide support to the Gulf Cooperation Council mediation in
Yemen. A well placed UN source told Inner City Press this was
wishful thinking, that the GCC process would need outside support or
“content.”
The
reason for the
Western countries deferring to the GCC, he said, was that “probably
only a GCC country would be willing to take Yemen's president” Ali
Abdullah Saleh if
he stepped down.
While
the
UN
Secretariat seems to feel positive about the Security Council session
and that it could do more in Yemen than the GCC can, others predict
that Russia will not get instructions for the rest of the shortened
week, and the statement will die. The questions is whether this is
another thing Russia will admonish Ban Ki-moon about during his
upcoming visit there. We'll see. Watch this site.
Footnote:
As
US
Ambassador Susan Rice left the meeting, she was asked if Syria
had also been discussed. “No,” he said. Why not? Because the
topic was Yemen, she said as she left. But Syria did come up in the
Security Council during Monday's “horizon” briefing by Lynn
Pascoe. Watch this site.
* * *
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