Now UN
Says Video of
Syria Rebels'
Chemical
Weapons Use
Went to
Sellstrom
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, June
4 -- The day
after video
footage
depicting
Syria
rebels' use of
chemical
weapons
was described
dismissively
to Inner
City Press by
UN official
Angela Kane,
UN spokesman
Martin Nesirky
insisted it
had
nonetheless
been given to
prober Ake
Sellstrom.
Then,
despite Kane's
comments being
in the UN
briefing room
after her
colleague said
to ask her any
pressing
questions,
Nesirky
reproached
Inner City
Press for
recording
without
telling Kane.
Is that
necessary, in
a press
briefing room?
From the UN's
June 4
transcript:
Inner
City Press:
your office on
May 23rd said
that
information
provided by
the journalist
Anastasia
Popova had
been received
by the High
Representative,
and was being
converted into
a usable
format and
being sent to
Mr. Sellström.
And then,
yesterday,
speaking to
Ms.
[Angela] Kane,
she said there
was some
problems with
the material,
that it was
much shorter
than she
thought it
would be, it
seemed to
me that it
hadn’t been
given to Mr.
Sellström. Do
you, are you
aware whether
it has been or
not and is
there a way to
find out
whether, and
if not, why
not?
Spokesperson
Nesirky:
There is a way
to find out,
Matthew; the
footage of
alleged
chemical
weapons use
that was
provided by
Anastasia
Popova has
been
passed on to
the head of
the mission,
Mr. Åke
Sellström.
And, as I
have said, he
continues to
conduct the
mission’s work
outside of
Syria, and to
analyse all
information
made available
to it.
Question:
Her colleague
who was with
her yesterday
said that they
tried, but
technically it
wasn’t
feasible;
maybe they,
that he just
mean he
couldn’t, they
couldn’t make
it as good as
they--
Spokesperson
Nesirky:
Well, maybe
you could go
back and look
at the footage
that
you’ve
recorded on
camera without
actually
telling Ms.
Kane. What’s
your next
question?
Inner
City Press:
...Sure, I do
have another
question. But
since you
brought this
filming thing,
I just wanna
make it clear,
it took place
here in the
briefing room,
and I was told
that, if you
have a
pressing
question, ask
her; so, I, I
don’t think
there was any,
should be any
surprise that
you might be
filmed in the
briefing room
answering a
question.
So
why is the UN
so defensive?
Inner
City Press on
June 3 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."
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.
And those
some were
again circling
on June 4.
Watch this
site.
, 
