On
Lebanon,
a UN Council Trip Could Help, Williams Says, Blue Line in NY
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
March 29 -- After the UN's envoy on Lebanon Michael Williams
briefed the Security Council on Tuesday, Inner City Press asked him
if he thinks that a Security
Council trip to that country and the
region would be helpful.
After
saying it's
“for them to decide,” Williams noted that it “has been a very
long time... decades.” He said that Security Council trips are a
“tried and tested” method, used recently in Sudan -- Inner City
Press accompanied and covered that trip, to Juba, Darfur and Khartoum
-- and before that in Afghanistan.
In
context,
Williams' response was in favor of such a trip. Only the United
States is opposing it. Just before vetoing the resolution in Israeli
settlements earlier this year, US Ambassador Susan Rice offered a
package including the trip (as well as a Presidential Statement
rather than a Council resolution).
Once
“forced”
to veto, Rice for the Obama administration withdrew the offer of the
trip. Inner City Press asked
her why, on a press conference call, and
she referred to the package nature of the offer. But if the trip
was
a good idea then, why not now, especially with the UN's envoy
explicitly supporting it?
Blue Line in Lebanon, Williams & 2d Avenue not shown
Inner
City Press
also asked Williams about Israeli overflights of Lebanon, with
military planes and drones. Williams said that these do occur,
“almost daily,” and represent a violation of Lebanon's
sovereignty. He recounted that before the Council, he made a “slip
of the tongue” about not Lebanon but Belgium finally forming a
government. This is UN humor.
Footnote:
This
too: on 45th Street and Second Avenue near the UN, there are now
dueling felafel places: one Lebanese, the Prince Grill west of Second
Avenue, and the other, Green Olive on the UN side of Second Avenue,
more closely aligned with the overfliers.
Second
Avenue, for
this purpose, may be seen as a Blue Line. While the Lebanese place
wraps its sandwiches better, the additional of a seemingly seldom
deployed garlic sauce led to some stomach upset, not reflected in the
health grade given by the Bloomberg administration. Green Olive,
meanwhile, has lentil soup and roasted eggplant and peppers. You be
the judge.
* * *
At
UN
on Libya, Clash on Arming Rebels, Dutch
In, Malta Stopped
Greek Ship
By
Matthew
Russell Lee, Exclusive
UNITED
NATIONS,
March 29 -- Libya
sanctions and arms embargo were the topics
on Tuesday morning outside the Security Council, even as the meeting
inside concerned Lebanon. The Netherlands has formally written in
under Resolution 1973 to join the coalition, a well placed Council
source exclusively told Inner City Press.
An
explanation of
Malta's query to the Libya Sanctions Committee was finally gleaned,
as another Inner City Press exclusive: Malta stopped a Greek ship
from delivering petroleum products to a subsidiary of the Libyan
national oil company.
The
subsidiary is
not on the UN sanctions list. But it is on the European Union list.
Malta 1, Greek ship 0.
Other
battles are
not so clear. Inner City Press asked India's Permanent Representative
Hardeep Singh Puri for India's position on if arming the Libyan
rebels is permitted. No, he said, adding, and you can quote me.
Inner City
Press asked Russian Permanent Representitive Vitaly Churkin, is arming
the rebels permissible under Resolution 1973? No, he said, shaking his
head. He noted that it had been the Americans themselves who asked for
the arms embargo.
While
no answer
was gleaned from US Permanent Representative Susan Rice despite a
question proffered at 10:16 am as she entered the Council and 11:10 am
when she left, it is
understood that the US dispute an account of the negotiation of
Paragraph 4 of Resolution 1973 in which Ambassador Rice said that the
“notwithstanding” phrase was needed in case the US had to go in
with weapons to save a downed pilot.
Susan Rice, Obama and Clinton, negotiation of
Paragraph 4 and new position not shown
The
US, it is
understood, says that referred to only precluding an occupation and
not an intervention. But with Libyan Sanctions Committee chair Cabral
now twice issuing an interpretation that arming the rebels is not
permissible, Russia and India on the record and others with the same
view, including China Inner City Press can report, could
the US “just do it,” in the Nike phrase?
Another
member of
the “Coalition” tells Inner City Press that while the
“notwithstanding” phrase is somehow clear, his country believes
that enforcing the no fly zone is the way to go.
If somehow
the no
fly zone weren't being enforced, perhaps giving air defense equipment
to the rebels could construed as protecting civilians. But to give
offensive weapons? Even the non-US coalition member said no.
But
again: might
the US “just do it,” in the Nike phrase?
Footnote:
for
President Obama's visit today to the UN, or the US Mission across
First Avenue from the UN, press access has been limited to a “pool”
from the White House press corps, as well as Mission selected
journalists from the UN press corps.
There's some grumbling, the
substance of which is that a White House based reporter might miss
some UN relevant details, including regarding which diplomats are
invited. We'll have more on this.
, 
