Ban
Ki-moon
Q&A Goes
Soft on Yemen,
No Haiti or US
Issues, NPC
Mug
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, April
16 -- For two
days, the UN
promoted
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
appearance at
the National
Press Club,
telling
reporters at
the UN they
could watch it
on CSPAN.
It
was ironic,
because Ban
Ki-moon has
done only one
question and
answer session
at UN
Headquarters
this year,
with the
questions
clearly
handpicked (on
Yemen, only
the Saudi /
Gulf
perspective,
for example,
as the new Free UN Coalition for Access has complained.)
But at the
National Press
Club, the
choosing of
questions was
more stealth:
they were to
be written out
by hand -
clearly - and
passed forward
on cards.
As selected,
there were no
questions
about any
problem in the
United States,
from police
brutality to
NSA spying.
Nor about the
UN, such as impunity
for bringing
cholera to
Haiti, or
cover up rapes
in Darfur and
the DR Congo.
In
fact, the UN
official
responsible
for those
cover up, UN
Peacekeeping
chief Herve
Ladsous, was
on the NPC
podium with
Ban. In New
York, Ladsous
refuses to
answer any
Press
questions. Video here, Vine
here.
Ban's prepared
speech
mentioned his
Syria envoy Staffan
de Mistura --
trashed by
guest of the
UN Censorship
Alliance on
April 16, here
-- but not
Jamal Benomar,
who resigned
on April 15.
Inner
City Press has
reported that
Saudi Arabia
pushes for
Benomar to go,
and now want
to hand pick
his successor,
Ismail Ould
Cheikh Ahmed,
who had a weak
record when in
Yemen before
and who's said
to have links
with a fishing
business with
Gulf funders.
Click
here for that
- and Inner
City Press'
additional scoop on
other names
floated for
the post in
the UN: Martin
Kobler and
Lisa
Buttenheim.
The first
question was a
softball, Has
diplomacy
lived up to
its promise?
Ban seemed to
answer yes. On
Syria, he
repeated word
for word what
was in his
prepared
speech. On
climate change
he grew
animated, saying
he'll go visit
the Pope in
Rome this
month about
the issue.
Soon the soft
Q&A was
over; Ban was
given a mug,
and mugged for
the (YouTube)
camera while
recounting his
conversation
with Daniel
Craig
(licensed to
save, 008,
saved you a
click).
The
lack of
seriousness of
the questions
would at best
appear to
indicate that
the attendees
don't think
the UN is a
serious
organization.
Then Ban took
his mug out
into the
Washington
evening. Fade
to black.
, 
