Myanmar Silence at UN Half-Broken
by Kerim, Mysteries Continue, Currency Dodged
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of
Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED
NATIONS, September 4 --
While the UN Secretary-General's silence on his envoy Ibrahim Gambari's
mission
to Myanmar continued on Thursday, twelve days after Gambari left the
country,
the Spokesman for Srgjan Kerim, President of the UN General Assembly,
read out
a cryptic statement:
"Following
a detailed
briefing today from Ibrahim Gambari, the Special Advisor of the
Secretary-General, on his latest visit to Myanmar, the President
encourages the
Government of Myanmar to continue to work closely with the Special
Advisor to achieve
concrete progress on the suggestions he put forward during his recent
visit."
Inner City Press asked if Gambari had told Kerim why
he had not met with
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. "Yes," the spokesman said, then
declined to divulge what these reasons were.
Inner City Press asked if Kerim thought Gambari's
visit was useful or,
as UK Ambassador John Sawers put it, "disappointing."
Kerim sees it as a process," the
spokesman said, using the UN's new buzzword for its Burmese days. But was this visit a step forward, or a step
back in the process? He doesn't want to characterize it, the spokesman
said. Video here,
from Minute 58:02.
At least Srgjan Kerim issued a statement and took
questions. While Ban Ki-moon
appeared in the briefing room on Thursday to read a speech about an
anti-poverty study, he did not take any questions. Nor has any
explanation been
provided for Gambari's failure to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi. There is
a
communications breakdown, which apparently the UN will only try to fix
after
Gambari briefs the Security Council. But when will that be?
Srgjan Kerim and Ibrahim Gambari: a meeting,
a mystery
On
September 3,
Inner City Press asked this month's Council president, Michel Kafando
of
Burkina Faso, when Gambari will brief.
Ambassador Kafando replied that he would meet with
Gambari that day or
Thursday to arrive on a date. But after
Thursday afternoon's Council session, on Somalia and Cyprus, President
Kafando
did not as is customary come to the stakeout to speak with the Press.
It was
explained that he only wants to come with a translator, and for now one
will
only be provided after consultations or private meetings of the
Council. So
basic questions cannot be asked or answered. (A written question has
been
posed, its resulted will be posted on this site.)
The General Assembly spokesman also provided an
answer to Inner City
Press' question, in light of protesters across from the UN with signs
about
decertifying the Than Shwe government from Myanmar's UN seat, about the
decertification process:
"ultimately member
states are
the ones who decide on credentials. It is up to them to review
credentials and
any challenge to credentials. Reviewing credentials is done by the
Credentials
Committee for each session and they make their recommendations to the
General Assembly. The
review of credentials is governed by rules 27, 28 and 29 of the GA
rules of
procedure."
The Associate
Director of the UN Development Program Ad Melkert was asked about
UNDP's role
in the UN's system's losses in Myanmar in currency exchange dictated by
the
Than Shwe government. Video here,
from Minute 32:10. To be continued.
Watch
this
site. And this (on
South Ossetia),
this, on
Russia-Georgia,
and
this --
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