On
UNESCO,
Palestine
Calls Out the
Czechs, Ban on
Joining UN
Agencies
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
November 3 --
Palestine's
Permanent
Observer Riyad
Mansour
emerged from
the Security
Council midday
Thursday,
telling the
Press
he'd met with
Lebanon and
with Portugal,
as November's
Council
president.
Inner
City Press
asked Mansour
about
Portugal's
decision to
abstain on
Palestine's
successful
application to
become a
member of
UNESCO. This
is seen as
part of
Portugal's
shift toward
American
position.
Mansour said
countries'
votes at
UNESCO "are
being
studied,"
including
the No vote of
a country
which has
formally
recognized
Palestine as a
state.
Off
camera,
Inner City
Press asked
the
Palestinian
delegation to
name the
state.
After a pause
came the
answer: the
Czech
Republic.
Other sources
tell Inner
City Press
that
Palestinians
are none too
happy with
Portugal's
decision to
abstain at
UNESCO.
Inner
City Press
also asked
Mansour about
UN Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
statement
that, beyond
UNESCO,
Palestinian
efforts to
join any other
UN agency
-- seemingly
including the
International
Criminal Court
-- are "not
beneficial for
Palestine and
not beneficial
for anybody."
Mansour
said
slowly, "We
respect the
statements of
the Secretary
General"
- then said
"we are
studying it."
Some ask, who
is Ban
Ki-moon say
that trying to
join the ICC,
or other
agencies,
would not
benefit
Palestinians?
Earlier,
Inner
City Press
reported on
complaints
from inside
the Ban
Ki-moon UN
administration
that Ban was
seeking a
legal memo
from his top
lawyer
Patricia
O'Brien, who
refused press
questions, on
how to delay
or stymie a
Palestinian
filing to join
the ICC, for
which the UN
Secretariat is
the
repository.
(c) UN Photo
Abbas
launches UN
bid on Sept
23, Ban
Ki-moon on
agencies not
shown
Ban's
new statement
put this is a
new
light and is,
as said,
"being
studied."
Watch this
site.
Footnote:
while
there is much
media interest
in the session
of the
Security
Council
Committee on
the Admission
of New Members
slated for
Thursday
afternoon,
less than two
hours after
Mansour spoke,
the meeting
will
be closed, and
new Council
president
Cabral would
not say if he
would
summarize the
meeting
afterward.
We'll see.
, 
