UNITED
NATIONS, May 6
-- Does the UN
even want to
know if
chemical
weapons
have been used
in Syria, and
if so, who
used them?
At
Monday's UN
noon briefing,
Inner City
Press asked
Secretary
General
Ban Ki-moon's
spokesperson
Martin Nesirky
if Ban's
prober Ake
Sellstrom
would at least
look at the
evidence UN
Human Rights
Council
appointee
Carla Del
Ponte cited
over the
weekend, from
"victims,
doctors and
field
hospitals" in
neighboring
countries, as
offering
strong
suspicions of
the use of
sarin gas by
the Syrian
opposition,
not the
government.
At
noon,
Nesirky told Inner
City Press, "
I would simply
refer you
to what the
Commission of
Inquiry said
in its press
release,"
which he
summarized as
"clarifying
that it has
not reached
conclusive
findings about
the use of
chemical
weapons in
Syria by any
parties to the
conflict. And,
as a result,
the Commission
said it is
not in a
position to
further
comment on the
allegations at
this
time."
As
Inner City
Press wrote
later on
Monday, it's
one thing for
this UN
"Independent
International
Commission of
Inquiry" to
not
have public
comment --
but shouldn't
two arms of
the UN, the
Commission and
Sellstrom's
team, as least
share
evidence?
After
that was published,
and Inner City
Press reported
further on it
on for
example
Pacifica's
KPFA radio
station in San
Francisco,
this came in:
Subject:
Your
question on
the chemical
weapons
investigation
From: UN
Spokesperson -
Do Not Reply
[at] un.org
Date: Mon, May
6, 2013 at
8:28 PM
To:
Matthew.Lee
[at]
innercitypress.com
On
your question
on the
chemical
weapons
investigation:
Both
investigations
are
independent
and unrelated.
Mr.
Sellstrom is
conducting the
investigation
in accordance
with the
guidelines and
is making an
analysis of
all
information
which is made
available to
him.
Mr.
Sellstrom
reports to the
Secretary-General
and is not
authorized to
share any
information
with outside
entities.
Once
the
Secretary-General
receives the
report from
Mr. Sellstrom,
he will
report to all
Member States.
We
appreciate and
publish it.
But it sure
doesn't say
that Sellstrom
will consider
the evidence
his fellow UN
system prober
Del Ponte has
and cited to.
Last
week, Nesirky
told Inner
City Press
that Sellstrom
would be
willing
to look at
video footage
collected by
Russian state
TV reporter
Anastasia
Popova. Why
consider that,
and not
information
from another
UN system
body? SHOULD
these two
inquiries be
UNrelated?
Watch this
site.
, 
