On
Syria,
Saudi-Sponsored
Jarba Given 20
Minutes in
ECOSOC by
France
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
September 26
-- Dubious
Syria rebel
boss Ahmad al
Jarba will
speak for
fifteen and
then five
minutes in the
UN Economic
and Social
Council
chamber later
today,
according to
an event
schedule sent
by
the French
Mission to the
UN to some UN
journalists
(but not, we
note, Inner
City Press.)
The
timing is
strange, as
more than a
dozen groups
in Syria
actually
fighting the
Assad
government
have disavowed
Jarba and said
he has no
support.
Jarba
has twice this
week tried to
hold a faux
"UN briefing"
sponsored by
the similarly
dubious UN
Correspondents
Association,
whose board is
dominated by
Gulf and
Western media
favoring the
installation
of Jarba in
Damascus.
This was
challenged by
the new
Free
UN Coalition
for Access,
@FUNCA_info.
It was
postponed from
September 24
to
25, then
canceled on
September 25.
But
now, with no
media stakeout
or questions
allowed, Jarba
will hold
forth at a
"Group of
Friends of
Syrian people"
meeting "in
the honour of
the President
of the
National
Coalition of
Syrian
Revolution and
Opposition
Forces Mr.
Ahmad Al-Assi
Al-Jarba,"
for an entire
fifteen
minutes, then
five at the
end.
France's
Laurent
Fabius gets
five minutes
then closing
remarks. Given
three
minutes each,
are Australia,
Denmark,
Egypt,
Germany,
Italy, Japan,
Jordan,
Sweden,
Turkey, United
Arab Emirates,
United
Kingdom,
United
States of
America, Qatar
and Saudi
Arabia.
With
Friends like
that...
Particularly
the later two,
there are
serious
questions how
they are
impacting the
Syrian people.
Watch this
site.
, 
