IMF
Goes All
Greek, Ignores
Questions on
Tunisia, Late
on Sri Lanka,
Staying
in Hungary
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
February 14,
updated – The
International
Monetary Fund
has become
an all or
nearly all
Greek show. At
its biweekly
press briefing
on
Thursday,
nearly all the
questions were
on Greece.
Spokesman
Gerry
Rice even
expressed
frustration,
and said he
would look for
other
questions on
the IMF's
online
briefing
center. But
there, he
ignored Inner
City Press
questions on
Sri Lanka and
Tunisia:
On
Sri Lanka,
please explain
the IMF's
position on
(not)
providing
budget
support, and
if increased
defense
spending plays
a role in it*
On
Tunisia, what
is the status
of the IMF
considering a
loan or
program
to the
country?
Instead,
Rice
went with
online standby
Santo Domingo,
Ukraine and
then
Hungary,
denying that
the IMF is
closing its
resident
representative
office there.
Rice promoted
an upcoming
press
availability
by
Christine
Lagarde.
Under
her, the IMF
has become
even less
about Africa
than before,
another
than recently
promoting its
$18 million
facility to
Mali, in which
France just
intervened.
And so it goes
at the IMF.
Watch this
site.
Update:
later, after
expiration of
the embargo
and deadline,
the IMF sent
the below on
Sri Lanka,
still nothing
on Tunisia:
Thanks
for your
question. In
view of Sri
Lanka’s ready
access to
international
capital
markets, IMF
financial
support for
Sri Lanka’s
budget is not
required at
this juncture.
Please see press
release
just issued by
the mission
team. We have
nothing
further to
add.
, 
