Post
Kofi, Spin on
UN Mission
& Aleppo
Killings,
Ladsous Drops
Hammer?
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
August 2 -- In
the wake of
Kofi Annan
quitting as
Syria envoy, a
spin war broke
out between
members of the
Security
Council.
Despite
scheduling an
August
16
meeting to
consider
extending the
UN Mission in
Syria, Council
president
Gerard Araud
of France said
only one
mandate will
be extended
this month:
UNIFIL in
Lebanon.
Then on his
way into the 3
pm briefing by
the fourth
French head of
UN
Peacekeeping
in a row,
Herve Ladsous,
Russian
Permanent
Representative
Vitaly Churkin
chided Araud
for declaring
UNSMIS dead
even before
the meeting or
Ladsous'
report.
But perhaps
Araud knows
(or dictates)
the content of
Ladsous'
reports, one
stakeout wag
snarked,
predicting
that Ladsous
will drop the
hammer on the
mission,
saying to kill
it off.
Sources tell
Inner City
Press of a
DPKO plan to
reduce to as
little as 20
personnel, not
from Troop
Contributing
Countries but
the UN's own
Department of
Safety and
Security.
Indian
Permanent
Representative
Hardeep Singh
Puri told the
press that the
international
must do
something
about Syria,
even if UNSMIS
ends on August
20. (Araud
uses August 19
at the
date.)
One idea
floated is the
use of drones
or aerial
surveillance.
Ladsous, as
Inner City
Press first
reported, has
proposed that
his UN
Department use
drones, in the
C-34 Committee.
Once reported,
Ladsous called
it innuendo,
and now
refuses to
answer any
questions
from Inner
City Press.
But what would
be the
safeguards?
Who would get
the
information?
Araud in
describing the
upcoming
month's
Program of
Work referred
dismissively
to the debate
on Kosovo as a
"ritual."
This may bring
him into
conflict with
the next
president of
the General
Assembly, Vuk
Jeremic of
Serbia, who is
reportedly
facing push
back in
Belgrade for
his $7 million
PGA budget
request. Click
here for
Inner City
Press' previous
coverage of
this.
Meanwhile the
current Qatari
President of
the General
Assembly put
out a
statement
"understanding"
Annan's
quitting, and
citing the
actions only
of the Syrian
government, as
if the Qatar
(and Saudi)
armed rebels
can do no
wrong at all.
A video has
emerged of the
rebels
summarily
executing
prisoners in
Aleppo. But
this did not
make it into
the Qatari
PGA's
statement.
Like we said:
spin wars.
Meanwhile yet
more detail on
how and why
the Saudi
Arabia drafted
General
Assembly
resolution was
amended has
emerged.
Multiple
sources tell
Inner City
Press that
after Saudi
Arabia on July
31 presented a
draft General
Assembly
resolution on
Syria urging
sanctions and
Bashar al
Assad to step
down, it was
pressured by
among others
Egypt, the UK
and France to
drop those
elements to
gain a higher
vote count.
Not only the
opposition by
BRICSA --
Brazil,
Russia, India,
China and
South Africa
-- on which
Inner City
Press first
reported was
determinative:
the position
of, for
example,
Argentina
carried
weight.
If even the
Argentines
oppose it, an
involved
source told
Inner City
Press, we had
to change it.
And so not
only a major
Western
country, but
also Egypt,
told Saudi
Arabia they
might get only
70 votes for
their
draft.
One particpant
actually
thought 85 to
90 votes were
possible. But
"moving" Saudi
Arabia was the
key. And Saudi
moved.
Most
interesting,
the sources
tell Inner
City Press,
was the
position of
the United
States. Unlike
the UK and
France, the US
was not
pushing as
hard to take
out the
references to
sanctions and
Assad stepping
down. It was
speculated, as
one sources
put it, that
this was
because "what
if the Romney
camp found out
the US wanted
these out?"
The prospect
of US support
for keeping
these elements
in made Saudi
Arabia take
longer to
agree to make
the
amendments,
but finally
they
did.
Now, the
proponent
sources told
Inner City
Press they
predict a vote
count of 110,
while
internally
hoping for
125.
The draft,
which Inner
City Press
obtained from
a well placed
member state
after 5 pm on
August 1, is
now set for
voting August
3 at 11 am.
Inner City
Press is
putting the
draft online
here.
Most
contentious in
the previous
draft,
opponents
said, was the
last
perambular
paragraph
"welcoming
the
relevant
League of Arab
States’
decisions,
including its
22 July 2012
resolution, in
particular its
appeal to the
Syrian
President to
step down from
power."
Now that language
is gone. An
opponent late
Wednesday
exclusive also
told Inner
City Press,
they're afraid
of us. They'd
also pointed
to operative
paragraphs 20
and 21, which
called on
countries to
adopt
sanctions like
the Arab
League. That
too is gone.
For now still
in
however is
Paragraph 20, which
a non-BRICSA
diplomat told
Inner City
Press, is
"disrespectful"
to Kofi Annan,
directing him
to "focus his
efforts."
With Kofi
having quit,
will that
paragraph
change? Watch
this site.
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