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On Myanmar, OCHA's
Holmes Gets the Memo, Ed Luck Missing in Action on R2P
Byline: Matthew
Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED NATIONS,
May
8 -- A day after UN Humanitarian Coordinator John Holmes said that
Myanmar was
beginning to cooperate, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Zalmay Khalilzad said
"we're outraged by the slowness of response by the government of
Burma." Inner City Press asked Amb. Khalilzad if Holmes is being
forceful
enough. "We'd like to have Mr. Holmes tell member states what the
situation is... to urge and press" Myanmar to accept help. Video here,
from Minute 6:08.
This and more forceful private
messages were clearly received by Mr. Holmes. On Thursday in a more
tightly
controlled briefing to the UN press corps, Holmes referred to the
authorities
in Myanmar as an "isolated and suspicious regime" and expressed
"disappointment." It was contrary to his presentation on Wednesday,
and one wondered if the change was due to watching BBC, or to messages
received
from the host country.To try to get this question answered, Inner City
Press
remained with hand raised throughout Holmes' Thursday press conference.
But
Deputy Spokesperson Marie Okabe did not allow the question. After
Holmes left,
she said "I cannot speak for Mr. Holmes." Inner City Press asked for
Holmes' views in an email to Ms. Okabe, but the views were not
provided. He
will launch as a flash appeal, as the UN phrase has it, Friday
afternoon. We'll
be there.
Amb. Khalilzad: he throws pitch, Holmes
catches it
Ms. Okabe also declined to provide
access to the Secretary-General's Special Advisor on the Responsibility
to
Protect, Edward Luck. Inner City Press asked for Luck's view, both by
email and
to Ms. Okabe, but none was forthcoming. Video
here,
from Minute
32:28.
Inner City Press: Can we have Mr. Luck, since he is the
Special Adviser
on this very topic?
Deputy Spokesperson Okabe: He
is
the Special Adviser, but the definition of the "responsibility to
protect" is outlined at the 2005 World Summit, it is a well-known
document.
But why then have
a Special Advisor?
This is a question the Fifth
Committee (Budgetary
and Administrative) asked, but has yet to have answered. Watch this
site.
Footnote: UK
Ambassador John Sawers, the Security Council president this month,
acknowledged
that R2P does not apply to responses to natural disaster, and told
Inner City
Press that a briefing has now been scheduled for next week on Somalia.
Video
here,
from Minute 4:39.
The Italian mission claims credit for setting it up. But
will it be presented by those who have offered
nothing but praise for the Transitional Federal Government, even while
Amnesty
International says the TFG is killing civilians? We'll see.
* * *
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
Feedback: Editorial
[at] innercitypress.com
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Other,
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in the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.
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2006-08 Inner City Press, Inc. To request
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