At
UN,
Pillay
Testifies Over
Objection of
Syria, Which
Invokes Al
Qaeda
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
February 13 --
When the
General
Assembly
session on
Syria
began Monday
morning,
Syrian
Permanent
Representative
Bashar
Ja'afari
made an
objection or
point of
order, that
the session
was merely on
the whim of
the Qatari
President of
the GA, and
not in
accordance
with GA rules.
He asked for
an
"independent"
legal opinion
from the UN,
presumably
from Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's top
lawyer
Patricia
O'Brien.
Not
responding to
the legal
argument, the
PGA asked the
Syrian if he
wanted to
object
under Rule 71
and have a
vote. To some,
it was akin to
a judge
responding to
an objection
by saying,
shall we poll
those in the
courtroom? And
so the meeting
proceeded.
UN
High
Commissioner
for Human
Rights Navi
Pillay
recounted what
her office
has found.
Afterward,
Inner City
Press asked
Pillay what
she made of
Ja'afari's
statements
about Al Qaeda
killings. She
said that can
be
reviewed by
Commisison of
Inquiry.
Ja'afari
also
asked why the
PGA hadn't
made any
statements
about Al Qaeda
attacks.
It is a
strange
situation,
with the US,
France and UK
sharing with
Al
Qaeda at least
the position
that Assad
should go.
Then again,
Syria's
supporters in
the morning
session were
Iran and North
Korea.
Russian
Permanent
Representative
Vitaly Churkin
said that
peacekeepers,
as proposed
Sunday by the
Arab League,
would require
not only peace
- not
necessarily
true if one
considered the
mission in
Darfur, where
there
still is not
peace -- and
"the consent"
of Syria. That
seems
unlikely.
France,
represented
by its
political
coordinator,
spoke of Ban
Ki-moon's
links with the
Arab League.
But at the
day's noon
briefing,
after
Inner City
Press asked
about the Arab
League
nominating Al
Khatib who
clashed with
some in the UN
while Libya
envoy, Ban's
spokesman said
it is up to
the Security
Council, he
has no
mandate.
On
Friday Inner
City Press
obtained and
published the
draft GA
resolution
Syria. But
now it must be
tweaked, as
some put it,
after the Arab
League. Will
it go around
tonight, for a
vote tomorrow?
The PGA is
scheduled to
leave on a
trip on
Wednesday.
Watch this
site.
, 
