At
UN's Mis-Run
MDGs Q&A,
Key Rwanda
Question
Cannot Be
Asked
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
September 26
-- The topic
was the
Millennium
Development
Goals Advocacy
group, and the
three stakeout
speakers on
Wednesday at
5 pm were to
be Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon, Julia
Gillard of
Australia and
Rwanda's Paul
Kagame, the
chairman.
But
when it began,
late, Deputy
Secretary
General Jan
Eliasson stood
in
the middle
between the
two heads of
state and
apologize.
Moments
later, Jeffrey
Sachs joined
the three, and
also gave an
opening
statement.
There
should have
been time for
questions --
Inner City
Press wanted
to ask
not only about
the impact of
the global
financial
downturn on
the
non-attainment
of many MDGs,
but also what
President
Kagame thought
of countries
cutting their
aid to Rwanda
after report
of the UN
Group
of Experts
coordinated by
Steve Hege.
But
none of these
questions
could be
asked. Only
two questions
were taken
before it
ended, one
from the
Australian
business
press, as
Gillard
is lobbying to
win a three
way race for
two Security
Council seats
with
Luxembourg and
Finland, and
the first
about "one cow
per
family." Basic
homework could
have improved
this and the
following
stakeout.
On
his way out
Eliasson
apologized to
the Press,
saying he
hadn't been
the one
selecting or
limiting the
questions.
President
Kagame was in
a rush, and it
is not clear
if there will
be any press
availability
to ask about
aid and M23
and Hege. So
it goes at
this UN.
, 
