As
France is Asked about Evictions in Calais and Chad, UN Cuts Off
Questions, Jumps for Kouchner
By
Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, October 19 -- In his first media availability at the UN, new
French Ambassador Gerard Araud marked the International Day for the
Eradication of Poverty with a press conference on October 19.
Inner
City Press asked Ambassador Araud about his country's eviction of
immigrants from a camp near Calais last month, about the drowning of
residents of the Comoros trying to get to the French island of
Mayotte, and about mass
evictions in the capital of Chad, where the Idriss Deby government
receives substantial French support. Video here,
from Minute 25:32.
Ambassador
Araud
said immigration is an issues throughout the developed world, quickly
equating the drowning of those seeking to get to Mayotte with deaths
of African in the Mediterranean.
He said that
the "dismantling"
of the camp was because immigration should be restricted to that
which is legal, so that Europeans don't "become violent."
He said it was fair to be critical, he has seen such criticism of
U.S. policies as well, but these countries are democracies.
Araud
said that
"answering about Chad is the easiest," and then proceeded
to say that his Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, the moment he got
the post, took in the lead is setting up peacekeeping mission in
Eastern Chad, first through the European Union and then the UN.
A
follow-up
question was cut off by the UN's moderator, Rachel Mayanja. She said,
"before we proceed... I am surprised none of you want to take
advantage" of the boy on the panel, from Dominica, to "expose
his journey." Video here,
from Minute 31:55. But she had begun
by saying that the youth would be accompanied by a chaperrone from
ChildFund Caribbean, who was not on the podium.
After
a more
compliant correspondent dutifully asked the boy about photography --
ChildFund saved him from being a criminal, he equally dutifully said
-- Inner City Press asked Ambassador Araud about the evictions done
by French ally Idriss Deby, did he have any answer? He shook his head
no. And the press conference was over. Video here,
from Minute 34:49.
Afterwards,
one of
the French journalists opined that Ms. Mayanja may have been trying
to protect or please France, a Permanent Five member of the Security
Council, by shifting from questions about France's record to what she
wanted journalists to ask and write about. This has become more
prevalent at the UN.
France's Gerard Araud at the UN on Monday,
Chad eviction answers not shown
We
note that Ms.
Mayanja's cutting off of questions cannot necessarily be ascribed to
Araud. The UN may offer protection where none is even requested. If
Ms. Mayanja wanted to play up the boy's story, why have him appear at
the French Ambassador's first press conference?
Another
reporter
told Inner City Press that Bernard Kouchner called Ban Ki-moon
recently and told him the UN should launch an investigation of the
recent killing of some 150 protesters in Guinea Conakry. Ban did just
that; when Inner City Press asked, his spokesman said that it was at
the request of ECOWAS. But why didn't the UN launch any inquiry into
the tens of thousands of civilians killed in Sri Lanka earlier this
year?
Just
as the UN on
Monday sought to limit questions to the right kind of poverty, it
will only investigate the killings of the right victims: it all
depends on who the perpetrator is, and who provides protection.
Footnote:
also on the Chad evictions, Inner City Press asked this question last
week to Habitat's New York representative, and for an update on what
if anything Habitat did to follow up on supposed commitments by
Angola not to continue evictions. Video here.
A response was promised, but has
not been received. What was that again, about eradicating poverty?
* * *
At
UN, Iran's Mottaki Says Protesters Are Dealt With, Nuclear Sites All
Reported
By
Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, October 1 -- In Iran "there are some people, a limited
number of people, who look for trouble and want to create unreal,"
Iranian foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki told the Press on
Thursday. "It is very clear how they should be dealt with."
Video here,
from Minute 31:55.
During
a Q&A
session at the UN in New York, nearly all of which dealt with nuclear
issues, Inner City Press asked Mottaki about a story of
post-election
torture, rape and exile, which Inner City Press heard from Ebrahim
Sharifi by cell phone on September 21. Sharifi states that he
joined
the non violent street protests then was picked up, blindfolded and
held for a week.
Inner
City Press
asked Mottaki if he acknowledged the veracity of any such charges, if
people can file complaints in Iran and what he thinks of the call for
a UN General Assembly special envoy to Iran on human rights issues.
Video here,
from Minute 25:43, Mottaki's
reponse here from Minute
27:08.
Mottaki's
more then
five minute answer became with calling the June elections "the
most glorious presidential elections in the history of the Islamic
Republic of Iran." Mottaki claimed the skeptics, once they
received an explanation, were convinced. This left a few trouble
makers -- "it is very clear how they should be dealt with."
UN's Ban, Ahmadinejad, Motakki and Zarif, pre election violence
Mottaki
said that
Iran has vibrant NGOs, which rather than complain in Geneva to the
Human Rights Council come to the UN in New York to participate in
workshops about the rights on women.
On
Iran's nuclear
program, Mottaki said that other than Qom, there are no other sites
not reported to the IAEA. The press conference ended with a report
for a newspaper in Israel calling for the floor, without receiving
it. He was told by the UN's spokesperson that the UN is an
"inter-governmental body... we cannot do anything about what
member states do." Apparently not.
Footnote: Mottaki,
before traveling to DC, wiled away the evening of September 29 at
Indonesia's Independence Day celebration in the UN Delegates' Dining
Room. There were satays, rice and noodles. One attending, chewing,
snarked that at such receptions, the quality of the food is in inverse
proportion to the amount of democracy in the hosting nation.
Inner City Press has previously written about, and
sampled, Iran's
kebab diplomacy, click here for that. Seven thousand years of
culture...
* * *
Amid
Tales of Iran Torture, UN and Ban Urged To Speak, Treki Role
Questioned
By
Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, September 21 -- As Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad prepares to
speak Wednesday before the UN General Assembly, across First Avenue
on Monday two non-governmental organizations briefed the press on the
arrests and killings of protesters that followed the recent contested
election. By cellphone, 24-year old computer scientist Ebrahim
Sharifi told the Press about his abduction on June 22 leading to a
week of torture, mock execution and rape.
Sharifi has since fled Iran,
having been told the rest of his family is also in danger. He worked
on the campaign of Mehdi Karroubi; later, the government accused
Karroubi -- or Mir-Hussein Mousavi -- of paying Sharifi to make the
allegations.
While
many of the
protests of Ahmadinejad's UN visit focus on the nuclear or Israel
issues, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran and Human
Rights Watch on Monday called on the UN General Assembly to adopt a
resolution appointing a special envoy to Iran.
Inner
City Press
asked for the panelists' review of the performance of UN Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon on the Iran human rights and democracy issues.
Steve Crawshaw of HRW was typically diplomatic, saying that while he
is sure there is "robust" advocacy by the UN "behind
closed doors," it is "very important that [Ban] makes his
voice heard... repeatedly." In fact, Ban's Spokesperson has
been asked repeatedly for comment on Iran, and has declined comment.
UN's Ban and Ahmadinejad, talk and envoy on torture not shown
Since
the new
General Assembly is headed by Libyan Ali Treki, Inner City Press
asked if this might have any impact on the likelihood of the Assembly
addressing these Iran issues. Crawshaw, again diplomatic, said that
while he didn't wish to pre-judge, every country should be worried
when people are shot and killed. Yeah...
Footnote: at a
briefing for countries' missions to the UN, the NY Police Department
predicted 12,000 protesters of Ahmadinejad, diplomatic sources in the
meeting tell Inner City Press...
* * *
With
UN's Ban Shielded from Nepotism Questions, Scandals Brew, Defenses
Outsourced to Mission
By
Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, September 17, updated twice
-- While questions having swirled all
summer
around Ban Ki-moon's leadership of the UN, Mr. Ban belated held a
pre-General Assembly press conference on September 17. But the
management, human rights, nepotism
and even corruption short falls in
Ban's UN that have been discussed in diplomatic circles and in the
media were scarcely mentioned.
No
questions were
allowed on two human rights short falls, Sri Lanka
and Myanmar,
much
less on the nepotism scandals festering at the highest levels of the
UN. It's as if these issues were censored out, after having been
strangely outsourced to South Korea's Deputy Permanent Representative
to the UN, who recently invited Inner City Press to a lunch with only
one topic: the integrity of Ban Ki-moon. [See Amb. Kim Bong-hyun's
reply, in full below.]
Thus,
it's not that
Team Ban is unaware of the questions. After a leaked e-mail by Ban's
envoy to the Congo Alan Doss surfaced and was first published by
Inner City Press, Ban's Deputy Spokesperson Marie Okabe told
the
Press Ban was very concerned and expected a report on the matter when
he returned to New York from his vacation in South Korea.
That
was a
month ago but when Inner City Press, denied a chance to question by
Ban's Spokesperson Michele Montas, asked Ban on his way out about the
case of Alan Doss, Ban muttered "that is still going on,"
presumably referring to the investigation.
Ban's
spokesperson,
who previously referred Inner City Press to Ban's main adviser Kim
Won-soo about the issue (Mr. Kim subsequently canceled the meeting),
should at least have allowed a question about Ban's actual management
of the UN.
Ban's lack of
action is attributed by some, including
prospectively a major U.S. newspaper, to questions about two recent
hirings of Ban's son in
law Siddarth Chatterjee. First he was hired,
without any competitive process, by Ban's envoy in Iraq Staffan de
Mistura to be his chief of staff, a position for which many said
Chatterjee did not have the diplomatic and political background.
Since
de Mistura
had previously hired the son of Kofi Annan's chief of staff Iqbal
Riza, many saw a pattern, of the hiring of top UN leaders' children
as a way for far-flung officials to be viewed favorable in
Headquarters.
As
de Mistura left
Iraq, Ban's son in law resurfaced hired by the UN Office of Project
Services to head a whole regional bureau. While UNOPS refused to
answer the simple question of whether Chatterjee's job is at the D-1
or D-2 level, it has since emerged that the post was upgraded to D-2
in connection with a process in which Ban gave UNOPS more freedom
over its human resources practices. While it is said Chatterjee for
now is at the lower of the two Director levels, he can be upgraded at
any time, without public announcement.
"Two
supposedly lateral moves resulting in reality in a meteoric rise up
two levels," as one observer wryly puts it, "only at the
UN." Meanwhile Chatterjee
has taken to telephoning Indian
newspapers which have picked up Inner City Press' coverage of the
issue and telling them to remove articles and comments from the
Internet, in the face of legal threats.
After
Ban's
adviser Kim Won-soo canceled the meeting, which it was emphasized would
be off the record or on background, about the still unanswered
Chatterjee questions, Inner City Press received a lunch reach-out
from the Deputy Permanent Representative of South Korea's mission to
the UN, Kim Bong-hyun. Over a sizzling bowl of beef and noodles, the
hospitable DPR
Kim repeated again and again that Ban is a man of integrity, although
from an earlier generation of Korean diplomats.
UN's Ban on Sept. 15, report and action on nepotism
not shown
DPR
Kim made detailed
arguments about Ban's son in law's promotions and threats for
censorship; that seemed to be the purpose of the lunch. On the Alan
Doss matter, he first expressed concern about the "leeway"
e-mail, then recovered and argued that Ban's hands are tied by rules
making it difficult to fire UN staff. But Doss is Ban's personal
envoy to the Congo. There is no way to pass the buck. DPR Kim nodded
and said Ban would be sure to know and do something about the Doss
issue. But it hasn't happened yet.
While
DPR Kim gave no indication that his outreach was off the record or even
on background, normally these
indirect defenses of Ban would not have to be used or reported, if
Ban himself would address the issues in at least one of the fifteen
largely scripted answers he gave on Thursday. A weak communications
strategy has helped get Ban into the situation is his, entering this
General Assembly. And thing do not appear to be getting better.
Footnotes:
Ban's Spokesperson, as Inner City Press first publicly reported, is
set to retire in November. Those who multiple
sources say are vying to replace
her include Eric Falt of the UN Department of Public Information [but see below], two
journalists who have covered the UN, and an official of the UN
Foundation...
Another UN
mis-hiring scandal, which Inner City Press asked
Ban Spokesperson
about in writing on August 27 has still not been answered to or even
commented on.
Watch this site.
Update
of Sept. 17, 4:45 p.m. -- For the record we have received this
denial from Mr.
Falt: "I wish to inform you that I am very happy with my job as
Director of Outreach in DPI and am not currently applying to any
other position."
Additional
communication has been received from the South Korean Mission to the
UN, clarification has been sought, but has not yet been received. Watch
this site.
Second update -- we have received
the following from Ambassador
Kim of Korea and
publish it in full:
Subj:
from Amb.Kim of Korea
From:
[ ]
To:
Matthew Lee [at] innercitypress.com
Sent:
9/17/2009
Dear
Matthew,
I
just read your article titled "with UN's Ban Shielded...."
of Sept. 17, 2009. I found that facts of the article were distorted
and I was misused. My purpose to invite you to the lunch the other
day was to exchange views about agenda of the new session of the GA.
My
message to you was that the press should listen to both parties
concerned, otherwise the press would lose its balance and
credibility.
However,
on the contray to my intention, you initiated to explain the stroy of
Alan Doss to me, including the biting rumor of a staff of UNDP and
quoted me as making detailed arguments about SG's son in law.
I
did not know the story of Alan Doss at all and I din not know the
details on the stroy of the son in law of the SG. I answered to your
questions as to the two cases based on my common sense as a career
diplomat. I answered that there were rules and regulations for hiring
and firing staff in any organization. I added that I knew there was a
commission for the appeal of staff in the case of infringement of
interest. Also I urged you to look into the rules and regulations
about the prodedure of promotion in the UN.
I
said that the procedure of promotion regarding to the son in law of
the SG was supposed to be transparent and based on merits. I further
expressed my view that answers related to those questions should be
sought in the framework of the legal institution of the UN and
advised you not to try to personalize the issue.I strongly request
you to carry the above explanation in your blog as an exercise of
right of reply.
Sincerely,
Kim
Bong-Hyun, Pd.D.
Ambassador,
Deputy Permanent Representative
Permanent
Mission of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations
Entirely
agreeing
with the right to reply, we nonetheless note that very little was
said about the upcoming General Assembly session, while much was said
about the Mona Juul memo, the possible motives and the "Asian"
style of diplomacy. Detailed arguments were made about whether the
Secretary General's son in law was initially a P-4 or P-5, and is now
a D-1 or D-2 (the post has been upgraded to D-2). If nepotism is a
problem in the UN, as many think it is, it is difficult to report on
and address the issue without giving specific example: that is,
personalizing the issue.
What
seemed and
seems significant is that while the Secretary General and his team
are reticent to address or even take questions on these nepotism
issues, the Deputy Permanent Representative of the Secretary
General's native South Korea made the arguments, with detailed
information about the Secretary General's son in law.
While
this may be
a credit to Ambassador Kim Bong-hyun, these arguments should be
coming, on the record, from the Secretariat itself, and they should
not be evading or not allowing questions on the issue. Frankly, it is
unclear if Ambassador Kim Bong-hyun disagrees with this analysis of
the weakness of the Secretary General's current Office of the
Spokesperson. But we appreciate his right of reply and so publish the
above in full. Watch this site.
, 
