On
Yemen, ICP
Asks UN About
Critique of
Envoy, Ban Has
"Extreme"
Confidence
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, April
19 -- A month
before the one
year
anniversary of
the Saudi-led
Coalition's
campaign of
airstrikes on
Yemen, Inner
City Press
exclusively
published, not
for the first
time, an email
leaked to it
between UN
envoy Ismail
Ould Cheikh
Ahmed and UN
Department of
Political
Affairs chief
Jeff Feltman.
As Inner City
Press
subsequently
reported,
Feltman
conducted
questioning --
some called it
a witch hunt
-- of DPA
staff to try
to find out
who had leaked
it to Inner
City Press.
And then the
UN moved to
evict Inner
City Press
from the UN, video here and here.
On
April 19,
Inner City
Press asked
Ban Ki-moon's
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric, Vine here, UN
transcript
here:
Inner
City Press: I
wanted to ask
you about
Yemen.
Ismail Ould
Cheikh Ahmed
had said the
talks would
start on 18
April.
Seems they
haven't.
And there are
now a
lot of
negative
comments by
Houthi and
[Ali Abdullah]
Saleh’s side
leaders,
saying he's
changed his
position many
times, saying
that the
airstrikes
haven't
stopped,
saying he's
aligned with
the Saudis and
not with the
UN. So,
I'm wondering,
where is it
headed?
Does he still
view he can
turn it
around?
And if not, is
it a question
of sort of
three strikes
and you're
out?
Like, there
have been
three
purported
talks that
happened… that
never
happened.
Spokesman:
I think we
very much hope
that all the
parties in
Yemen, whether
Government or
Houthis,
General
People's
Congress and
others, will
continue to
support the
talks.
And we hope
that those
parties that
are still in
Yemen will
come and
support.
The
Secretary-General
has extreme
and full
confidence in
the Special
Envoy, how
he's been
handling these
talks, and he
would also
reiterate the
need for all
the parties
involved in
Yemen to
support the
political
process.
I think we've
been here for
quite some
time, flagging
the
humanitarian
disaster that
has fallen on
the Yemeni
people.
And I think
all the Yemeni
leaders need
to think about
what's going
on in the
country and
rally around
the work of
the Special
Envoy and
support the
political
process.
Inner City
Press: what
they're saying
is he's
distributing
different
drafts to
different
sides.
Had he gotten
the agreement
of the parties
on… on at
least the
ground rules,
before going…?
Spokesman:
Obviously, we
would not have
called for
these talks
had we not
received
assurances
that the
parties would
show up.
We understand
that the
Houthis,
General
People's
Congress have
yet to
arrive.
We very much
hope that they
will do and we
can get the
talks under
way.
On April 15,
the eve of
eviction,
Inner City
Press asked
Ismail Ould
Cheikh Ahmed
to respond to
Ali Abdullah
Saleh, to a
large rally on
March 26,
saying he
would not work
with the UN on
anything.
Ismail Ould
Cheikh Ahmed
replied he
does not
comment on
public
statements,
just the
presence of
Saleh party
members in the
negotiations.
We'll have.
Inside the
Security
Council,
Ismail Ould
Cheikh Ahmed
said, "
there have
also been a
worrying
number of
serious
violations
particularly
in al-Jawf,
Amran, Mareb
and Taiz.
Fighting in
Taiz continue
to cause
civilian
casualties and
I am concerned
that a spiral
of escalation
could threaten
the success of
the peace
process."
Did he say
anything about
the air
strikes on
Hajja? On
April 7
Inner City
Press asked of
the UN noon
briefing:
Inner
City Press: On
Yemen, I'm
assuming that
the
Secretariat
will have seen
this...
about the
marketplace
bombing of 15
March that
killed 97 or
more
civilians.
They found
fragments of
an American
Mk-84 bomb,
which is a
2,000-pound
bomb.
So, a lot of
people say
this bomb is
probably is a
setup for war
crimes in the
sense that
it's not well
targeted.
If you drop it
in civilian
areas, many
people are
predictably to
die. The
envoy, number
one, but two,
the UN, does
it believe
that the use
of a
2,000-pound
bomb on a
marketplace
can comply
with
international
humanitarian
law? And
if, not what's
the response
to these
findings?
Deputy
Spokesman
Haq:
Well, we've
stated our
concerns about
any of the
attacks on
predominantly
civilian
areas, and I
would restate
those for you
at this
stage.
For right now,
as you know,
our focus is
to make sure
that we can
put a
cessation to
all the
fighting, and
we're hoping
that will take
effect in the
coming days.
On
March 28,
after
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
deputy
spokesperson
Farhan Haq had
refused to let
Inner City
Press asked
Ismail Ould
Cheikh Ahmed a
single
question at
his length
press
conference at
the UN, Ban's
top lawyer
issued a
threat of
imminent
eviction
threat to
Inner City
Press.
Not
surprisingly,
particularly
given
Feltman's
witch hunt,
some viewed
the UN's
escalation
against Inner
City Press as
a response to
its
publication of
UN leaks.
On
March 29,
Feltman wrote
to Inner City
Press and we
publish it in
full:
"Dear
Matthew,
On
Yemen:
Your job is to
publish what
you consider
to be
news. My
job includes
the protection
of what is UN
sensitive
information.
So we are
naturally
going to be at
odds over
things such as
leaked
e-mails;
that's just
part of the
respective
roles we
play. I
don't blame
you for
publishing
what you had
-- were I a
journalist, I
would likely
do the same --
but you are
surely
sophisticated
enough not to
be surprised
that I would
try to stop
leaks.
As for your
status at the
UN, you are of
course welcome
to continue to
send e-mails
to me, but, as
I expect you
know, others,
not DPA, have
the
appropriate
responsibilities
in this
case.
DPA is not
involved.
Jeffrey
Feltman
Under-Secretary-General
for Political
Affairs
United
Nations, New
York"
Feltman
cc-ed his
spokesman, who
ironically
used to work
at Amnesty
International.
Feltman's
statement that
the
retaliation
against Inner
City Press is
only
attributable
to Cristina
Gallach's DPI
and now Miguel
de Serpa
Soares' OLA
does not wash.
Feltman, who
previously
covered the
Middle East
for the US
State
Department,
appears to
have "gone
native" at the
UN, like at
least two of
Serpa Soares'
(American)
lawyers,
glorying in
impunity.
We'll have
more on this.
In
Yemen, the
Houthis and
Saleh's GPC
held separate
rallies in
Sana'a on
March 26,
photos below.
At
Saleh's rally,
the first time
he'd addresses
people in
public place
in the past
year according
to Inner City
Press' sources
he said that
the UN
Security
Council - and
by implication
its envoy --
will do
nothing to
resolve the
conflict and
that he would
"ignore it".
If it's a real
Security
Council
speaking for
the peoples,
Saleh said, it
should stop
the war.
On
March 28,
Inner City
Press asked UN
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric, UN transcript
here.
Note:
Inner City
Press is
informed that
after its
recent
exclusive
report on
Ismail Ould
Cheikh Ahmed's
email to
Feltman, not
only did
Dujarric's
deputy Haq in
retaliation
deny Inner
City Press any
question --
also,
Department of
Political
Affairs were
questioned
about their
possible
leaking
And
then, UN
lawyer Miguel
de Serpa
Soares made an
eviction
threat to
Inner City
Press, here.
Saleh's
rally, March
26, 2016
Saleh
reiterated
calls for
direct talks
with the
Saudis, which
the Houthis
are already
doing, and
said that his
party is
coordinating
with other
Yemeni groups
including
Houthi to end
the conflict.
This came
after Saleh's
seeming
exclusion from
the direct
talks between
Houthis and
Saudis which
led to a
lessening of
border
fighting and
exchange of
prisoners. h/t
Shuaib
Almosawa
Houthis'
rally, March
26, 2016
When
Inner City
Press asked US
State
Department
spokesperson
John Kirby
about Yemen on
March 15,
Kirby said "we
welcome the
fact that
there is a
cessation of
hostilities."
On March 23 at
the UN, Deputy
Spokesperson
Farhan Haq did
not even allow
Inner City
Press a
question to UN
envoy Ismail
Ould Cheikh
Ahmed.
On
March 24,
Inner City
Press asked
Farhan Haq, UN transcript
here:
On March 23,
Inner City
Press asked at
the end about
Saleh leaving
the country,
if any
Permanent Five
member of the
Security
Council is
asking for
that. I
haven't heard
that, the
fishy envoy
said (Vine
here), leaving
without answer
about his
blocking
practices on
Twitter.
On
March 24 Inner
City Press
asked UK
Ambassador
Matthew
Rycroft about
the Yemen
talks going on
outside of
Ismail Ould
Cheikh Ahmed's
track --
Rycroft said
it's a good
question, the
various talks
should all
come together
-- and if the
UK thinks
Saleh should
leave Yemen. Video here.
That's up to
the Yemeni
people,
Rycroft said.
Another Press
question is,
whither Hadi?
Has he lost
legitimacy?
Does the UAE
support Bahah?
On the UAE,
where is the
UN's former
Libya envoy --
and former top
Spanish
official in
the UN system,
a title now in
the news --
Bernardino
Leon? We'll
have more on
this.
Ismail
Ould Cheikh
Ahmed
announced a
cessation of
hostilities -
but not under
April 10 - and
talks on April
18 in Kuwait.
Inner City
Press is told
that despite
how pro-Saudi
he (and the
UN's question
selection) is,
there is still
anger at
things the
envoy said. Here a link to
his opening
remarks.
We'll have
more on this.
On March 16,
Inner City
Press returned
to the State
Department and
asked Kirby's
deputy Mark
Toner about
the Saudi
airstrikes in
Hajjah which
killed, it
asked, 41 or
107 people;
Toner replied
in part that
the US could
not verify the
specifics, see
below.
On
March 19, amid
yet MORE Saudi
airstrikes on
Sana'a, the
UN's fishy
envoy Ismail
Ould Cheick
Ahmed said
something
pubicly, on
Twitter - but
it was not
about the
bombing and
suffering.
Instead it
was:
"Important
meetings in
Sana'a today
in order to
prepare for
the next round
of peace talks
for #Yemen."
So Inner City
Press asked
him, "Press
question for
@OSESGY: I see
you saying you
have important
meetings in
Sana'a; any
comment on
#Saudi
airstrikes
there?"
While some
predicted
blocking --
the approach
taken by
Burundi's
current
Ambassador to
the UN, and a
former of a P5
-- we will
await a
response and
explanation,
watch this
site.
On
March 18,
Inner City
Press asked
Kirby again:
Inner
City Press: On
Yemen, I see
that you
answered
yesterday and
you said you
didn’t have
the details
yet about this
airstrike in
Hajjah
province, but
now the UN’s
human rights
commissioner
has said that
his team got
there on
Wednesday.
They put the
death count at
106.
UNICEF Yemen
puts it at
118. So
I’m just
wondering, do
you accept
that as kind
of – as – is
that enough
information to
– for the U.S.
to say this
did happen and
that’s the
death count?
MR
KIRBY:
We’re aware
and deeply
concerned by
reports that a
significant
number of
civilians may
have been
killed or
injured during
a strike near
a market in
northern
Yemen.
I’m unable
today to
verify any of
the specifics
of what
happened.
I would note,
though, that
the coalition
has stated
that it will
conduct an
investigation
of the
incident, and
we encourage
them to
conduct a
prompt,
transparent
investigation
and publicly
release the
results.
It’s vital
that the
investigation
provide a
thorough and
objective
accounting of
the facts and
circumstances
of the
incident and,
if
appropriate,
to address any
factors that
led to it so
that we can
prevent
reoccurrence,
of course.
As we’ve said
previously,
we’re deeply
concerned by
the effects of
the crisis in
Yemen, both in
terms of
civilian
casualties and
the dire
humanitarian
situation
which still
exists.
Okay?
On
March 18, the
UN High
Commissioner
for Human
Rights put the
civilian death
toll at 106; UNICEF
in Yemen puts
the figure at
118 dead
including 22
children.
On
March 16,
Inner City
Press returned
and asked
Kirby's deputy
Mark Toner
about the
Saudi
airstrike in
Hajjah, full
video here
from Minute
56:28; Vine
here, US
transcript
here:
QUESTION:
Inner City
Press. I want
to ask about
Yemen and
something
about the UN.
MR TONER:
Sure.
Inner City
Press: On
Yemen,
yesterday, Mr.
Kirby said
that we
welcome the
fact that
there’s a
cessation of
hostilities.
And then, as
I’m sure you
know, there
was a big
airstrike in
Haja province
– some people
say 41 killed
--
MR TONER:
Yeah.
Inner City
Press: -- some
say 107. What
do you say to
that? And
related back
to the
genocide
question, also
still on
Yemen, Sudan
is part of the
coalition.
Sudan has
troops in
Yemen with the
U.S.-supported
coalition. And
I’m wondering,
how is that –
does that –
does the
genocide
finding as to
Omar al-Bashir
in Darfur have
any
implication
for the U.S.
not being part
of a coalition
or militarily
cooperating
with a
government
whose head of
state is
charged with
genocide by
the ICC and
was found by
Colin Powell
to --
MR TONER: So
to your first
question,
we’re
certainly
aware of the
reports that
civilians may
have been
killed or
injured during
a strike, I
believe, near
a market in
Haja province.
I can’t at
this time –
cannot verify
the specifics.
We remain
deeply
concerned by
the
devastating
toll of the
crisis in
Yemen, both in
terms of
civilian
casualties,
but also,
obviously, in
terms of the
humanitarian
situation that
Yemen faces.
We urge all
sides to
comply with
obligations
under
international
humanitarian
law.
Speaking to
the broader
peace process,
as you know,
Secretary
Kerry was just
there. I was
with him over
the weekend,
as was poor
Dave here. And
we were on a
trip to Saudi
Arabia. But
one of the
things that we
discussed – he
discussed,
rather, with
both the Saudi
– His Royal
Highness King
Salman, also
the crown
prince, and
the deputy
crown prince
as well as
Saudi Foreign
Minister
al-Jubeir –
they talked
about the need
for a
political
solution to
the situation
in Yemen. And
so we support
the UN efforts
to that end.
In terms of
your second
question, I’m
actually – I
just don’t
know the
specifics
about that or
what prohibits
us – you’re
saying why we
would not have
been part of
this, are we
prohibited
from taking
part in that?
Inner City
Press: No, no,
I guess I was
saying – you
were saying
that there –
or people were
saying in this
first round
that there
were some
legal
implications
if you make a
finding of
genocide. And
I don't know
if those
include not
working with
--
MR TONER: But
I’m not sure
whether they
pertain to --
Inner City
Press: -- the
government who
--
MR TONER: I’d
have to –
yeah, I can
take that
question. I
don't know.
QUESTION:
Okay. And do
you know –
just one other
– because I
think the
question was
taken
yesterday.
MR TONER:
Yeah.
QUESTION: I
wanted to ask
about this
corruption
case about the
UN. Today, in
the Southern
District of
New York, the
former deputy
permanent
representative
of the
Dominican
Republic pled
guilty and has
pledged to
cooperate
against the
former
president of
the General
Assembly, John
Ashe. I wanted
to know the
State
Department’s
position on
it, and also
on the
Government
Accountability
Project. They
wrote a letter
– a public
letter to the
U.S. Mission
to the UN
urging them to
get involved
in opposing
retaliation by
the UN against
the press that
has been
reporting on
the corruption
scandal. I
think that
some members
of Congress
are actually
now – but I
haven’t seen
anything from
the State –
from the U.S.
mission. So
I’m wondering,
is the State
Department
aware of the
corruption
case, and also
separately of
this GAP
letter, and
what’s their
response to
it?
MR TONER: I
would imagine
we’re aware.
I’m not,
unfortunately.
I apologize we
haven’t gotten
back to you on
that. We’ll
take it.
On
March 15,
Inner City
Press asked US
State
Department
spokesperson
John Kirby,
from the US
transcript:
Inner
City Press: I
want to ask
about
Yemen. I
saw the
Secretary’s
comments when
he was in
Saudi Arabia
about
possibility of
a ceasefire
similar to
Syria and
something
about having
teams on the
ground working
on that.
So I wanted to
know – it
seems like
there’s talks
between the
Houthis and
the Saudis
that don’t
involve Saleh
or even
Hadi. It
seems – what’s
the U.S.’s –
like, what was
he referring
to? Is
it – does he
view direct
negotiations
between the
Houthis and
Saudi Arabia
as a positive
thing?
Is that the
ceasefire he’s
talking
about?
And what’s the
role of the UN
envoy, who
seems not to
be part of
those talks,
and of Mr.
Hadi going
forward?
Is he the
future
president of
Yemen or is he
– has time
passed him by?
MR
KIRBY:
So there’s a
lot
there.
There – we
still continue
to support the
UN special
envoy and his
efforts.
That’s not
going to
change.
And when the
Secretary was
in the region
over the
weekend, Yemen
was – as he
said, was a
significant
point of
discussion
with Saudi
leaders.
Nothing has
changed about
our support
for the UN
special envoy
and his
efforts to get
a political
process going
and move
forward.
And the United
States is
going to
remain firmly
behind that
effort.
He also said
that we
welcome
reports that
there is a
reduction in
violence
between
Houthis and
the coalition
forces led by
Saudi
Arabia.
We welcome the
fact that
there is a
cessation of
hostilities,
quite frankly,
that appears
to also be
holding.
That’s a good
thing, because
we’ve long
said that
there needs to
be an
increased
effort by the
international
community to
get
humanitarian
aid and
assistance to
so many Yemeni
citizens who
are in need,
and that’s
hard to do
when there is
still violence
going on
between both
sides.
So we welcome
this – that
development,
and we welcome
the news that
there are
discussions
between the
two
sides.
If those
discussions
can lead to a
resolution of
the conflict
and to a
continuation
of the
reduction of
violence, that
too is a
healthy
thing.
But it doesn’t
mean that we
aren’t also
going to
continue to
support the UN
track here,
because we
still believe
that that is
an important
part of
putting in
place a
sustainable
governing
structure, one
that the
Yemeni people
clearly
deserve going
forward.
So it’s both,
it’s
both.
And he’s very
much focused
on both tracks
and I think
you’re going
to continue to
see that be
the case going
forward."
On
March 15, a
Saudi
airstrike
killed at
least 106
civilians in
northern
Yemen...
On
March 14,
Inner City
Press had
asked UN
Spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric:
Inner
City Press: on
Yemen, there
are obviously
a lot of
reports now
that the
Saudis are
negotiating
directly with
the
Houthis.
This was
referred to by
some degree by
John Kerry in
his visit to
Saudi Arabia
over the
weekend.
Where is the
envoy?
Is the envoy
part of
this? Is
this outside
the envoy…
Spokesman:
We referred to
it, as well,
on Thursday or
Friday where
this is
something that
the envoy
welcomes and
has been
encouraging
for some time.
But
is he
involved?
On March 5
Inner City
Press
published
another
exclusive: UN
envoy Ismail
Ould Cheikh
Ahmed's email
to UN Under
Secretary
General for
Political
Affairs
Jeffrey
Feltman, which
contradicts
what envoy
Ould Cheikh
Ahmed most
recently told
the Security
Council. The
email
exclusively
published by
Inner City
Press shows
flexibility on
the Houthi
side, with the
prospects of
meeting in
Jordan or
Morocco, while
the Saudis
insist on
sending low
level
representation.
The email is
published in
full, below.
On
March 7, two
days after
exclusively
publishing
Envoy IOCA's
email to
Feltman, Inner
City Press
asked UN
Deputy
Spokesperson
Farhan Haq
about it. He
did not deny
the email,
instead saying
that the envoy
is working
hard.
Inner City
Press asked
Haq to confirm
or deny at
least the
delivery of
the
humanitarian
IT equipment,
by email since
Haq's
"squawks" over
the press
floor public
address system
don't reach
it, with UN
DPI Banning
ICP from its
longtime
office (petition
here).
We'll see.
Here
is the email:
"Dear
Jeff, I just
completed a
2-day visit in
Riyadh and
wanted to give
you a quick
update on how
things have
developed
since my
discussions
with H/Mohamed
AbdelSalam
last week in
Muscat.
I had
a private
discussion
with both
State Minister
Mussaeed Al
Ayban and Abu
Ali where I
briefed them
on the
readiness of
the Houthis to
resume
discrete
face-to-face
meetings with
KSA
representatives.
While they
welcomed the
progress made
and expressed
their
commitment to
go ahead with
this track,
they also
emphasized
that:
i) in
light of the
progress the
Coalition has
been making on
the ground and
their advance
toward Sanaa,
the Houthis
should seize
this
opportunity
and discuss in
good faith as
they are in a
weaker
position on
the ground and
their options
are narrowing;
ii)
KSA will not
consider
elevating the
level of their
representation
in the KSA-H
talks, as
Mohamed
AbdelSalam had
requested. KSA
considers that
the 2
representatives
they are
sending are at
the level of
Mohammed
AbdelSalam and
the Houthis
should not
expect a
higher
representation
at this point;
iii)
KSA accepted
the proposal
of Mohamed
AbdelSalam to
meet in a
third country
(Jordan).
Mohamed Abe
Assalem has
suggested to
me either
Morocco or
Jordan as the
venue.
I
immediately
called Mohemad
AbdelSalam
from Riyadh to
share the
outcomes of
the meeting.
He was going
to talk to his
leadership and
revert to me
with a
confirmation.
If the Houthis
accept, the
Houthi - KSA
meeting could
go ahead as
early as next
week, in
Jordan. We of
course would
not
participate
nor be
present. I
have however
already
started
coordination
with the
Jordan
Ambassador to
Yemen, as
needed.
Although
we still do
not have an
agreement for
a new
cessation of
hostilities,
we have
continued to
press for
commitment to
the
De-Escalation
and
Coordination
Committee
(DCC), and a
range of
economic
initiatives
(especially in
relation to
the Central
Bank's
independence
and the
reactivation
of the Social
Welfare Fund).
In my
meeting with
the GoY
delegation, I
continued to
impress upon
them the
importance of
participation
of the GoY in
the DCC, and
to training
which we are
planning to
organize in
Amman during
the coming
weeks. The UK
Ambassador
informed me
that Foreign
Minister and
Head of GoY
delegation
AbdelMalik El
Mikhalfi today
had responded
positively to
his
suggestion.
There
are been
positive
developments
on economic
initiatives
which I have
supported as
well. Foreign
Minister
Mikhalfi
participated
in the Central
Bank board
meeting last
week in Amman
together with
the Minister
for Finance
and the CB
Governor.
DPM/MoFA
Mikhalfi
acknowledged
that
significance
of the
Governor's
attendance
from Sanaa and
was very
grateful for
my personal
efforts to
secure his
participation
with the
Houthis, which
was seen by
the GoY as an
important
confidence
building
measure.
Mikhalfi
agreed on the
necessity of
developing
further
economic
initiatives
including the
support for
the SWF and
SFD. My office
is working
with the UNCT,
World Bank and
IMF in order
to ensure a
sufficient
level of
technical
support for
these
proposals.
I
am now in
Nouakchott for
4 days where I
need to renew
my G4 visa and
will proceed
to New York on
16 February
ahead of the
SC briefing. I
intend to
remain in NYC
until 22
February in
order to meet
with key
Member States
and HQ
officials. I
plan to also
travel to
Washington DC
19 February
and hold
meetings
there. I look
forward to
seeing you in
New York in a
few days.
Best regards,
Ismail."
The above
email was sent
on February 11
and
contradicts
what Ould
Cheikh Ahmed
told the
Security
Council;
meanwhile
Saudi Arabia's
Ambassador to
the UN told
the press on
March 4 that
envoy IOCA
does NOT want
a humanitarian
access
resolution.
In
the UN
Security
Council on the
Yemen
sanctions
resolution
adopted on
February 24,
language was
added to try
to discourage
the Panel of
Experts from
looking into
the act of the
Saudi-led
Coalition.
Concessions
were made, of
a kind not
made for or
about other
countries
under
sanctions.
(Inner City
Press had to
follow the
process from
outside the
UN, literally,
the park on
43rd Street
across First
Avenue,
because only
days after
Inner City
Press asked
why the UN was
so quiet about
false
claims of
Iranian
military
equipment
in a UN WFP
aid ship,
Inner City
Press was
summarily
thrown out of
the UN for
seeking three
weeks earlier
to cover an
event in the
UN Press
Briefing Room,
and Banned,
without due
process. Petition
here.)
On March 4 in
the same UN
Press Briefing
Room, Saudi
Ambassador to
the UN
Abdallah Y.
Al-Mouallimi
held an
unscheduled
press
conference to
announce that
OCHA, whose
Yemen pick up
the pieces
campaign Saudi
Arabia largely
funds, does
not think
there's a need
for a
humanitarian
access
resolution. If
true, some
will say that
OCHA has been
bought.
Inner
City Press
asked
al-Mouallimi
why his Yemeni
counterpart
had claimed to
Inner City
Press, on the
record, that
the WFP ship
the Saudis
seized
contained
"Iranian
military
equipment"?
Al-Mouallimi
said, among
other things,
the ship DID
come from
Iran... and
the equipment
wasn't on the
manifest and
was "hidden."
Inner
City Press
asked him
about cluster
bomb use; he
denied it and
many media
printed that
quote, without
more. Inner
City Press
asked him, if
opposed to the
UN Panel of
Experts
looking into
the impacts of
the Saudi
Coalition, who
should do it?
This was not
answered,
except to
again
emphasize how
tied the PoE
is to the
underlying,
one-sided
resolution.
At
the end, Inner
City Press
asked
Mouallimi to
encourage the
Yemen / Hadi
delegation to
hold its press
session in
this same UN
Press Briefing
Room, and not
for Gulf and
Western UNCA
scribes only,
a spoonfed
breakfast,
see below.
Al-Mouallimi
said he would
convey the
request. We'll
see.
On
March 1, back
in on a
reduced access
pass, Inner
City Press
asked UN OCHA
official John
Ging about
taking "aid"
money from
Saudi Arabia
while it
blasts away at
Yemen. Video
here.
Ging
said these two
are "ring
fenced," and
that the UN
doesn't allow
Saudi Arabia
to put
conditions on
aid or where
it is
delivered.
Inner
City Press
asked, what
about the
Saudi threat
that aid
workers should
leave
Houthi-controlled
areas? Ging
said the UN
had pushed
back.
But
quietly, as
was the case
with the Saudi
diversion of
the WFP ship.
Does money
talk?
Apparently
yes.
, 
