Inner City Press -- Investigative Reporting From the Inner City to Wall Street to the United Nations

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, July 27 -- A specter hung over the Germany end of Security Council presidency on Wednesday night, or perhaps three or four specters: Vuk Jeremic of Serbia, the dead Nubans of Southern Kordofan, a visiting North Korea minister and disputes in the Middle East including Israel, whose Permanent Representative Ron Prosor was in the house.

  The house in this instance was the German Ambassador's residence, off Fifth Avenue in the Seventies, with rooms large, even too large, one of the residents told Inner City Press.

  Prosor for his part opined that if Israel were to speak in favor of a Council resolution on Syria is would “just help the regime” of Bashar Assad.

  But why is the US letting the Council's European members take the lead on Syria? Good question, he said.

  US Ambassador Susan Rice was not present, as she has not been this week. Deputy Rosemary DiCarlo was there. The French, it seemed, dispensed not only with Permanent Representative Araud but also his deputy, leaving their political coordinator to represent La France.

  Araud was seen the night previous, closer to the UN at the farewell of an Asian permanent representative, furiously pitching the Elysee's position on the injury to six French peacekeepers in Lebanon, which resulted in statements from the UK and US Missions, Alain Juppe and at day's end the UN Security Council.

  It was hard not to note that in Darfur, for example, the death and injuries to UN peacekeepers from the Continent gives rises neither to a Council press statement nor a meeting.

  Meetings are political, of course. Take for example the request of Serbia, supported by Russia, for an open meeting on Kosovo's closing of the border. Western members said they needed more information, that an open meeting might just inflame. That this is the same argument they oppose when opposed to places like Ivory Coast did not seem to bother them.

Even after the decision that Thursday's session would be closed, Serbian Vuk Jeremic headed to New York from Beirut, and will meet with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday.

  Perhaps Vuk will get an open meeting in the Council Friday, depending on what the Secretariat says behind closed doors on Thursday. Some say the information will come from K-FOR. But if the UN is spending money on UNMIK in Kosovo, shouldn't it have its own information?

  While the German presidency is not over, already Ambassador Peter Wittig easily surpassed the number of press stakeouts of May's presidency, France, at only three.

  Wittig often did not substantially answer questions asked. But he stood and listened to them, and this reporter missed his stakeout about the Lord's Resistance Army - though only after Wittig merely circulated a press statement about the Central African Republic earlier in the month. Call it a draw, and hope that it's productive.

Wittig & his able spokesman at July's beginning, end not yet seen

  One point often made is that while "some delegations" at the beginning of July vowed there would be no outcome to the German's climate meeting, in fact there was one. One Deputy Permanent Representative Wednesday night took particular credit, perhaps not unfairly. Another E-10 delegation claimed credit for the Kosovo compromise and this was confirmed, though also criticized on timing.

  Earlier on Wednesday night, the Chinese mission was full of military men and women celebrating the People's Liberation Army. Many in attendance were just there for the food -- which was excellent, featuring duck and jellyfish -- but in the crowd stood Democratic People's Republic of Korea ambassador Sin Son Ho, eating dumpings and cherries and spring rolls.

 Inner City Press asked him when his Minister Kim's talks with the US will happen, and what he hoped from them. We'll see in the next two days, he answered, saying even he hadn't yet been told the list of US attendees. Stephen Bosworth? Human rights rep King? This too was a specter. Watch this site.