After
Syria Vote,
Dodging on
Ahtisaari
&
Water-Down,
Stonewall on
Annan's Team
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
August 3, updated
-- After the
watered down
Saudi
resolution on
Syria was
adopted by the
UN General
Assembly with
133 in favor,
31 abstaining
and 12
against, Inner
City Press put
the same two
questions to
the Permanent
Representatives
of the UK,
France, Saudi
Arabia and
Syria.
The
first question
concerned why
the resolution
was watered
down to drop
explicit
references to
Assad stepping
down and
urging states
to join in the
Arab League
sanctions on
Syria.
The second
question,
uniformly
dodged, was
for comment on
the
possibility of
Maarti
Ahtisaari
replacing Kofi
Annan as Syria
envoy.
As Inner City
Press tweeted
early Friday
morning, given
Russia's
position on
Ahtisaari's
Kosovo work,
he seems
unlikely.
Update:
And
Friday at 3:25
pm, Inner City
Press asked
Russian
Ambassador
Vitaly Churkin
of Ahtisaari
as envoy to
Syria. "No,
no. He is in
deep
retirment,"
Churkin
exclusively
told Inner
City Press.
UK
Ambassador
Mark Lyall
Grant
acknowledged
that changes
were made, but
also said that
the resolution
was not
intended to be
balanced,
because the
action on the
ground is not
balanced. He
said, "in
response to
the comments
that had been
made
on their
initial draft
that it was
better to make
some
amendments.
And I think
that the
result today
proves that to
have been
correct
judgement
because 133
votes in favor
is a colossal
majority."
He would not
comment on
Ahtisaari: "I'm
not going to
comment on
possible
successors."
Transcript
below.
French
Ambassador
Araud argued
that the
resolution
STILL calls
for Assad to
step down,
because it
"welcomes" the
Arab League's
decision which
call for just
that.
Saudi
Arabia's
Permanent
Representative
said that the
resolution,
even as
changed, still
"meets the
requirements"
of the Arab
League. He
said he
wouldn't
comment on the
process for
choosing Kofi
Annan's
replacement
"at this
stage."
Syria's
Bashar
Ja'afari
insisted, as
Araud did,
that the
resolution
still calls
for regime
change. He
said Saudi
Arabia is
hypocritical
for urging
others to join
Arab League
sanctions
while voting
each year for
a resolution
against
unilateral
sanctions.
In the
GA before the
vote, the
Qatari
President of
the GA started
by saying the
resolution was
available in
the Hall, an
attempt to
cure having
posted a link
to, and
emailed out,
the wrong
draft, which
included the
explicit calls
for sanctions
and for Assad
to step down.
At the
noon briefing,
Secretariat
spokesman
Martin Nesirky
declined to
explain how
this had
happened,
telling Inner
City Press
maybe it
thought it was
always
perfect, but
the UN admits
its mistakes.
No,
Inner City
Press is NOT
perfect. And when
will the UN
finally admit
it introduced
cholera to
Haiti?
In his
GA speech, Ban
Ki-moon
thanked Kofi
Annan "and his
team." Inner
City Press
missed
speeches to
run to the
noon briefing
to ask, for
the second day
in a row, if
from Annan's
team Messrs.
Al Kidwa,
Fawzi and
Griffiths
would all be
leaving.
Nesirky
claimed
he answered
the question
on August 2 --
if he did, it
wasn't
understood, if
these
individuals
will stay on
with Maarti
Ahtisaari or
whomever --
then turned
away from
Inner City
Press' follow
up.
Click
here for the
August 2 UN
transcript,
which even
though it
calls Inner
City Press'
detailed
questions
"inaudible,"
has Nesirky
replying,
"I've already
answered that
point and I
said very
clearly that
the work of
the Office of
the Joint
Special Envoy
continues."
But with the
same people
other than
Annan? With
Fawzi and
Kidwa? Of
Griffiths
we'll have
more.
In
introducing
the
resolution,
the Saudi Perm
Rep said Annan
quit because
he felt
"impotent."
Later, Syria's
Ja'afari would
say that Saudi
Arabia, Qatar
and Turkey
arming the
rebels forced
Annan to quit.
Iran
also took this
tack, blaming
Annan quitting
on those
Security
Council
members who
said they'd
act outside of
Council
process.
Ecuador
said
the resolution
seeks to
change the
mandate of the
Special Envoy
to please some
states, and
ended up
abstaining, as
did both India
and Pakistan.
Serbia voted
yes, perhaps
the product of
the new
government.
Saint
Vincent and
the
Grenadines'
Permanent
Representative,
who also
abstained,
noted a small
but vibrant
Syrian &
Lebanese
community
there. One wag
later
characterized
this as a call
for tourism or
refugees. And
so it goes at
the UN.
From
the UK
Mission's
transcript:
Inner
City Press:
What should we
make of the
drafting for
the draft, the
call to joint
sanctions of
the Arab
League and
that Assad
should step
down? And
also, if
you’re willing
to, what would
the UK think
of
Martti
Ahtisaari as a
possible
replacement as
Joint Envoy?
Do you
think he has
the toolsets
to possibly do
the 'Mission
Impossible'?
Amb.
Lyall Grant:
"I'm not going
to comment on
possible
successors.
That is up to
the UN
Secretary-General
together with
the
Secretary-General
of the Arab
League to
decide. And I
know they are
discussing it
between them
as we speak.
"In
terms of the
draft, this
was an Arab
League draft.
It went
through a
number of
changes in the
drafting
process as a
result of
consultations
with different
groups and
individuals in
the United
Nations. And
they felt in
response to
the comments
that had been
made
on their
initial draft
that it was
better to make
some
amendments.
And I think
that the
result today
proves that to
have been
correct
judgement
because 133
votes in favor
is a colossal
majority."
, 
