IMF
Defers
Comment on
Ukraine,
Stonewalls on
Greece,
Lagarde
& UN
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
November 3 --
When the
International
Monetary
Fund's
spokesman
David Hawley
held a press
briefing on
November 3, he
faced
multiple
in-room
questions
about Greece,
its referendum
and possible
default, and
when and how
Managing
Director
Christine
Lagarde knew
about them.
Hawley
deflected
all questions,
saying Lagarde
had already
spoken, and
learned about
the referendum
as everyone
else did. A
Greek
journalist
concluded, so
"you don't
have anything
for today for
us?"
Inner
City Press
submitted
three
questions
through the
IMF's "online
briefing
center," which
Hawley said
will soon be
re-named the
"Press
Center" and
offer
translation.
More
fundamentally,
it seems, is
for the IMF to
clarify which
questions
submitted
online it
deigns to
read out loud
and answer,
and which
ignore.
Hawley
was about
to end the
briefing when
he said there
was "a
question"
from Inner
City Press,
which he
paraphrased
as, "Can I
comment
on current
state of
discussions
with Ukraine?"
Then
Hawley
offered this:
"We are in
Ukraine at the
moment,
discussions
are
ongoing. I
prefer to wait
for the
conclusion of
those
discussions
before making
a further
statement."
Actually,
the
question Inner
City Press
submitted,
through the
Online
Briefing
Center and
e-mail, was
"On
Ukraine,
please confirm
or deny public
reports that
the IMF is
urging
the government
to sharply
raise utility
prices, and
comment on the
public
protests of
the IMF in
Kiev."
In
other
circumstances
the IMF does
offer comment,
how ever
conclusory,
about
public
protests. Why
not here?
Hawley, wall,
IMF - answer
on Lagarde and
UN not yet
shown
Inner
City Press
also asked,
without
answer or
acknowledgement
by deadline:
"Managing
Director
Lagarde
attended UN's
Chief
Executive
Board meeting
last
week. Please
describe her
and the IMF's
coordination
with the UN,
on
food security,
climate
finance and in
the Horn of
Africa and
elsewhere,
going
forward."
On
Libya, about
which Inner
City Press
also asked,
Hawley chose a
less detailed
question and
said the IMF
"will meet
with the
authorities
soon."
Watch this
site.
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