By
Matthew
Russell Lee, Exclusive
UNITED
NATIONS, March
26, updated
-- While the
Security
Council met
behind closed
doors about
the Golan Heights,
Syrian
Permanent
Representative
Bashar
Ja'afari came
to speak to
the press.
Inner City
Press asked
Ja'afari about
Turkey's
shooting of a
Syrian plane,
and about a
Qatar
sponsored event
held in the UN
on March 21
(see below).
Ja'afari answered
about Al Nusra
shelling
Latakia, and
moments later
Inner City
Press was
exclusively
told of a
Russian proposal
on the
shelling.
Update:
past 6:30 pm,
Inner City
Press was
informed that
in response to
Russia's
proposal, the
briefing by
the OPCW's
Sigrid Kaag
"will be moved
up." We'll
see.
On the plane
shoot down,
Ja'afari said
on Saturday,
March 22 he
spoke with
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
chief of staff
Malcorra --
and with
Jeffrey
Feltman, then
in Kyiv.
Ja'afari told
Inner City
Press he has
asked UN
humanitarian
chief Valerie
Amos to be
sure to
include the
attacks on
"the
Armenians" in
Kassab in her
briefing to
the Council.
Also in
response,
Ja'afari said
that the Al
Nusra Front is
shelling
Latakia, where
chemical
weapons are
being taken
out of Syria.
Moments later
a Security
Council member
exclusively
told Inner
City Press
that Russia
has proposed a
statement on
this shelling
of Latakia.
On the March
21 event,
described
below,
Ja'afari told
Inner City
Press he
complained to
Malcorra, that
the UN is
being
"corrupted by
petro-dollars."
When
Qatar
sponsored an
event at the
UN on March 21
at which a
report on
torture in
Syria which
Qatar also
funded was
presented, it
was not listed
in the UN
Journal. Nor
was the event
broadcast on
the UNTV
Webcast.
Inner
City Press
heard about it
and asked the
UN's top two
spokespeople:
"there
is an event in
Conference
Room 4 right
now, sponsored
by Qatar,
which is no
listed in
today's UN
Journal, nor
is it on UN
Webcast
http://webtv.un.org/
but it appears
to be being
filmed. Please
explain the
legal status
of this
meeting, if
there are any
sponsored
beyond Qatar,
how it was
publicized and
if any request
to have it
webcast was
made. Thanks,
on deadline."
But no
answer was
provided.
Inner City
Press ran to
the event and
from the back
of a three
quarters empty
Conference
Room 4 asked
why the event
was so
stealth: not
in the UN
Journal, not
webcast.
The
Permanent
Representative
of Qatar
answered,
saying it was
a "special
event" to
which Qatar
had invited
(some) member
states and
groups, and
(some) media.
There is a UN
Media Alert,
but this event
was not put in
it.
Perhaps
it
was publicized
by the Gulf
& Western
United Nations
Correspondents
Association,
which has twice
hosted faux
"UN" events
by the Syrian
National
Coalition or
Syrian
Coalition. (In
both cases,
the Free
UN Coalition
for Access
suggested
that the SNC
hold its
events in the
UN briefing
room,
accessible to
all
journalists.)
Since
French
Ambassador
Gerard Araud,
the first
questioner
flanked by
representatives
of Saudi
Arabia and of
Turkey which
earlier in the
day banned
Twitter, has
spoken about
"fakes" and
others about
accountability,
Inner City
Press asked if
the groups Al
Nusra and
ISIS, and
those who fund
them such as
private
individuals in
Qatar alluded
to at the US
State
Department
briefing
earlier in the
day, could or
would be held
accountable.
The
SNC
representative
emphasized
what he called
links between
the Assad
regime and
ISIS, saying
it was too
easy to blame
the Gulf
countries.
Here's
from the March
21 US State
Department
briefing
transcript:
Question:
you
have concerns
about the
withdrawal of
the
ambassadors.
Do you also
have concerns
about the
reasons that
these
countries said
that they
withdrew their
ambassadors
from Qatar? In
other words,
do you – if
you have
concerns about
the withdrawal
of the
ambassadors,
do you also
have concerns
about Qatar’s
behavior,
which –
alleged
behavior,
let’s say –
which led to
these
countries
withdrawing
their
ambassadors?
MS.
PSAKI: Well, I
know one of
the issues
that has been
mentioned is
the issue of
private
donations to
extremists –
and that’s
something that
some have
mentioned –
operating in
Syria and
elsewhere. It
remains an
important
priority in
our high-level
discussions,
and one that
we also
certainly
raise with all
states in the
region,
including
Qatar,
including the
Government of
Kuwait,
wherever we
have concerns.
After
Inner City
Press asked
about the
sponsorship of
the event, a
one-page
"Joint
Statement by
the
Co-Organizers"
was passed
out, listing
among the
co-organizers
France, the
UK, US,
Belgium, the
Netherlands,
Saudi Arabia
and Turkey.
Inner City
Press tweeted
it. Watch
this site.
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