At
UN,
As Syria
Lambasts Ban,
Talk of
Russian Answer
But No Speech,
Egypt PR Has
Conflict of
Interest?
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
March 2 --
Before the
Syria speech
of UN
Secretary
General
Ban Ki-moon on
Friday, in
front of the
General
Assembly Hall
Inner
City Press
asked entering
Ambassadors
for their
predictions
long and
short term.
Many
spoke
of a Security
Council
resolution
"floating" off
the
radar, on
which "the
Americans are
waiting to
hear back from
the
Russians after
the weekend,"
an insider
told Inner
City Press,
referring to
not only to
the Russian
elections but
also to a
National
Security
Council
meeting there.
Others filled
in blanks for
Inner City
Press in Kofi
Annan's
schedule,
beyond the
bilaterals
with Iran, the
UK and China
that Inner
City Press
staked out and
filmed.
Annan had
lunch with
three Arab
Permanent
Representatives
-- Morocco,
Saudi Arabia
and job-seeking
Egypt --
and the
"Qatari charge
d'affaires."
UN
Peacekeeping
chief Ladsous
"sat in but
said nothing,"
an attendee
said.
When
the
GA speeches
began the
European
Union, it
turned out,
did
not speak,
arguing that
"it's good
that the Arabs
be heard."
Saudi Arabia
had inscribed
itself earlier
in the day,
Egypt at the
last minute.
Finally Iran's
Ambassador
arrived. He
commented to
Inner
City Press on
the previous
day's article
about his
meeting with
new
envoy Kofi
Annan,
then went in
and signed up
to speak. His
main
point, he
said, was that
for Annan to
have a change,
provocative
statements
have to stop.
After
Ban
read out his
speech, Syrian
Ambassador
Bashar
Ja'afari
delivered
a lengthy
rebuttal
lambasting
Ban. He began
by professing
friendship
and respect
for Ban, but
quickly called
him and his
speech blurry,
slanderous and
"virulent."
Ban
sat
there, with a
pinched look
on his face;
his spokesman
Martin
Nesirky
periodically
came to the
stakeout,
where other
than Inner
City Press
there was
practically no
media. Later a
TV crew from
Benin arrived
and
interviewed
Ja'afari, in
French.
Ja'afari
in front of GA
on March 2,
no-fly vote
not shown (c)
MRLee
Saudi
Arabia's
Permanent
Representative
said that
history will
judge those
who case
vetoes for
Syria in the
Security
Council.
On
his
way in,
Russia's
Permanent
Representative
Vitaly Churkin
had told
Inner City
Press he had a
strong speech
ready, if
needed. If so,
he
did not use
it.
As he left,
Inner City
Press asked
him about the
Saudi
statement that
history would
judge him.
"History will
judge
everyone,"
Churkin
replied and
left. China's
Deputy
Permanent
Representative
had the same
response, but
said it was
not
coordinated.
Egypt's
Permanent
Representative
Maged
Abdelaziz made
a point that
Syria had not
objected to
moves against
Libya in the
League of Arab
States. Inner
City Press
asked him
about it
afterward,
calling it
interesting.
"I
hope you use
it," he
replied.
But
Ja'afari
of Syria told
Inner City
Press it
wasn't true,
that Syria
had "made
reservations"
on a no-fly
zone over
Libya. He
noted, as the
Press has
before, that
Maged
Abdelaziz is
asking for a
job from Ban's
UN
Secretariat.
Some would
call it a
conflict of
interest.
Saudi
Arabia
invoked
Rwanda,
Srebrenica,
Kosovo and
Gaza. Ja'afari
replied
that it was
insulting to
compare Rwanda
to "Baba Amr,
a
neighborhood
we love." He
took invoked
Gaza.
Palestinian
Observer
Mansour was
present but
did not sign
up to speak.
Afterward
several
Permanent
Representatives
marveled to
Inner City
Press that
Ja'afari
had gone so
hard on Ban.
One surmised
it is because
Kofi Annan is
viewed as more
of a mediator,
and as "a
larger
figure," as
a Permanent
Representative
put it. Ban
will be cast
as the "puppet
of the West,
reading
speeches
written by
them."
One
comparison
inevitable at
least from
here: if Ban
Ki-moon is so
concerned
about human
rights and war
crimes, why
has he said
nothing
about having
on his Senior
Advisory Group
on
Peacekeeping
Operations
the Sri Lankan
General
Shavendra
Silva, whose
58th Division
is
depicted in
Ban's own
Panel of
Experts report
as engaged in
war
crimes?
Watch this
site.
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