Bunkerized in Baghdad, UN Envoy de Mistura Dismisses Hiring Patterns and Fijian Coup

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis

UNITED NATIONS, January 21 -- "Baghdad is not Alcapulco," the UN's envoy to Iraq, Staffan de Mistura, told reporters on Monday. Inner City Press asked him about the UN General Assembly declining to approve in December a $180 million request to build a new UN headquarters, which delegates took to calling "the Bunker," in the Green Zone. "The so-called bunker," de Mistura replied, "I don't like the name, as you know... It may appear to be bunkerized... we will come up with a revised proposal." Among the questions raised by the General Assembly were why Iraq or the U.S. were not paying for the bunker. De Mistura made much of a new but vague Iraqi pledge to contribute.  Video here, from Minute 36:34.

            De Mistura was asked about his hiring of the Secretary-General's son-in-law as his deputy; one correspondent ask if this hiring, and that of the son of previous Secretary-General Kofi Annan's chief of staff Iqbal Riza, were just "coincidences." De Mistura replied that he meets many promising people, some of whom turn out to be the sons of high UN officials (who in turn select him for posts). Inner City Press asked a follow-up, if this particular hiring raised unique security concerns, on which grounds for example the UK Prince's military deployment was ultimately cancelled. "This may raise attention," de Mistura conceded, before saying that there is already attention on the UN in Iraq.

Passing out the blueberries, Bunker still not shown

            Asked about the UN's continued use of Fijian peacekeepers, after Kofi Annan said this might be reconsidered after Fiji's military coup, de Mistura answers, "This is beyond my brief. I speak for Iraq." Video here, from Minute 42:40. He went on to describe the co-ed Fijian deployment in their blue berets, by which several correspondents heard him to say "blueberries." We'll see.

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These reports are 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

  Because a number of Inner City Press' UN sources go out of their way to express commitment to serving the poor, and while it should be unnecessary, Inner City Press is compelled to conclude this installment in a necessarily-ongoing series by saluting the stated goals of the UN agencies and many of their staff. Keep those cards, letters and emails coming, and phone calls too, we apologize for any phone tag, but please continue trying, and keep the information flowing.

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Other, earlier Inner City Press are listed here, and some are available in the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.

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