Inner City Press -- Investigative Reporting From the United Nations to Wall Street to the Inner City

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, February 16 -- After the UN issued a vague statement about Bahrain, not mentioning its official Terje Roed-Larsen's friendly visit there, now Bahrain had fired off an angry memo to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, blaming his spokesperson Martin Nesirky. One wonders how the UN will respond, given that it has yet to respond to Syria's protest note verbale, on which Inner City Press exclusively reported on December 19, 2013.

  The Khaleej Times has just reported:

  Blaming outside interference for internal opposition is widely pilloried in Syria, less so in Sri Lanka -- but will the UN accept it from Bahrain? Ironically, US State Department spokesperson Marie Harf also commented on Bahrain, but it is unclear if Bahrain has protested this, from February 14:

   So where is Bahrain's protest to that?

  On Syria: Back on November 7, Inner City Press asked UN spokesperson Farhan Haq about Irish UN peacekeepers getting shelled in the Golan -- who did it?

Haq said, " In this case, the firing was by the Syrian Arab Armed Forces and protest was made to the Syrian Arab Armed Forces.

But as Inner City Press pointed out even that day, "Ireland has said that it was a firefight between the Government and opposition forces in Durbol."

  On December 16, Inner City Press asked Syrian Permanent Representative Bashar Ja'afari about the Golan, including statements by Israel's defense minister that Israel was delivering aid into Syria through the Golan, reportedly "mediated" by the UN mission UNDOF. Inner City Press YouTube video here and embedded below.

  Ja'afari said his country had protested to the Department of Peacekeeping Operations under Herve Ladsous, who previously refused to follow up on involvement from Doha in the kidnapping of UN peacekeepers by the Yarmouk Martyrs brigade rebels.

  Ja'afari said his Mission would be writing to the UN about what he called the Office of the Spokesperson of the Secretary General's misstatements.

  Inner City Press immediately e-mailed the top two UN spokespeople, asking them for their response to what Ja'afari had said. The first day, there was no response. The next day, a discussion took place trying to determine the complaint, and get a response. Still, no response.

Now Inner City Press has obtained and is exclusively publishing the Note Verbale dated December 16 from the Syrian Mission, here. It addresses the November 7 (mis) statements, the aid from Israel including statements by the Israeli defense minister, and the "missed" -- kidnapped -- nuns of Ma'aloula.

Now will the UN Spokesperson's office respond, as Inner City Press requested on December 16?

Update: Inner City Press asked UN Spokesperson Farhan Haq about this at the December 19 noon briefing. He confirmed receipt of the Note Verbale and said his Office is checking with other UN offices -- that is, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations which gave out the information that Syria's government did it. Haq said he would inform of any needed correction or amendment. Watch this site.