State
Dept Takes
Twitter Qs,
Not on W.
Sahara, Haiti,
Burundi or Sri
Lanka
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, April
21 -- Amid
press
questions
about Russia
and Ukraine
and the use of
chlorine in
Syria, US
State
Department
spokesperson
Jen Psaki
begged off on
Monday
afternoon,
saying "tune
in,"
she would be
answered
questions on
Twitter.
When
she did, Psaki
took -- that
is, retweeted
then responsed
to -- 17
questions,
ranging from
"How to fight
Russian TV
propaganda
when
75% of
Russians +
many
Ukrainians
believe in
Putin lies?"
to
"Apple or
Android?" (To
that, the
answer was
"love my
govt issued
bberry with
extra battery,
but also
iphone
addict.")
Two
of the 17
questions were
about the
African
continent:
Tunisia and
Sudan, how to
access Blue
Nile and
Southern
Kordofan. At
12%, Africa
was much
better
represented in
the Twitter
Q&A than
at the State
Department
briefings.
Still,
some timely
questions went
unanswered.
From among the
six questions
Inner City
Press
submitted
there were
Western Sahara
-- this is the
month for the
renewal, with
or without a
human rights
monitoring
mechanism, of
the UN's
MINURSO
mission on
which the US
hold the pen
-- Burundi,
Rwanda and
South Sudan:
In
South Sudan,
after the
killings in
Bentiu and
Bor, what is
US State
Dept thinking
on sanctions?
On both sides?
Has
Burundi
asked US help
to probe
itself?
President
& his
youth wing
met:
comment?
Is
or was there a
US
policy against
describing the
Rwanda
genocide as
being against
the Tutsi?
Please
explain; and
US
position on rights
monitoring in
Western
Sahara?
Novelli -
Kosmos
April 24?
Unpacking
this
last, on April
24 Under
Secretary of
State for
Economic
Growth,
Energy and the
Environment
Catherine
Novelli is
slated to meet
with
Western
Sahara-involved
Kosmos
Energy's CEO
Andy Inglis
and the
Senior
International
Policy Advisor
at Covington
and Burling
LLP, Al
Larson.
Particularly
since it seems
Mr. Larson
previously
held Ms.
Novelli's
position,
potentially
raising
revolving door
issues, the
purpose and a
read-out of
the meeting
would be
helpful.
Last
year the US
said it was
proposing a
human rights
monitoring
mechanism
for MINURSO.
This year,
French
Ambassador
Gerard Araud
has
vituperatively
replied to
human rights
questions by
saying French
has
no position,
ask the US.
Even
YouTube from
last April
belies what
Araud says.
But should the
US answer too?
In-person at
the State
Department
briefing on March
14, Inner
City Press
asked, and
Psaki's deputy
Marie Harf
answered, a
question Araud
has refused
to: about France's
continued sale
of Mistral warships
to Russia,
despite what
France says
about Crimea.
This is
called,
double-speak.
On
April 24 there
were also two
legal / policy
questions:
In
light of Iran
Ambassador-nominee
visa denial,
can the State
Dept
explain aiding
immunity of
Sri Lanka
military man
Shavendra
Silva?
How
is UN
immunity for
bringing
cholera to
Haiti,
supported in
US court
filing,
consistent
with
accountability?
On
this last,
Inner City
Press asked
the UN's
spokesperson a
question,
in-person, at
the UN's noon
briefing on
April 21, not
yet answered.
Comparing
the
UN's to the US
State
Department's
briefing, it's
notable that
in
Washington
many more
follow up
quesions are
allowed.
Then again,
the
International
Monetary Fund
allows the
journalists it
accredits,
like
Inner City
Press, to submit
questions to
its briefings
online even if
they are
outside of DC.
Will the State
Department --
and the UN, as
requested by
the Free
UN Coalition
for Access
-- move in
that
direction?
Watch this
site.
, 
