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ICP
Again Asks UN
of Eritrea -
Ethiopia &
Tsorona, Ban
Meets Ethiopia
PM June 15
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, June
14 -- Amid new
war reports
between
Eritrea and
Ethiopia, on
which the UN
has previously
failed, Inner
City Press on
June 13 and
June 14 asked
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
Spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric about
Tsorona.
On June 13 in
response to
this Inner
City Press
question,
Dujarric said
the UN is
aware of the
reports and
calls for
adherence to
2000
agreements,
which he
didn't specify
and which the
UN never
enforced. Video here, UN transcript
below.
On June 14,
Inner City
Press asked
again, for a
description of
the contacts,
for anything
Ban has done
to seek
enforcement of
the border
judgment, and
what he was
doing now.
Dujarric told
Inner City
Press, "I'm
not aware of
any further
updates.
Contacts are
had at various
level, I'm not
going to go
into the
details. The
Secretary
General has a
meeting
scheduled with
Prime Minister
of Ethiopia
tomorrow in
Brussels. It
was
pre-scheduled
prior to the
current crisis
but it will be
brought up
during the
meeting and
will be
reflected in
the read-out
of the
meeting."
We'll see.
From the June
13 UN
transcript:
Inner City
Press: There's
reported
fighting on…
in a place
where the UN
used to have a
peacekeeping
mission on the
border of
Ethiopia and
Eritrea.
And given the
past death
count of such
fighting, is
the UN aware
of it?
Have they
reached out to
either
country?
Spokesman:
Yes, we
definitely are
aware of
it. I
think the
Secretary-General's
clearly
concerned by
the reports of
fighting along
the
border.
The UN is
reaching out
to both
parties to try
to ascertain
the details of
the
developments,
because,
obviously,
we've just
seen the press
reports as of
now. And
the
Secretary-General
calls on both
Governments to
exercise
maximum
restraint and
work to
resolving
their
differences
through
peaceful
means,
including the
full
implementation
of the peace
accord signed
by the
parties, I
think, in
2000.
Inner City
Press:
Sure.
Including the
border
dispute?
Spokesman:
The
full…
Then Dujarric
cut off an
Inner City
Press question
about, well,
why the UN
has dissembled
on its reasons
to try to
disallow
future Inner
City Press
questions.
To this has
Ban's UN sunk.
This too: last
week Ban
Ki-moon agreed
to drop Saudi
Arabia from
its Children
and Armed
Conflict annex,
for killings
in Yemen,
after what Ban
called
financial
pressures. So
Ban has
created a
situation in
which UN human
rights shaming
lists are only
for countries
too poor to be
able to get
themselves off
the list. To
this, then,
has Ban's UN
sunk.
Eritrea
is on the
Security
Council's
agenda, so one
would expect a
less
lackadaisical
response. But
despite being
on the agenda,
as Inner City
Press
exclusively
reported in
April, a
Council visit
was Banned.
While
the Security
Council
discussed
Somalia,
behind the
scene the next
president of
the Council
for May,
Egypt, has
proposed a
Council trip
to Somalia,
Egypt, and at
least
initially
Eritrea, Inner
City Press was
exclusively
told.
But the US
balked at the
inclusion of
Eritrea and it
was dropped.
In the Council
chamber, UN
envoy to
Somalia
Michael
Keating said
“Last
week, Somali
leaders from
all federal
member states
and interim
regional
administrations
reach
agreement on
the electoral
model to be
used later
this year.
Voting will
take place not
just in
Mogadishu, but
in each of the
capitals or
seats of
government of
the exiting
and emerging
federal member
states. And
thirty percent
of the seats
in Parliament
are being
reserved for
women.
“This
progress is
taking place
amid great
insecurity -
another reason
why progress
is reversible.
Al Shabab
remains a
potent threat.
Although
facing
significant
casualties, Al
Shabab
continues to
carry out
repeated
asymmetic and
conventional
attacks. They
will try to
disrupt an
electoral
process that
they see
rightly as
threatening
their agenda.”
The
trip would
have included
Eritrea not
only because
it is on the
Council's
sanctions
list, even
amid
admissions of
no proof of
support to Al
Shabab, but
also because
of Yemen and
regional peace
and security.
But the US,
the sources
tell Inner
City Press,
did not want a
Council trip
to include
Eritrea. We
hope to have
more on this.
* * *
These
reports
are
usually also available through Google
News and on Lexis-Nexis.
Click here
for Sept 26, 2011 New Yorker on Inner City
Press at UN
Click
for
BloggingHeads.tv re Libya, Sri Lanka, UN
Corruption
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