To
Panama Ship,
UN Experts To
Go “Very
Soon,” Probe
Less
Clear in
Darfur
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, July
18 -- In the
wake of
Panama's
ship-stopping,
the UN on
Thursday
morning was
full of
questions
about the next
steps.
Luxembourg is
the chair of
the Democratic
Republic of
Korea
sanctions
committee;
there
was dark talk
of the Gran
Duchess Maria
Teresa being
born in and
traveling to
Havana.
But
Luxembourg's
Permanent
Representative
to the UN
Sylvie Lucas,
gracious as
ever in
stopping to
explain, told
Inner City
Press that
the Panel of
Experts does
not need
approval from
the Sanctions
Committee to
go and
investigate.
After
UK Permanent
Representative
Mark Lyall
Grant tweeted
that “thanks
to good work
by Panama, UN
sanctions ctte
will examine
what looks
like illegal
Cuban arms
shipment to
DPRK,” US
Ambassador
Jeffrey
DeLaurentis,
in a rare
question and
answer
stakeout,
answered that
a
team should be
on its way
“very soon.”
The
team, though,
will be from
the Panel of
Experts.
Committee
chair
Lucas told the
Press that
there is no
Committee
session yet
scheduled
until they
know more.
Inner
City Press
asked
DeLaurentis
about Sudanese
Permanent
Representative
Daffa-Alla
Elhag Ali
Osman having
met with the
US Presidency
of the
Security
Council on
July 16.
DeLaurentis
confirmed the
meeting, and
said it mostly
reiterated the
points in
Sudan's letter
of July 15.
Allowed
a
follow-up, and
grateful for
it, Inner City
Press asked
what the
next steps in
the
investigation
of the killing
of seven
peacekeepers
in Darfur
would be,
given that
Tanzania has
said it is
sending a
team.
DeLaurentis
said that was
right, but
that he did
not yet know
the next
steps. Watch
this site.
, 
