Inner City Press: Investigative Reporting from the United Nations

At UN, Susan Rice Still Blank on ICC Meeting on Bashir's Billions, UK Calls Iran Tour Diversionary, Bosnia Bilats

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, January 4, updated -- US Ambassador Susan Rice was asked Tuesday about Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo and Sudan's Omar al Bashir's billions.

Rice called Gbagbo a serious concern, and reiterated to Inner City Press that she still does not recall any meeting with International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo about Bashir diverting money to foreign bank accounts.

As Bosnia assumes the presidency of the UN Security Council for January, other Council members' Ambassadors arrive for bilateral consultations on the month's program of work. Susan Rice went first, and spoke afterward to the Press. She predicted an “interesting” 2011, with the Council being joined by countries which seek a more permanent presence: India, South Africa, Germany.

Inner City Press showed Rice a follow up story quoting “one senior American official” as “aware of the prosecutor's investigation.” Rice said she had seen the story, but still did not remember the meeting with Ocampo memorialized in a State Department cable published by WikiLeaks. I think I would remember that, she said.

UK Permanent Representative Mark Lyall Grant went in second for consultations. On Iran's invitation to some countries to take a nuclear tour of the country, Lyall Grant called it “diversionary,” but noted the upcoming round of talks.

Inner City Press asked Lyall Grant about a Swiss report that UK foreign secretary William Hague said he would look favorably at sending troops -- the article implied UK troops -- to Cote d'Ivoire. I've been away, Lyall Grant said, but I doubt he meant UK troops, rather that he would support a vote to send troops.

On his way out, Lyall Grant said on the Middle East that anything that leads to a resumption of negotiations will be good. He declined to comment on the new line up of the Council -- whether for example India might support China in driving Myanmar entirely off the Council's agency, or others support the pro-sovereignty position Russia took on Ivory Coast -- saying “at least let us meet” before asking for comment.

Inner City Press asked Lyall Grant about Nepal. He said the opposition letter which the UN Secretariat told Inner City Press on January 3 had been received had still not been circulated. Yes, he noted, Karin Landgren has got another job. Click here for the Jan. 3 Inner City Press piece on Nepal.

Amb. Rice & Lyall Grant in Darfur, Bashir's billions not shown

Whoever was third on the schedule came late -- Bosnia's Ivan Barbalic left the Council at 10:50, saying that one Ambassador was late, “Vitaly” was expected later in the morning: Russia's Ambassador Churkin.

Passing by the Security Council but not entering, a diplomat from Georgia stopped to ask Inner City Press why the Council doesn't at least ask for a briefing from Secretary General's representative to the Geneva talks about Abkhazia. “Russia is keeping it off the agenda,” the diplomat complained. Watch this site.

Update of 11:41 pm -- as India's Permanent Representative Hardeep Singh Puri walked in to the Council, Inner City Press asked him what are India's priorities for the month. “Full support for the Bosnian presidency,” he said quickly. Inner City Press asked, What about Nepal?”

“The mission is over,” he said. “Wind up.”

* * *

In UN Council, Bosnia's January Light Except Sudan, Cote d'Ivoire a Footnote

By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive

UNITED NATIONS, December 22 -- The UN Security Council in January, when Southern Sudan's secession referendum is scheduled, will be chaired by Bosnia - Herzegovina.

A confidential copy of the Program of Work, obtained by Inner City Press, shows a month with at least three briefings on Sudan including Darfur (on the 6th, 17th and 26th), one on Central Asia (on the 13th), an open meeting on post conflict institution building (on the 21st) and explosive Cote d'Ivoire in a footnote, to be brought up if necessary.

Many close observers of the Security Council deem it a surprisingly light schedule. Also, in the assignment of chairman positions for the Counncil's subsidiary bodies in 2011, Bosnia has been given only one working group, that on Working Methods.

Cynics said the Permanent Five members had chosen Bosnia over Portugal for this potentially reforming post precisely because they do not want reform.

Bosnia's Permanent Representative Ivan Barbalic has to date always been genial, though most in the UN press corps haven't yet heard much from him or his Deputy. That should chance this month.

In wider Balkan - Security Council news, the youth video from Serbia initially selected for one of the final four by the US Mission was vetoed as not being sufficiently tied to the Security Council's agenda, as it was about natural resources.

UN's Ban & Barbalic, arriving Jan 09 - 2 years later, his month not yet shown

A diplomat remarked that the Serbian youth who made the vetoed video was particularly well spoken: a new Vuk Jeremic, it was said.

Footnote: in yet more Bosnia video news, concerning the protests to UNHCR by Bosnian rape victims of Angelina Jolie and her new movie, Inner City Press this month asked the UN's expert of Sexual Violence and Conflict Margot Wallstrom for any guidance on the controversy. Though Wallstrom had just been in Bosnia, she said she didn't understand the protests. We'll see.

* * *

For US Youth Day at UN, 3 Videos Got Vetoed, French Went Nuclear, Montage

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, December 20 -- In the UN Security Council, even an event as seemingly benign as a day for youth to show videos about world problems is subject to backroom arguments and vetoes.

For the US sponsored youth day on December 21, the US Mission to the UN last week presented Council members with four videos to be screened. Three were essentially vetoed, multiple sources tell Inner City Press.

A video by a German youth about nuclear weapons was vetoed by France, which even argued that the video wasn't by a youth.

African members shot down a video about the Lord's Resistance Army, arguing that the portrayal of an African woman and children in front of a hut made them look “too poor.” That video has been replaced by one from Goma in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

A Serbian youth's video about natural resources was shot down. An argument made by the vetoers was that some issues are not on the agenda of the Security Council, and that to show these videos would be an encroachment of the rights of non Council members.

Austria, which is bringing three youths to the December 21 event during which they will stay at Ambassador Thomas Mayr-Harting's residence, reportedly asked why a video submitted by an Austrian about children and armed conflict wasn't selected. Inner City Press is informed that this will, at least, by in montage assembled by the US Mission.

Araud of France, vetoed nuclear video, with Gabon, LRA video not shown

A Yemeni youth's video on water, initially selected, was vetoed. The three videos, the official story goes, are now linked to from Ambassador Susan Rice's Twitter account. Inner City Press has been asked, in a separate story, to “give the children voice.” Watch this site.

Footnote: earlier, based on which children's parent could afford to fly them to the December 21 event, Inner City Press dubbed it the "Rich Kids' Summit," then the "Summit of Kids from Rich Countries."

Now it's said that at least the Chinese government is flying some kids in, and that New York City students form the Children's Zone in Harlem and schools in Brooklyn and Queens (not the Bronx or Staten Island) that the US Mission has not named on the eve of the event, will be there -- as will we.

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Susan Rice Denies Being Told Sudan's Bashir Stashed $9B, Despite WikiLeak

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, December 20 -- Contrary to a cable released by Wikileaks describing Susan Rice the US Permanent Representative to the UN being told by International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo about Sudan's Omar al Bashir “stashing” $9 billion in “illegal accounts,” Ambassador Rice on December 20 told Inner City Pres that “I don't have a recollection of that being told to me directly.” Video here, from Minute 4:18.

Inner City Press asked Ambassador Rice about the cable and what she and the US Mission to the UN had done after Moreno Ocampo told her and her then Deputy Alejandro Wolff being told about Bashir's $9 billion.

“I'm not going to comment on cables,” she began. After denying any recollection of being told “directly” about Bashir's billions, she said “I don't know if it was said to anyone else.”

The cable begins that ICC “Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo told Ambassadors Rice and Wolff on March 20 [2009] that Sudanese President Bashir needed to be isolated. Ocampo suggested if Bashir's stash of money were disclosed (he put the figure at possibly $9 billion), it would change Sudanese public opinion from him being a 'crusader' to that of a thief. Ocampo reported Lloyd's Bank in London might be holding or knowledgeable of the whereabouts of his money.”

Susan Rice & Wolff & UK's Lyall Grant, Bashir's "$9B in Lloyds" not shown

As Inner City Press reported earlier on December 20, “in January 2009 US authorities fined Lloyds $350 million for concealing the origins of wire transfers from Sudan, Iran and Libya in violation of US sanctions against the countries... Lloyds' so recent fine, for concealing the source of money from Sudan, would have given Rice and the Obama Administration leverage to get Bashir's accounts confirmed or denied by Lloyds at that time. At issue is not only corruption by a leader indicted for war crimes and genocide: under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, oil profits were to be split between North and Southern Sudan. Southerns have alleged that the Bashir government had improperly kept and hid revenue. Could this have been the money? What did the US Mission to the UN, State Department and Obama administration do to find out?”

Expecting to receive some sort of answer to this question, Inner City Press later on December 20 asked Susan Rice, as transcribed by the US Mission to the UN:

Inner City Press: there's a report that Ocampo of the ICC told the U.S. Mission or yourself that Bashir had $9 billion taken from Sudan and put in London, Lloyd's of London, is what he mentioned. And I just wondered, it's one of these cables, I don't want to talk about the cable aspect of it, but I just wanted to know what do you think of that? Is that something Ocampo met with you and Ambassador Wolff and said, and if case, what did the U.S. do to find out if it's true?

Ambassador Rice: I'm not going to comment on cables. I don't have a recollection of that being told to me directly, and I don't know if it was said to anybody else.

But see the cable:

Tuesday, 24 March 2009, 22:17

C O N F I D E N T I A L USUN NEW YORK 000306 EO 12958 DECL: 03/23/2019

TAGS PGOV, PREL, UNSC, PHUM, SU, XW">XW

SUBJECT: (C) ICC'S OCAMPO ON SUDAN: GO AFTER BASHIR'S MONEY AND CALL FOR HIS ARREST; REASSURE CHINA

Classified By: Ambassador Alejandro D. Wolff, for reasons 1.4 b/d

1. (C) International Criminal Court Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo told Ambassadors Rice and Wolff on March 20 that Sudanese President Bashir needed to be isolated. Ocampo suggested if Bashir's stash of money were disclosed (he put the figure at possibly $9 billion), it would change Sudanese public opinion from him being a "crusader" to that of a thief. Ocampo reported Lloyd's Bank in London might be holding or knowledgeable of the whereabouts of his money. Ocampo suggested simply exposing that Bashir had illegal accounts would be enough to turn the Sudanese against him, "as with Pinochet."

2. (C) Ocampo said Bashir invents conflict to create a better negotiating position, and thought Bashir was using the expulsion of the NGOs to divert attention away from his arrest warrant. Ocampo suggested the U.S. and the international community also needed to push for Bashir's arrest to isolate him. Ocampo likened Bashir's situation to "a bleeding shark being surrounded by other sharks," with no loyalty, only greed, motivating those competing for power. By promoting the possibility of Bashir's arrest, Bashir would be further marginalized within Sudan's ruling elite, Ocampo thought.

3. (C) Ocampo suggested it would be beneficial to reassure China that its access to oil would not be jeopardized. If China believed Bashir was becoming a destabilizing influence, Ocampo said China might be more open to his removal as long as his replacement would guarantee support for China's economic interests.

Wolff

Lloyds' January 2009 fine of $350 million, for concealing the source of money from Sudan, would have given Susan Rice and the Obama Administration leverage to get Bashir's accounts confirmed or denied by Lloyds at that time.

From the ICC in the Hague on December 19, Moreno Ocampo issued a statement that he did and does have information about the $9 billion. The unprosecutorial briefing of Rice and Wolff described in the cable may cause Moreno Ocampo some problems at the ICC.

But in light of his December 18 statement, on top of the cable, Ambassador Rice and those above her may wish to provide some further explanation. Watch this site.

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

Other, earlier Inner City Press are listed here, and some are available in the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.

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