Secrecy
Up at SC on
Afghan and
Yemen Plans,
Mind Reading
Not Possible
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
October 3 --
Will the UN
Security
Council make a
formal
visit to
Afghanistan,
and a less
formal
mini-trip to
Yemen? Due to
security
concerns,
those
questions will
not be
answered in
this
piece, which
follows up yesterday
afternoon's
report.
Rather,
the
focus here is
on some on the
Security
Council's
approach to
secrecy and
press
coverage.
After
yesterday's
Inner City
Press piece,
when the
Council
reconvened
Wednesday
afternoon all
"outside
parties" were
barred from
the meeting,
including the
UN's envoy to
Yemen Jamal
Benomar. The
emphasis was
on "no leaks"
of the
Council's
travel plans.
If
and when a
request for
confidentiality
is made, Inner
City Press
respects it.
But it is not
possible to
read minds,
particularly
not
the minds of
15 delegations
(and a UN
Secretariat
that pulls in
different
ways) all at
once.
After
yesterday's
piece, it was
conveyed to
Inner City
Press that one
reason that
individual
officials of
various
countries have
been able
to visit
Afghanistan,
and to a less
degree parts
of Yemen, is
that
there is no
advance notice
of their
arrival.
Frankly,
it
is difficult
for fifteen
countries to
keep something
secret. But
if that is
what the
Security
Council wants
to try to do,
maybe they
shouldn't hold
their meetings
about the
trips in the
Council
consultation
room, which
the Press goes
to cover for
news ranging
from Syria to
Sudan and
Haiti.
In
fact, more
than one
source said
that some are
trying to use
the
"leaking" of
information
about the
possible trips
as a way
to get out of
them. "Some
members don't
want to go to
Yemen,"
a source said.
"And so they
use this."
Wednesday
afternoon
things became
surreal.
During the
morning
session, Inner
City Press reported
that Turkey's
Permanent
Representative
Apakan and
entourage went
into the
Council and
Apakan
afterward
exclusively
told
Inner City
Press that it
was "shell
related."
In the
afternoon,
after the
return of
fire, interest
grew in what
might
happen in the
closed -- very
closed --
Council
consultations.
Some
even tied the
Security
Council's
Wednesday
afternoon
meeting with
one
of NATO and
surmised that
the meeting
was barred to
staff due to
Syria. But it
wasn't. Watch
this site.
Footnote:
Who
was driving
Wednesday's
secrecy? Starr
is known to
desire, but
not ask in
advance, for
secrecy about
trips. And the
host country,
as
once before,
seemed very
interested in
with whom
staff speak --
this
time, eight
days after
President
Obama's speech
in the UN
General
Assembly
about, among
other things,
freedom of the
press. We
may have more
on this.
, 
