On
Syria
SC Diplomat
Tells ICP of
"Kofi Letter,"
Tuesday
Briefing,
Slams Banning
By
Matthew
Russell Lee,
Exclusive
UNITED
NATIONS,
April 9, updated
-- The UN
Security
Council may be
briefed
Tuesday
about Syria, a
Security
Council
Permanent
Representative
told Inner
City Press on
Monday night,
referring to a
"letter from
Kofi...
we need
clarification
on the
ceasefire
deadline."
[At
11 pm April 9
Inner City
Press wrote
a follow up
story quoting
sources that
Annan will
move to give
Assad an
extension and,
separately,
specifying
that Annan's
deputy
Guehenno be on
video,
confirmed to
Inner City
Press by
Annan's
spokesman on
April 10.
Click here
for that story,
itself being
updated.]
This
diplomat,
contrary to
others'
defense of
cutting off UN
Television
coverage on
April 5 before
Syria could
responded to
Annan's and
others'
speeches,
told Inner
City Press
that the
cut-off was
"not the
standard
process," and
made the UN
look bad.
Another
Council
diplomat, also
present,
wondered by
Inner City
Press hadn't
yet in
April writing
about what he
called the
"lack of
productivity
under the US
presidency" of
the Council.
He hearkened
back to
CNN using the
need to "check
in with
Atlanta" as
excuse for
cutting off
Omar
Abdel-Rahman
when accused
in the (first)
World Trade
Center
bombing, as he
mentioned the
US' support
for Hosni
Mubarak.
Earlier
on Monday,
Inner City
Press asked
Ban Ki-moon's
spokesman
Martin Nesirky
for
Ban's position
on Saudi
Arabia and
Qatar, the
country of the
President of
the General
Assembly who
determined to
cut UN TV on
Syria's
defense, funding
the salaries
of Syrian
rebels:
Spokesperson
Nesirky:
The
Secretary-General
has
wide-ranging
contacts, and
I
would simply
remind you
that he has
said
repeatedly,
including in
his
remarks to the
General
Assembly, that
militarization,
further
militarization
of what is
happening is
really not
desirable.
Yes,
Matthew?
Inner
City
Press: I
wanted to ask,
what does he
think of this
as opposed to
militarization
the idea of
paying the
salaries of
the Free
Syrian
Army, which is
something that
Saudi Arabia
and Qatar are
now saying
at the Friends
of Syria
meeting that
they would
begin to
provide
funds for
either the
opposition or
armed rebels,
is that… does
that
fall into his
idea of
militarization
or is that
okay?
Spokesperson
Nesirky:
I would simply
say that
militarization
is not
desirable.
But
what about
paying
salaries?
Watch this
site.
, 
