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Despite Condi Rice Memo, UN's Nimetz Claims to Act
Alone, Name Issue Arms Congo
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of
Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED NATIONS,
October 29 -- What does the UN
Secretariat do when leaked documents published in a country to which it
has
sent a mediator present that mediator as operating in league with a
major and
interested power? On Wednesday, Inner City Press asked Ban Ki-moon's
Deputy
Spokesperson to comment on a widely-discussed media report which
included a
U.S. State Department memo about a proposed end to the Former
Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia name issue, a proposal strikingly similar to that of
Ban's envoy
Matthew Nimetz. The Deputy Spokesperson said, "I am not aware of those
media reports."
Moments
later, one of her colleagues e-mailed to Inner City Press a two
paragraph
response:
"Mr. Nimetz has decided to
offer an on-the-record response. The following response is attributable
directly to him.
'In
response to your various requests for clarification about my role, let
me
respond by stating that I have followed the same protocol over the
years since
1999, and this follows the methodology used by Secretary Vance who
preceded me
as UN mediator in the "name" discussions. I
prepare the material I present to the
Parties solely by myself (occasionally with technical support from the
UN's
professional staff) and I neither send copies nor discuss the content
with
anyone else. I normally prepare the
papers on my own computer and print and deliver the papers personally
to the
Representatives.
Nimetz earlier this month, bandage not
explained, outside instructions not shown
'As
to discussions with third parties, I have always been available to
discuss the
general issue of the negotiations with representatives of Member
States, as was
the case with Secretary Vance when he performed this role. The 'name'
issue is
of broad international interest and affects all Governments concerned
about the
region and about their relationships with the two Parties.
Over the years a number of Governments have
asked to discuss the status of the negotiations with me, and I believe
it is
proper, and important, to keep the international community generally
informed.
However these discussions are intended to help other Governments
understand the
situation, and I am not influenced by the views of any particular
Government,
and no Government has ever attempted to influence the ideas that I
present to
the Parties or the course of the discussions.
I hope this clarifies the situation.'
M.Nimetz"
A person
who has seen both Nimitz' proposal and the State Department memo, in
full,
tells Inner City Press they are nearly identical, and clearly related.
Other UN
envoys, such as Terje Roed Larsen, are viewed as not impartial. And
what does
the UN system do?
Footnote: beyond
the "name issue"
appearing in exchange for votes for the five open Security Council
seats
earlier this month, now it is reported that "senior
sources in Congo’s Foreign Ministry have said that Athens has offered
100
tanks, 1000 mine throwers and some airplanes, which the Greek Armed
Forces want
to get rid of, in exchange for Congo’s changing its decision to use
Macedonia’s
constitutional name. Greece has offered some of the weapons for free,
while the
rest – at very low prices." A hundred tanks in Congo-Brazzaville is a
bit
much. Mine throwers, or even flame throwers, could do the trick. But
what's
that, about an arms trade treaty?
Sources say
there may be some other name game flip-floppers in Latin America in the
near
future.
Watch this site, and this Oct. 2 debate, on
UN, bailout, MDGs
and this October 17 debate, on
Security Council and Obama and the UN.
* * *
These
reports are
usually also available through Google
News and on Lexis-Nexis.
Click
here
for a Reuters
AlertNet piece by this correspondent
about Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army. Click
here
for an earlier Reuters AlertNet piece about the Somali
National
Reconciliation Congress, and the UN's $200,000 contribution from an
undefined trust fund. Video
Analysis here
Feedback: Editorial
[at] innercitypress.com
UN Office: S-453A, UN, NY 10017
USA
Tel: 212-963-1439
Reporter's mobile (and
weekends):
718-716-3540
Other,
earlier Inner City Press are listed here, and some are available
in the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.
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2006-08 Inner City Press, Inc. To request
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