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As UN and Ban Are Booed, Buck is Passed But Not to
Gaza, Phosphorus Facts Promised
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of
Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED NATIONS,
January 19 -- While Ban Ki-moon was
in Lebanon and Ramallah on the West Bank over the weekend, he was booed
by
large crowds for his delayed and allegedly pro-Israel actions during
the
offensive against Gaza. In Ramallah they chanted, in an Arabic rhyme,
"Ban
Ki-moon, in his brain he has no say." In Lebanon, posters were held up
of
Ban covering his ears and eyes: hear no evil, see no evil.
In New York
on Monday, Inner City Press asked Ban's spokesperson Michele Montas to
comment
on the protests, was Ban aware of them and what was his response. "Most
of
the demonstrations were not directed at him," Ban's Spokesperson
argued,
"but also at the UN in general, concerning the Security Council and the
General Assembly." Video here,
from Minute 14:21.
But Inner
City Press' sources say the chants were about Ban Ki-moon. As to the
General
Assembly, they only became part of the UN action on Gaza due to the
personal
interest taken by GA President Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann. While he was
criticized, including Monday to Inner City Press by Permanent
Representatives
of both European and Arabic countries, it seems unlikely that the
protests over
the weekend had the GA in mind.
In fact,
these same sources are dismissive of the still-unconfirmed plan by Ban,
leaked
by Israel, to visit Gaza now that bombing has ceased. "He should have
gone
earlier and appealed for a stop to the bombing," one of the UN sources
said. "He should have gone to the Rafah crossing and said, 'let all
this
medicine in.'"
Inner City
Press asked UNRWA's John Ging to respond to the Red
Cross' Jakob Kellenberger's
statement that he saw no evidence that Israel used white phosphorous
weapons,
and that the medical system in Gaza suffered from no shortage of
equipment or
medicine. Ging said, on white phosphorus, "we have evidence to
substantiate" its use.
Protesters in Lebanon with photo of
UN's Ban, Jan 17, 2009, General Assembly not shown
Inner City
Press asked about the continuing blockage of cash into Gaza, and the
UN's
statement that "without a functioning bank system
in Gaza, recovery
efforts will be vastly undermined." Ging said that to bring solutions,
"we are all engaged with the banking sector here." Video here,
from
Minute 41:21. We will have more on this.
Footnote: Ban's
Spokesperson was asked, as a
so-called "housekeeping" question, why have a briefing on these
topics on January 20, when Barack Obama is being inaugurated. There
will be no
briefing tomorrow, Ban's spokesperson quickly agreed. Later, that at
least John
Ging will appear for questions was arranged, first for 11:30 and then,
when it
was argued that might conflict with the Obama event, back to 11 or
10:30
a.m.. Talk about deference.
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
Click here for Inner City
Press Nov. 7 debate on the war in Congo
Watch this site, and this Oct. 2 debate, on
UN, bailout, MDGs
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
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