On
Syria,
Annan Says
Assad Has
Accepted 6
Point Plan,
with No Word
on
Opposition or
from Ban
Ki-moon
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
March 27,
updated --
From Beijing
Kofi Annan's
spokesman sent
an
e-mail to the
Press just
after 6 am New
York time:
"The Syrian
government has
written to the
Joint Special
Envoy Kofi
Annan
accepting his
six point
plan." Full
e-mail below.
But
what would
this
"accepting"
mean? There
was no
announcement
that any
part of the
Syrian
opposition had
accepted
Annan's plan.
If for
example
another car
bomb were to
go off in
Damascus or
Aleppo, could
Assad claim
that he had
tried but the
opposition
hadn't?
Assad's
first
written
response to
Annan, which
Inner City
Press obtained
and put
online,
set a number
of conditions
for moving
forward,
including the
opposition
stopping, and
neighboring
countries
stopping
saying they
would arm the
opposition.
Now,
the Free
Syrian Army
has given up
urban
territory it
controlled.
What role does
that play in
Assad's
new position?
On
March 26,
Annan's
spokesman
Fawzi had
e-mailed the
press just
before noon
that
"The
Syrian
Government has
formally
responded to
the Joint
Special Envoy
for Syria,
Kofi Annan's
6-point plan,
as endorsed by
the UN
Security
Council. Mr.
Annan is
studying it
and will
respond very
shortly."
At
the UN noon
briefing,
Inner City
Press asked
the deputy
spokesman of
Ban Ki-moon,
Annan's
successor as
Secretary
General, if
Annan would
consult Ban
before
responding:
Inner
City
Press: on the
statement you
just have from
the Spokesman
for the
Joint Special
Envoy, without
obviously
getting into
what the
response
of Syria is,
it says he’s
gotten it and
he is going to
respond to
it. Before he
responds to
it, does he
check with the
Secretary-General
and with Nabil
Elaraby of the
League of Arab
States, or is
his response
to it entirely
up to him?
Deputy
Spokesperson
Del Buey:
Well, our
Secretary-General
is in regular
and
constant
contact with
Mr. Annan, so
I would
imagine that
Mr. Annan
will be
discussing
this with the
Secretary-General
and will be
raising his
observations
and what he
may plan to
say.
Question:
Sure, what I
am asking is
the process
for Kofi Annan
to check with
the two
Secretary-Generals
and then
respond, or
does he
respond and
then tell them
how he
responded?
Deputy
Spokesperson:
Well he has
been appointed
by both
Secretaries-General,
and he is in
constant
communication
with them,
so I imagine
the
conversation
is ongoing.
This
process is
important:
does "Joint
Special Envoy"
Annan confer
with the
UN's Ban and
Arab League
before
responding, or
not? Ban's
spokesman
should not be
"imagining"
how it works.
What
we know of
Ban's last 60
hours in Seoul
is that he has
spoken with
the leaders
of Gabon,
Turkey,
Australia,
Finland,
Ukraine and at
most length
South Korea.
In
front of the
Security
Council in New
York on
Monday, Inner
City Press
asked if Ban
will meet with
Russia's
President who
is in Seoul,
and who has
met
with US
President
Barack Obama.
No, the answer
came.
So
Kofi Annan met
with Russia,
but Ban did
not. And where
is Ban now,
after Annan
has made his
response?
Watch this
site.
Annan's
spokesman's
announcement:
Subject:
URGENT:
SYRIA ACCEPTS
ANNAN
SIX-POINT PLAN
From: Ahmad
Fawzi
Date:
Tue, Mar 27,
2012 at 6:09
AM
To: Matthew
Russell Lee
[at]
InnerCityPress.com
Statement
attributable
to the
Spokesman for
the
Joint
Special
Envoy for
Syria Kofi
Annan
The
Syrian
government has
written to the
Joint Special
Envoy Kofi
Annan
accepting his
six point
plan, endorsed
by the United
Nations
Security
Council. Mr
Annan has
written to
President
Assad urging
the Syrian
government to
put its
commitments
into immediate
effect.
Mr
Annan
views this as
an important
initial step
that could
bring an end
to the
violence and
the bloodshed,
provide aid to
the suffering,
and
create an
environment
conducive to a
political
dialogue that
would
fulfil the
legitimate
aspirations of
the Syrian
people.
Mr
Annan
has stressed
that
implementation
will be key,
not only for
the
Syrian people,
who are caught
in the middle
of this
tragedy, but
also
for the region
and the
international
community as a
whole. As the
Syrian
government
acts on its
commitments,
Mr Annan will
move
urgently to
work with all
parties to
secure
implementation
of the
plan at all
levels.
The
Joint
Special Envoy
expresses his
appreciation
for the wide
backing
he has
received for
his mediation
efforts, and
appeals to key
countries to
support this
development
and help
ensure its
effective
implementation.
Beijing,
27
March 2012
Ahmad Fawzi,
Spokesman for
the Joint
Special Envoy
Update:
after
publication of
the above, Ban
Ki-moon's
spokesperson's
office sent
out an e-mail,
merely
forwarding
Fawzi's
announcement.
What does Ban
think? Was he
even
consulted?
Watch this
site.
, 
