At
UN
on Syria,
BRICS "Winning
Plan" Says
"Don't Dictate
Outcome," Mid
East Debate
By
Matthew
Russell Lee,
Exclusive
UNITED
NATIONS,
January 24 --
As countries
like Saudi
Arabia and
Qatar met
with experts
from some
Security
Council
members about
Syria Tuesday
afternoon,
inside the
Council suite
of rooms the
Permanent
Representatives
of China,
Russia, India
and Brazil
held a
counter-meeting.
Afterward
Inner
City Press
asked India's
ambassador
Hardeep Singh
Puri about the
meeting. He
told Inner
City Press,
"If you talk
of things like
political
process,
inclusion,
trying to
solve the
problem, that
part
is OK.
"But
you can't
write what you
think should
be the outcome
should be as
the starting
point here,
'we'll have a
political
process
but you must
first step
down.' The
Security
Council is not
meant to
rubber stamp,
you can't say
'you step
aside and then
we'll see.'"
Inner
City Press
asked Russian
ambassador
Vitaly Churkin
if BRICS had
come up with a
game plan. "We
have a winning
plan," he said
with a broad
smile. Some
wonder,
winning for
whom? But the
same was asked
about
Libya.
Other sources
opined to
Inner City
Press that
"the problem
BRICS have is
if they adopt
the Arab
League, it's
toward
sanctions,"
and noted "the
Arab League is
split,"
pointing at
Egypt's Middle
East speech,
in name of the
Non Aligned
Movement (in
which for
example North
Korea joined.)
Earlier,
Hardeep
Singh Puri
said that a
problem with
the draft that
got vetoed on
October 3 was
the reference
to "Article
41, breaking
diplomatic
relations." He
said, "we see
these things,
you have to
read
closely." Yes,
you do.
(c) UN Photo
Hardeep
Singh Puri,
Churkin &
Maria
Luiza Ribeiro
Viotti,
previously,
BRI
Meanwhile
inside the
Security
Council
chamber, the
main topic of
Tuesday's
daylong debate
was Palestine.
Inner City
Press asked
Palestinian
Permanent
Observer Riyad
Mansour about
the US
Republican
Party debates.
He replied, of
Newt Gingrich,
"he says we
don't
exist? There
are pictures
of him with...
Arafat." And
Inner City
Press quickly
found and tweeted
one, here.
At the
stakeout,
Inner City
Press asked
Israel's
Permanent
Representative
Prosor about
Mansour's
statement that
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon would
travel to
Ramallah
in connection
with his trip
to the African
Union. Prosor
said he'd
leave it up to
Ban's office
to answer, but
that it would
be a useful
trip,
referring to
rocket shot
into Israel
from Gaza.
We'll see.
Beyond
the
Palestine
issue many
speakers
addressed
Syria. Leaving
the Council
chamber late
in the
afternoon
accompanied by
Sri Lankan
ambassador
Palitha
Kohona, Syrian
Permanent
Representative
Bashar
Ja'afari told
Inner City
Press he would
be back for
"right to
reply."
A
Council expert
later told
Inner City
Press that "in
the Security
Council there
is no right to
reply."
End:
there's
something
called further
statement, but
Ja'afari
didn't come
back, and the
debate, such
as it was,
ended at 6:28
pm. Fin.
, 
