On
Syria,
UN Won't
Comment on
Kerry &
Senate Dissing
It,
Tautologies
Deployed
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
September 4 --
In its race
for relevance
on Syria, the
UN keeps
bobbing and
weaving, on
when its
chemical
weapons report
will be
finished, on
who limited it
scope.
On September 4
Inner City
Press asked
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
associate
spokesman
Farhan Haq (video here, embedded below)
Inner
City
Press: there
was a August
31st letter
from Syria and
I just wanted
to get your
position on
this; they say
that in March,
when they
first
requested the
Secretary-General
to investigate
Khan al-Asal
and the use of
chemical
weapons, it
was their
request that
the
investigation
actually
determine who
used them. And
so they are
saying that
the way it is
being cited
now that the
UN can’t and
won’t
determine who
used chemical
weapons in
Ghouta is...
not their
fault. I
wanted to
know, is their
presentation
of March
accurate,
according to
the UN, and
what do you
make of this
most recent
letter from
them?
Associate
Spokesperson
Haq: Well, the
Secretary-General
was asked
about the
decision
yesterday in
his press
briefing to
you, and he
made clear
that he had
taken the
decision to
determine
whether or not
chemical
weapons had
been used and
not who used
them. That is
in line with
previous such
investigations,
and in line
with the
procedures
being used by
the
investigators
themselves.
That's
called a
tautology: the
investigators'
procedures are
"in line" with
the procedures
they
themselves are
using.
In
the next
round, Inner
City Press
asked:
Inner
City
Press:
yesterday in
the Senate,
John Kerry was
asked about
the UN report
and he said
that it is his
understanding
it will be
ready in about
three weeks.
So I wanted to
know, is this
based on any
communication
he had with
the
Secretary-General?
Also, I am
sure you have
seen this
statement by
former
Secretary-General
Kofi Annan
that came out
today. On
behalf of the
Elders, he
seemed to be
saying that
Member States
should hold
off not only
on taking
action, but on
reaching
conclusions
until the UN
report is
done. Does the
Secretary-General
believe that?
In terms of
the statements
made yesterday
in the Senate
about what
people know
and taking a
vote as early
as later
today, does
the
Secretary-General
think that’s
useful or not
useful given
that the UN
report hasn’t
come out?
Associate
Spokesperson
Haq: Well, the
Secretary-General
wouldn’t have
any comment on
the timing of
domestic
legislative
processes, but
he has very
clearly called
for countries
to allow the
work of the
team to be
done. And
again, I just
refer you back
to what he
said
yesterday. And
regarding a
timeline, like
I said, the
Secretary-General
has been in
touch with Dr.
Sellström, we
put out some
notes about
his
conversations
in recent days
with Dr.
Sellström, and
he has urged
the team to do
as much as
they can to
expedite their
work while
keeping within
the scientific
procedures
that are
required.
Finally,
Inner
City Press on
behalf of the
new Free
UN Coalition
for Access
@FUNCA_info
asked why the
UN system's
daily noon
briefing was
canceled in
deference to a
press
"encounter" in
which Ban took
only two
pre-selected
questions:
Inner
City
Press: I and
some others
were left
unclear why
there was no
noon briefing
yesterday,
given that the
Secretary-General
didn’t speak
until 1 p.m.,
and took two
questions. It
seems like
there is a lot
of things
going on in
the world, so
can you
explain that?
Associate
Spokesperson:
Yeah, it is a
very simple
explanation.
The
Secretary-General…
when the
Secretary-General
briefs the
press, we
don’t have a
noon briefing.
You have had,
by the way,
extra noon
briefings on
Saturday and
Sunday, so I
hope you are
duly
appreciative.
[laughter]
Inner
City
Press: it’s
not the number
of briefings,
it has to do
with, the UN
has billion
dollar
peacekeeping
missions in
Sudan, Congo,
issues in
Haiti, like
you should be
able to…
Associate
Spokesperson:
But, Matthew,
we answer
questions all
day and you
e-mailed us
several
questions
which we’ve
been trying to
answer since
then.
Question:
Well, here’s a
question that
you didn’t
answer, and I
mean, I wanna
ask it.
So:
why did the UN
cancel its
briefing?
Becuase it
did: "when the
Secretary-General
briefs the
press, we
don’t have a
noon
briefing."
That's called
a tautology.
Watch this
site.
, 
