While
N.
Korea Brags of
Tribute at UN,
UN Brags of No
Speeches or
Ban Condolence
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
December 26 --
Following the
December
22 standing
"moment"
of silence in
the UN General
Assembly in
tribute to Kim
Jong-Il,
North Korean
state media KCNA
reported that
"Nassir
Abdul
Aziz
Al-Nasser,
president of
the UNGA,
proposed to
all those
present at the
meeting to
express
condolences
over the
demise of Kim
Jong Il... The
attendants
paid one
minute's
silent tribute
to the
memory of the
leader."
On
the morning of
December 24,
as the UN
budget was
belatedly
being passed,
a senior UN
General
Assembly
staffer
approached
Inner City
Press to
respond to
reporting
on the
tribute.
He emphasized
that normally
when head of
state or
government or
uncontested
ruler dies in
office, not
only is
there a minute
of silence,
each of the
Assembly's
Regional
Groups and
the Host
Country (the
USA) give
speeches.
So,
the senior
staffer
argued, Nassir
Abdul Aziz
Al-Nasser has
negotiated
down the
normal
tribute.
Conferring
with the
senior staffer
before and
after
this was
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
deputy chief
of staff Kim
Won-soo, who
visited
Pyongyang
earlier this
year, and once
before
that also for
the UN.
On
December 22
less
then three
hours before
the minute of
silence, Inner
City Press asked
Ban's
spokesman
Martin
Nesirky:
Inner
City
Press: the
Korean
publication Arirang
has a story
headlined that
Ban Ki-moon
will not visit
the memorials
set up for Kim
Jong Il, and
I am asking
because it
quotes a "UN
official" who
said that
"UN
Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon
has no plans
to visit the
Mission to
offer his
condolences."
So it seems
like they have
a
source. Was
that decision
made, and also
does [Ban]
have any
comment
or thought on
this moment of
silence for
Kim Jong Il
taking place
this afternoon
at 3 p.m.?
Spokesperson
Nesirky:
On the first,
as we have
already said
publicly here,
so you
don’t need an
unnamed UN
official — you
have a name,
the
Spokesperson
sitting right
in front of
you — and what
I said was
that the
Deputy
Secretary-General
had signed the
Book of
Condolences
at the
Permanent
Mission of the
Democratic
People’s
Republic of
Korea on
behalf of the
UN system, on
behalf of the
UN system.
There
are no other
plans in that
regard. No
comment on
what may or
may not
happen in the
General
Assembly,
except to say
that normal
protocol is
being
observed, as I
understand it,
in this period
of mourning
for
the DPRK.
Inner
City
Press: Sure,
just one
follow-up on
that because I
agree, I
mean, I
definitely
heard you say
the thing
about the
Deputy went
there, so I
wasn’t
ignoring that.
It just seems
from this…
Spokesperson:
It’s on behalf
of the UN
system. And
the UN system…
I think
would include
the
Secretary-General.
Inner
City
Press: This
quote seems,
at least it is
part, one
reading of
it is that the
Executive
Office of the
Secretary-General
wants it to
be known,
particularly
in South
Korea, that he
is not going.
What do
you say to
that reading
of this quote?
Spokesperson:
Well, I don’t
think we need
to parse one
media report.
All we
need to do is
to note that
the Deputy
Secretary-General
signed the
Book of
Condolences on
behalf of the
United Nations
system, okay?
Right.
It
seems that the
"UN official"
quoted by
Arirang may be
that same
deputy
chief of
staff, and
that Ban is
trying, at
least to a
South Korean
audience, to
stay clear of
any condolence
for Kim Jong
Il, even from
the "minute"
of silence,
which was
shorter than a
minute.
(c) UN Photo
Ban's Kim
Won-soo in
DPRK, lack of
GA speeches
and Arirang
not shown
What was Ban's
role, and that
of the
President of
the General
Assembly,
in
"negotiating
down" the
December 22
tribute to Kim
Jong
Il in the
General
Assembly, and
how and what
basis was this
done?
Watch this
site.
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