As
UNSC Statement
on Syria
Opposes
Attacks on
State, Does UN
Deem Assad
More
Legitimate
than Gaddafi?
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
August 3 --
After the
Syria
Presidential
Statement was
adopted
by the UN
Security
Council
Wednesday with
Lebanon
"disassociating"
itself,
Inner City
Press asked
Council
President
Hardeep Singh
Puri why the
investigation
of human
rights
violations
called for in
the
penultimate
drafts had
been dropped.
Ambassador
Puri
replied that
"there was an
issue as to
whom would do
the
investigation."
Moments later
when Inner
City Press
asked again,
UK Permanent
Representative
Mark Lyall
Grant
acknowledged
"there
was a concern
that Syria
would be
investigating
itself."
Inner
City Press
asked Lyall
Grant for the
UK's
understanding
of the PRST's
call to
refrain from
"reprisals
against state
institutions."
He
said that "we
do not expect
to see attacks
on state
institutions,
even from the
protesters."
On
a second round
of questions,
Inner City
Press asked
Lyall Grant
and the three
European
deputies with
him, from
France,
Germany and
Portugal, to
compare this
call with
Libya, where
they are
supporting
attacks on
Gaddafi regime
state
institutions.
Does
this mean
they -- and
their PRST --
are deeming
Assad as still
fundamentally
more
legitimate
than Gaddafi?
Lyall
Grant
referred the
question to
French deputy
Briand, even
as he himself
was
asked to
answer it for
the UK. Briand
said, "there
is no
comparison."
Later a
journalist
questioned if
he meant Assad
is
much more
legitimate
than, and
cannot be
compared to,
Gaddafi.
Lyall
Grant &
Ban Ki-moon,
ability to
report on
Syria not
shown
Later
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon came
to the
stakeout.
Inner City
Press tried to
ask him how he
would provide
the requested
report or
"update"
to the
Security
Council in
seven day if
Assad does not
even take his
calls. But
Ban's
spokesman
Martin Nesirky
did not call
on Inner City
Press for a
question, just
as he did not
following
Ban's
re-appointment
to a second
term,
preferring
then to call
on UN Radio
for a request
for Ban's
message to
children
everywhere.
Beyond
dodging
questions, one
again has to
wonder about
the wisdom of
putting atop
the world body
an individual
who can't even
get his calls
returned --
and then
asking this
individuals
for reports
about the
countries
concerned. To
be continued
-- watch this
site.
, 
in