At
UN, Ban Won't
Comment on
Drones,
Retracts
Claims He Sent
Syria Report
to SC, No Q
Allowed on
Haiti, Jau
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
December 14 --
Saying he will
make the UN
relevant,
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon on
Wednesday was
asked for his
views on
the increasing
use of drones
for cross
border
airstrikes.
Ban
responded that
he has no
comment, it is
up to member
states what
equipment they
use. One
wondered,
would that
apply to white
phosphorous or
cluster bombs?
This is Ban's
relevant UN?
Prior to Ban's
"year end"
press
conference on
Wednesday,
Inner City
Press twice
asked his
spokespeople
if Ban had any
comment on the
deadly US
drone and
airstrikes in
Pakistan and
if Ban raised
them in his
meeting with
US Secretary
of State
Hillary
Clinton in
Bonn, all
without
substantive
answer.
Wedensday
in response to
the
first of the
14
questionsthat
were allowed
to be asked,
Ban claimed he
has
transmitted
the report on
Syria to the
Security
Council and
General
Assembly.
After Ban was
challenged on
it, his
spokesman
Martin
Nesirky handed
him a note
which he read
out: the
special
rapporteurs
don't report
to the
Secretary
General.
Ban's
most
animated
answer, some
thought, was
to a question
about the
Korean
peninsula. He
said he was
answering and
acting in part
as a Korean
citizen. What
then about
South Korean
authorities
arrest of
peaceful
protesters,
including an
elected major,
protesting the
militarization
of JeJu
Island? Inner
City Press
asked Ban's
office about
the issue,
without any
answer.
Since
there's been
no answer, we
can only pass
on new
information:
"On November 8
, three peace
activists were
arrested at
Shilla Hotel,
Jeju Island,
South Korea,
where Republic
of Korea-UN
Joint
Conference
on Disarmament
and Non
Proliferation
Issues was
being held. On
November 29
the prosecutor
brought
charges of
trespassing.
The first
trial
will be on
December 15. I
heard that you
asked the UN
spokesperson...
I would like
to know if you
got any kind
of answer
from the UN."
The answer is
no.
There
were
questions Ban
was prepared
for, such as
his previous
comment on
whether the
Palestinians
should apply
to join more
UN agencies
after
the cut-off of
US funds to
UNESCO after
Palestine
joined. Ban
looked
and found an
"if-asked"
note, which he
read trying to
distinguish
his stated
support for
the
Palestinian
people from
concerns about
funding gaps.
Ban
eagerly
claimed to be
trying to cut
the UN budget,
saying in
particular the
travel budget
will be
reduced by
increased use
of video
conferencing.
But there is
increased
grumbling
about the cost
and lack of
transparency
of Ban's own
travel. Recent
Inner City
Press
questions
about this
travel,
including who
pays for Ban's
joint travel
with the
Qatari
President of
the General
Assembly, have
gone
unanswered.
Since December
1, the UN has
dodged questions
about the
shakeup (or
re-shuffling)
of Ban's team
by saying Ban
would soon
speak and take
questions. But
at the
December 14
"year end"
press
conference, no
questions were
allowed on
this.
Ban
&
spokesman on
Dec 14, Syria
report &
Haiti claim
not shown (c)
MRLee
At
Ban's
"year-end"
press
conference on
Wednesday,
Inner City
Press
was not called
on to ask a
question,
despite being
inscribed
sixth in the
pre-taken list
for questions.
Since Ban in
his opening
said
"in Haiti...
people need
our help,"
among the questions
which
Inner City
Press prepared
was:
"Last
month
a claim was
filed with
MINUSTAH and
your office
for
compensation
for cholera
in Haiti,
alleged
introduced
inadvertently
by UN
peacekeepers.
We keep being
told that the
filing, which
criticizes
MINUSTAH and
the UN for not
having
established a
standing
claims
committee, is
"being
studied." What
is your
awareness of
and position
on the claim?"
Of
the questions
that were
selected, many
were general,
about what Ban
thought of the
Arab
Spring. One
wondered, why
not allow at
least one
question about
what the UN
actually does,
rather than
about Ban's
views? Watch
this site.
, 
