UN
Says Video of
Syria Rebels'
Chemical
Weapons Use
Was Too
Short, Tells
ICP "We
Never Managed"
By
Matthew
Russell Lee,
Exclusive
UNITED
NATIONS, June
3 -- Of
footage of
chemical
weapons use by
Syrian rebels
which the UN ten days
ago said
was being
"converted
into a usable
format, and it
is being sent
to the Head of
the Team, Ake
Sellstrom,"
the UN on June
3 told Inner
City Press "we
never managed,
technically."
This
either seems
like news that
should have
been
announced, or
the UN's May
23 statement
should have
been
retracted,
that "on
material
shared by
Anastasia
Popova... the
High
Representative's
Office has
received the
material and
are converting
it into a
usable format,
and it is
being sent to
the Head of
the Team, Ake
Sellstrom."
At the
June
3 press
conference
featuring UN
High
Representative
on Disarmament
Angela Kane,
the moderator
said that
pressing
questions
could be asked
afterward to
the panelists.
Inner City
Press waited
and asked Kane
about the
footage
provided by
Russian state
TV reporter
Anastasia
Popova. Video
here and
embedded
below.
Kane
said "it's
like two
seconds each
picture." The
UN official
with her
added, "we
tried to make
it as
documentary...
we never
managed,
technically."
Inner
City Press
cited back to
the UN's May
23 statement.
Kane said, "I
had nothing to
do with the
response." She
added that
Sellstrom,
Ban's chemical
weapons
prober, has
"received a
number" of
submissions.
Her
colleague said
Popova's was
"dozens of
very short
clips." It
seems clear
that either
what Popova
submitted has
NOT been given
to Sellstrom,
or if so it is
not being
taken
seriously.
Inner
City Press wrote the
story, and
on May 1 asked
UN Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
spokesperson
Martin Nesirky
if Ban's
prober Ake
Sellstrom
would be
willing to
look at
Popova's
evidence. Yes,
Nesirky said,
to
the surprise
of some.
, 
