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UN
Pitches Ban vs. Ahmadinejad on
One-Way TV Screen, No Questions
Byline:
Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED
NATIONS,
April 20 -- The UN's priorities were shown this Monday morning when a
one-way video feed of Secretary General Ban Ki-moon denouncing
Iranian president Ahmadinejad's
comments on Israel preempted the UN's noon press briefing. Questions
would not be taken, then, on the fire over the weekend in the UN
compound in Darfur, more than 100 dead in South Sudan after the UN
failed to increase patrols, a workers' strike against UNRWA in
Jordan, nor the carnage in Sri Lanka.
A
UN spokesperson explained that it would not be possible to be
prepared on these other issues. Anyway, the spokesperson continued,
reporters at the UN had expressed a desire to see the Ban briefing in
Geneva, even if they could not ask any questions. This is the story
today, the message was: Ban's outrage at Iran, for its comments on
Israel.
UN's waves on way to Durban, away 40 days in
2009, carnage in Sri Lanka not shown
What
explains this seemingly disproportionate reaction? Some guessed it
was Ban's attempt to put “deadbeat-gate” behind him, where he
said the U.S. is the biggest deadbeat. Others said it was to make up
for criticizing the U.S. and others for not attending the Durban
review conference in Geneva (those countries were now saying, we told
you so). Some journalists joked about throwing shoes or sandals at
the one-way TV screen. “It's a new low,” said one wag. We will
live-blog the proceedings, such as they are, in this space.
Update of 12:19 p.m. -- US Deputy
Permanent Representative Alejandro Wollff came to the stakeout, primed
to speak about Durban, and praised Ban's written statement. One of
Ban's spokespeople watched from the riser: the sound was low because
the UN Secretariat has allowed chaos in its UN TV service.
Update
of 12:32 p.m. -- even with no stakeout going on, there are a total of
two journalists in the briefing room, watching Ban answer two
questions in Geneva, does he understand now why some countries didn't
come? Ban's office said that “the reporters in New York” wanted
it this way, no noon briefing, just the Ban presser. But this does
not appear to be true.
Update
of 12:40
p.m. -- In UN briefing room in New York, still only two journalists in
the room, plus Inner City Press intermittently. Even the person from
the President of the General Assembly's office has left. On screen,
Reuters in Geneva is asking, is this a difficult day for the UN? That
Ahmadinejad said what he said right after meeting with Ban... Ban
calls it totally unacceptable, “destructive.” And some NGOs in
the gallery, he says, along with some member states were not behaving
in accordance with the rules and regulations. Hopes for disciplinary
measures by conference president. What?
Update
of 12:47
p.m. -- as Navi Pillay says she went to sleep on Friday telling
herself, “job well done,” even the two other journalists have
left. Pillay thanks Susan Rice for calling to cancel, digs at
European countries which didn't even call. Fiasco on both sides of
the Atlantic. In New York, all other news preempted by the UN for an
empty room. Bad instincts?
Update
of 12:59
p.m. -- speaking of bad instincts, running out of the empty briefing
room while Ban speaks on screen, Council president Heller's stakeout
is already over, and the UN's Lynn Pascoe has, reporters say,
canceled his stakeout about Fiji. Thus, the UN has said nothing today
expect Ban (and Pillay) vs. Ahmadinejad. But Inner City Press is told
that, seeing the briefing room empty, UN Deputy Spokesperson Marie
Okabe came back and read out a statement on camera. No questions,
just one-way communication. Oh but one question that Inner City
Press asked up in the spokesperson's office is answered, sort of, by
e-mail:
Subj:
Your question on the UNRWA strike
From: unspokesperson-donotreply un.org
To: Inner City Press
Sent: 4/20/2009 12:20:38 P.M.
Eastern Standard Time
UNRWA
says it is negotiating possible salary increases with its striking
employees. But UNRWA also says its high budget deficit makes it hard
to meet all their demands immediately. For any further information,
please contact UNRWA.
And
that was
the question taken at, or in place of, the noon briefing. [Thankfully,
Amb. Heller stopped in the hall and gave Inner City Press an answer on
Sri Lanka that will be reported shortly.] Click here
for a review of last week's performance, two misstatement and a
run-around. 10-4, - 30 -
Click here
for a new YouTube video, mostly UN Headquarters footage, about civilian
deaths
in Sri Lanka.
Click here for Inner City
Press' March 27 UN debate
Click here for Inner City
Press March 12 UN (and AIG
bailout) debate
Click here for Inner City
Press' Feb 26 UN debate
Click
here
for Feb.
12 debate on Sri Lanka http://bloggingheads.tv/diavlogs/17772?in=11:33&out=32:56
Click here for Inner City Press' Jan.
16, 2009 debate about Gaza
Click here for Inner City Press'
review-of-2008 UN Top Ten debate
Click here for Inner
City Press' December 24 debate on UN budget, Niger
Click here from Inner City Press'
December 12 debate on UN double standards
Click here for Inner
City Press' November 25 debate on Somalia, politics
and this October 17 debate, on
Security Council and Obama and the UN.
* * *
These
reports are
usually also available through Google
News and on Lexis-Nexis.
Click here
for a Reuters
AlertNet piece by this correspondent
about Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army. Click
here
for an earlier Reuters AlertNet piece about the Somali
National
Reconciliation Congress, and the UN's $200,000 contribution from an
undefined trust fund. Video
Analysis here
Feedback: Editorial
[at] innercitypress.com
UN
Office: S-453A, UN, NY 10017
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weekends):
718-716-3540
Other,
earlier Inner City Press are listed here, and some are available
in the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.
Copyright
2006-08 Inner City Press, Inc. To request
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