UNITED
NATIONS,
August 5 --
When for UN
Youth Day,
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon took
questions from
youth and
advocates from
Beirut to
Brazil, from
India and in
the UN's new
interim
General
Assembly Hall,
there was some
hope in the
air - mostly
from the
youth. But
there
were false
notes and
unanswered
questions.
As
UN Youth Envoy
Ahmad
Alhendawi
introduced
questioners by
video
conference
from Nigeria,
India and
Brazil, he
said in
advance what
the question
would be
about. And,
Inner City
Press noted
even from
the broken
down photo
booth which is
the only way
to cover the
GA,
Ban Ki-moon
looked down at
notes as he
answered.
The
question
arose: was Ban
given the
questions in
advance? Inner
City
Press posed
questions by
Twitter not
only to Ahmad
Alhendawi but
also
Department
of Public
Information
official
Stephane
Dujarric,
who
promoted the
event in
advance, and
tweeted a
photo of Ban
as he
began.
Dujarric
was
also the DPI
official who,
back in early
June, replied
to the
Free
UN Coalition
for Access
that something
would be done
or looked
into at least
about the
broken down
media booths
above the GA
floor.
But on August
5, as before
that for a
session on
Syria, there
was no
interpretation,
a
single broken
chair, and no
work table
just as DPI
has for now
left the
Security
Council
stakeout.
The
question from
Beirut cited
Palestine and
"Israeli
occupation"
-- but Ban's
answer did not
mention or
address these.
Dujarric was
gone before
Ban was.
As
Ban left,
Inner City
Press uploaded
a story
including
unanswered
questions
about the
drones
that Herve
Ladsous,
the fourth
Frenchman in a
row to head UN
Peacekeeping,
has bragged
about
procuring,
without
answering on
crashes,
funding, and
who gets
the
information.
There's more
to be said,
and asked, but
that's it for
now. Watch
this site.
Footnote:
after Ban
left, the
questions got
more wide
open, for
example to
contraception.
Had such
questions been
banned?
, 
