As Sweden Joins UNSC As Prez ICP on Burundi, Myanmar & W Sahara - & IKEA, Others on Trump

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, January 3 -- When Sweden's Olof Skoog held his UN Security Council president press conference on Tuesday, Inner City Press asked him about Burundi, Myanmar and Western Sahara. He answered each, as well as a slew of questions about Donald Trump. Periscope here.

   On Burundi, Skoog said it will come up in the month, just that no date has yet been set. This comes after the assassination of a minister and the UN Budget Committee's non-funding of even the personnel the UN has tried, or said it is trying, to send.

  On Myanmar, where the UN's Good Office envoy Vijay Nambiar has left the post, UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric told Inner City Press at the January 3 noon briefing, Skoog noted that the Council met on it in November or December.

But Inner City Press understands that the US agreed there would be no outcome of that meeting. And the Rohingya have been further attacked since then.

   On Western Sahara, perhaps because Inner City Press framed the question about Sweden's reported dispute with Morocco involving IKEA - he said Sweden relies on the (moribund) UN process.

 Inner City Press has been unable to itself edit the video, given its eviction and restriction by the UN and DPI's Cristina Gallach - but the raw UNTV video is here, from 36:09.

   For the Free UN Coalition for Access, Inner City Press asked Skoog for him - or Deputy Per Thoeresson - to do question and answer stakeouts after closed door consulations. He spoke about transparency and we're counting on it. Watch this site.

 Follow @innercitypress Follow @FUNCA_info