Bachelet
Will
Leave UN,
Return to
Chile for
Reason
Personal -
Political?
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, March
15, updated --
Michele
Bachelet
announced she
will leave the
UN and return
to Chile for
“personal
reasons,”
widely viewed
as political
reasons.
The
announcement
came past 8 pm
on Friday,
after the
adoption of a
compromise
outcome
document at
the Commission
on the Status
of Women.
Libya spoke
against the
gay rights
language, the
US said it
wasn't strong
enough. But
then Bachelet
dropped her
news. And
Inner City
Press tweeted
it.
Bachelet
has
headed UN
Women. She had
been viewed,
without much
basis given
the UN's sytem
of regional
rotation and
near automatic
two terms for
Secretaries
General, as a
possible
replacement
for Ban
Ki-moon.
She
was higher
profile that
Ban's other
officials,
which include
as chief of UN
Peacekeeping a
French former
spokesman,
Herve Ladsous,
who was
rejected by
Ban's
predecessor
for the same
post that Ban
let him have.
France dumped
Ladsous on the
UN as a last
minute
replacement
for Jerome
Bonnafont,
without even
an interview.
By
contrast
Bachelet was a
former (and
perhaps
future) head
of state.
Inner City
Press spoke
with her not
infrequently;
she quickly
developed
knowledge of
the UN system
including the
unions. In
this she can
be contrasted
with Ban
Ki-moon, who
answered Inner
City Press'
question about
opposition to
him budget
cuts and
mobility
proposal by
called
opponents
“selfish” then
standing
behind it.
This extends
to departments
under Ban,
interfacing
with or
casting a pall
over the
freedom of the
press.
We'll have
more on
this. Watch
this site.
Update
of March 16:
after
publication of
the above, a
valued reader
wrote in with
predictions,
which we find
interesting
while noting
that Lakhshi
Puri's husband
Hardeep Singh
Puri has
already left
as Indian
Permanent
Representative,
see
video here.
To be
continued.
, 
