China
PR Tells
ICP Signed
Libya Guard
Letter, After
9 Stakeout
Month, Quoi?
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
November 27 --
As UN Security
Council
president for
November,
China's Liu
Jieyi held
eight, soon to
be nine,
question and
answer
stakeouts.
This surpassed
most
presidencies,
including
France's,
with only
three. Vive
la
transparence!
In
his end of
presidency
press
conference,
Inner City
Press asked
Liu
Jieyi if the plan to
send 200
guards for the
UN Mission in
Libya had
been approved,
and what the
impact has
been of the rejection of
the
African
Union's
request that
the
International
Criminal
Court's Kenya
proceedings be
deferred.
Liu
Jieyi replied
that he had
just signed
the approval
letter for the
new
Libya guards.
On the Kenya
ICC vote, he
said that
since 70% of
the
Council's work
is about
Africa, the
African Union
should be
listened
to.
One
scribe used a
question to
argue that the
Assembly of
State Parties
is
in part
granting the
African
Union's
request;
another lobbed
a vague
softball
question about
the Geneva II
talks on
Syria.
For
those, the
Free Syrian
Army has
already said
it is not
attending. On
November 26,
at the last
noon briefing
of the month,
Inner City
Press
asked
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
spokesperson
Martin
Nesirky:
Inner
City
Press: it
seems like
General
[Salim] Idriss
is quoted
saying
that they will
not attend
Geneva II
representing
the Free
Syrian
Army. Is there
a response to
what seems to
be a pretty
major
announcement?
Spokesperson
Nesirky:
We’re not
going to
comment on the
positions of
individual
groups,
firstly. But,
what’s really
important for
the success of
the conference
is that the
Syrian sides
be represented
by credible
delegations,
and the
Secretary-General
has made
clear, indeed
in his
statement
yesterday, his
own
expectation
for all sides
to start
working now to
take steps to
help the
Geneva
conference
succeed,
including
toward the
cessation of
violence,
humanitarian
access,
release of
detainees and
return of
Syrian
refugees and
internally
displaced to
their homes.
Okay? Alright,
thank you very
much.
And
that's the end
of the month
at the UN.
UNless...
Footnote:
France
takes over the
Security
Council on
Monday;
because of
Central
African
Republic (and
Mali), the new
Free
UN Coalition
for Access
expects
more than three
stakeouts,
and for
questions to
be granted
somewhat
objectively.
Watch this
site.
, 
