After
France Tells
ICP Ban Told
It of Syria
Report, UN
Won't Confirm,
Selective
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
September 12
-- Syria has
confirmed it
gave a letter
from
Bashar al
Assad to UN
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon for
accession to
the Chemical
Weapons treaty
of 1993 (Inner
City Press put it
online
here).
But it remains
murky to whom
other than
France Ban
spoke last
night about
the UN report
on the topic,
when it will
be released
and
what it will
say.
Inner
City Press at 10 am on
Thursday asked
France
Ambassador
Gerard Araud
the basis of
his foreign
minister Laurent
Fabuis saying
the UN report
will be
submitted to
the Security
Council on
Monday and
will
implicate
Assad.
Araud
said,
we were told
last night.
When Inner
City Press
asked, by
whom,
Araud replied:
the Secretary
General.
But
when Inner
City Press
asked Ban's
associate
spokesperson
Farhan Haq
to confirm
what Araud
said and who
ELSE Ban spoke
to, Haq
refused. He
said Ban
speaks to a
range of
people.
Inner
City Press
asked: did Ban
tell Russia or
China last
night? Haq
wouldn't
answer. On a
second round
of questions
Inner City
Press
formally asked
for a list of
whom Ban spoke
to about Syria
yesterday.
It is similar
to the ongoing
request by the
Free
UN Coalition
for
Access for
disclosure
of whom Ban
golfs with
(beyond the
pro-West
troika of the
Permanent
Representatives
of South
Korea, San
Marino
and the UK).
It should be
disclosed.
When
September's
Security
Council
president Gary
Quinlan of
Australia came
out, Inner
City Press
asked him
about what
Araud and
Fabius had
said,
if to his
knowledge Ban
has spoken
with all of
the Permanent
Five
members, or
even all 15
Council
members
including
Australia.
Quinland
replied
that he did
not know. So,
not Australia.
Who DID Ban
give the
heads-up to?
And why? Watch
this site.
, 
