At
UN,
Envoy to Sierra Leone Says He'll Stay, As Reported Try for
Pakistan Failed
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
March 25 -- The UN mission in Sierra Leone doesn't get much
press coverage anymore. Some say it's because the news media only
wants (bad) news.
So on March 25 the UN Department of Political
Affairs staged a press conference by three women activists from
Sierra Leone, Canadian Permanent Representative to the UN John McNee
and UN envoy Michael von der Schulenburg, who asked the women to call
him “Michael” or “Mike.”
Inner
City Press
has previously covered von der
Schulenburg: that he hit a UN staff
member, that he applied
to replace Jean Maurice Ripert as
humanitarian envoy to Pakistan, that he dealt in carpets on a
previous UN assignment in Iran.
But since
Sierra Leone has been so
under served by the UN, Inner City Press asked the panelists what the
new agency UN Women can do for them.
Ban & von
der Schulenburg, hitting staff and rugs not shown
The
answers
weren't entirely clear; nor was the call for nations to take action
to ensure “peace” in Cote d'Ivoire. Does that mean intervention
by Nigeria? Or more talks?
Inner
City Press
did ask von der Schulenburg about the humanitarian envoy to Pakistan
post. He laughed and said he is not going anywhere. Right: the
Pakistan post was given to a candidate from Turkey. But what is the
future of the UN mission and mandate in Sierra Leone? What was asked
but not answered. Watch this site.
* * *
On
Libya,
Chad
Wants Fast Finish, Sudan Said To Support, UN Silent, West
Spins
By
Matthew
Russell
Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
March 24 -- What do Libya's neighbors think of the military
action there? While at the UN Western diplomats whisper anonymously
about permission to use Sudan's airspace to conduct air raids against
Gaddafi, Inner City Press on Thursday asked Chad's Permanent
Representative to the UN Ahmad Allam-mi about his country's position.
“Gaddafi has no
friends,” Ambassador Allam-mi replied. “Chad is afraid for its
border. We've had the Central African Republic, we've had Sudan.”
He paused and told Inner City Press, “This has to finish fast.”
Earlier
in
the
week, after the Security Council's March 21 closed door meeting on
Sudan, Inner City Press at the televised stakeout asked Sudan's
Ambassador Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman for the Omar al Bashir
government's position on the no fly zone and action on Libya. Video
here, from Minute 9:39.
Daffa-Alla
Elhag
Ali
Osman said of Sudan, we are members of the Arab League and fully
comply.
Inner
City
Press
asked, but isn't Sudan also a member of the African Union, which has
expressed doubts about the air strikes?
“Whatever is
agreed to in each of that, we are committed to that,” Daffa-Alla
Elhag Ali Osman said and then walked away from the UN microphone.
The
next day, a
Western Permanent Representative told other media that Sudan had
granted permission to use its air space to enforce the no fly zone
over Libya. While Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman declined to several
media to confirm this, the whisper campaign was said to be “confirmed”
and reported.
Inner
City
Press
asked on March 24 asked a senior diplomat of a non-Western Permanent
member of the Council about the statements about Sudan. “Why would
they be leaking that?” was the diplomat's response. Why indeed.
Bashir flies to Juba, overflights of Sudan for Libya
NFZ not shown
Footnote:
At
the
March 21 stakeout, Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman told Inner City
Press that the UN's Atul Khare in the Security Council's closed
meeting had blamed recent deaths on the SPLA and South Sudan (as well
as denying any shuttering of El Fahser University or crackdown in
Darfur).
At
the March 23 UN
noon briefing, Inner City Press
asked UN spokesman Martin Nesirky:
Inner
City
Press:
I wanted to ask about Sudan. The SPLA [Sudanese People’s
Liberation Army] has said that the northern — the Government of
Northern, or of Sudan – has bombed western Bahr El-Ghazal State
from the air. I wanted to know whether that’s given — whether
UNMIS [United Nations Mission in Sudan] is out there and looking —
whether they can confirm that? And also, I know that there was a
meeting on Monday of the Council where Atul Khare briefed. There was
no readout by the Council after it. The two — South Sudan and
Sudan — both had totally different public statements about what the
meeting was. The Government of Khartoum said that Atul Khare backed
them up totally, said that the violence is totally attributable to
South Sudan in-fighting. So I wanted to know, again, does UNMIS
believe that Khartoum is supporting, materially or otherwise, Athor
and Lam Akol, the two renegade Generals within South Sudan’s
fighting?
Spokesperson
Nesirky:
I’ll
check with my colleagues from the Department of
Peacekeeping Operations whether there are any further details that we
can make available from that briefing that you referred to. As to
the reports in which South Sudan says that the North has bombed its
territory, the UN mission in Sudan has received reports of aerial
bombings by the Sudanese Armed Forces on 21 and 22 March — in other
words yesterday and the day before yesterday — in Firka and Timsaha
in Northern Bahr El-Ghazal State. And I can tell you that the
Mission is investigating these reports. That’s what I can tell
you. Alright, thank you very much. Have a good afternoon.
[The
Spokesperson
later
said that the meeting of the Security Council on
Monday was not an on-the-record session. He added that, in line with
standard procedure, the decision to release details of the discussion
lies with the Security Council Presidency.]
So
the UN leaves
unchallenged the statements on Sudan. Inner City Press is told that,
while not of consultations, the UN does keep written records of
“closed” Council sessions. Watch this site.
* * *
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