At
UN,
Syria Briefing
Likely Jan 10,
No Comment on
Dead Syrian
Journalist
By
Matthew
Russell Lee,
Exclusive
UNITED
NATIONS,
January 3,
updated -- As
South Africa
on Tuesday
fully took
over the
presidency of
the UN
Security
Council and
met with other
Council
members,
requests were
made for a
Council
briefing on
Syria.
By
Tuesday
afternoon,
Inner City
Press learned
from a country
not
pushing for it
that a
briefing on
the topic will
"most
probably"
take place on
December 10,
by the UN
Department of
Political
Affairs,
led by Lynn
Pascoe of the
US.
This
country
argued, as
have others,
that the
Council should
wait for the
outcome
of the
much-questioned
Arab League
mission to the
country.
In
response to
questions from
Inner City
Press over
the holiday,
the
Office of the
Spokesperson
for Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon
declined
to comment on
the killing of
citizen
journalist Basil
al-Sayed in Homs,
and on the
fact that the
Arab League
team is headed
by a Sudanese
military
figure active
in the war
crimes zone of
Darfur.
Rather,
Ban's
office replied
that
On
Syria:
The Arab
League efforts
to stop the
bloodshed and
facilitate a
peaceful
solution to
the crisis in
Syria that
will address
the
democratic
aspirations of
the people are
important. As
we have said,
we welcome the
arrival in
Syria of the
advance team
of the Arab
League
observers, and
look forward
to the
deployment of
the
full-scale
observer
mission
which
is the first
of its kind
undertaken by
the League of
Arab States.
It is
critical that
the observer
mission be
given
unhindered
access and
full
cooperation by
the Government
of Syria, and
that its
independence
and
impartiality
be fully
preserved. We
look forward
to
hearing more
from the
mission. We
hope that the
League of Arab
States, under
the able
stewardship of
its
Secretary-General
and its
membership,
will take all
steps possible
to ensure that
its observer
mission will
be able to
fulfil its
mandate in
accordance
with
international
human rights
law standards.
On
Syrian
journalist: We
are checking
for more
specifics on
this. If we
have more
we'll let you
know.
Since
then, Ban's
office has
said nothing
about the dead
journalist,
nor the
appropriateness
of the Arab
League team's
leadership.
(c) UN Photo
Ban and Assad,
killed Syrian
citizen
journalist not
shown
Likewise,
when
Inner City
Press asked in
writing then
in-person on
January 3
about
Egyptian
authorities'
raiding NGO
offices, Ban's
spokesman
Martin
Nesirky,
saying he was
"carefully"
choosing his
words,
emphasized
that Egypt is
in transition.
Why
so careful?
Some say it is
a response to
Russia's
complaints
about Ban
taking
sides by
claiming that
Security
Council
resolution
1973 in Libya
was
fully complied
with, despite
even the New
York Times
counting as
least 50
civilians
killed by NATO
bombing. So
now Ban sways
the other
way. But what
will Pascoe
say?
While
even a
country not
favoring the
Syria briefing
says it will
happen "most
probably" on
January 10,
the issue will
still have to
come up in
Council
consultations
to be
formalized.
Thus, when
Inner City
Press asked
French
Permanent
Representative
Gerard Araud
when he
emerged,
"Syria
briefing on
the tenth?" he
said, "Not
yet." But even
a country not
favoring the
briefing says
it is "most
probably"
January 10.
Watch this
site.
Update
of 6 pm
-- Inner City
Press is
informed that
the Syria
briefing, by
Lynn Pascoe,
will be on the
morning of
January 10,
under the
heading "DPA
Briefing." On
the Council's
Libya meeting
this month,
there are
moves afoot to
get High
Commissioner
for Human
Rights Navi
Pillay, and
"maybe Gebril"
/ Jibril.
Watch this
site.
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