At
UN
on Syria, Arab
League Report
Still Not In,
Germany
Says No
Precondition
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
January 26,
updated --
After a
morning in
which several
Western
members of the
Security
Council said
that the Arab
League would
brief
the Council on
Monday, when
consultations
broke up at
1:45 pm on
Thursday,
things were
not so clear.
Russia's
Permanent
Representative
Vitaly Churkin
stopped and
told the Press
that the
Arab League
monitoring
report annex
(which Inner
City Press first
reported on
yesterday,
here) has
still not been
received,
"even
in Arabic."
Once
it is,
Churkin said,
it must be
translated
into English
-- he said he
did
not demand
Russian -- and
given to
capitals. He
mentioned a
possible
briefing on
Tuesday. He
told Inner
City Press
that "General
Dabi," the
Sudanese chief
of the
monitoring
mission, will
be be
available but
that he
requested, and
no one
objected, that
if members
request it
Dabi come and
brief at some
later date.
Germany's
Deputy
Permanent
Representative
Miguel Berger
came out and
said that
having
the annex
"cannot be a
precondition"
for the
briefing.
He
said that Arab
League
Secretary
General Nabil
al-Arabi, and
the
Qatari
minister Hamad
bin Jassim
al-Thani, now
dubbed "HBJ"
by some
Council
diplomats,
would be able
to tell the
Council
everything
that is in the
report.
(c) UN Photo
UN SG,
PGA with HBJ:
Arab League
report not yet
shown
Berger
said Germany
would have
preferred
Monday --
which makes it
sound like
Tuesday at
latest.
Meanwhile some
say HBJ
arrives in New
York on
Saturday, so
that could
change. Watch
this site.
Update
of 4:10 pm --
Inner City
Press
is reliably
informed that
the ArabLeague
briefing of
the Council is
Tuesday
3pm,
regardless of
annex and
translation
(which will
"probably" be
done).
, 
