| At
UNESCO Prez of Gen Conf Tolls Bell On
Azoulay As Guterres 2d Term Must Be
Stopped
By Matthew
Russell Lee &
sources,
Exclusive
UN GATE, Feb 5 –For
several month,
Inner City
Press is
alerting about
the diplomatic
moves by
UNESCO’s
Director
General Audrey
Azoulay and
her closest
teammates in
the
Secretariat in
order to
secure support
for her
reelection
across the
procedural
line (here).
The
statements
made by
several
ambassadors at
the 210th
Board session
last December
was the first
breach of the
adopted rules
for the
nomination of
a
Director-General.
UNESCO has
seen
corruption and
abuse of power
over the last
three years on
a number of
occasions, but
never such
blatant lack
of respect for
the governing
bodies.
Regardless
of established
procedures, DG
Audrey Azoulay
kept using
political
pressure to
bargain her
reelection.
The French DG
is scared to
death by the
option of a
fair
competition in
the reelection
process and
all those
efforts are
made in order
to dissuade a
potential
candidacy from
another
country.
The
circular
letter sent
off this week,
on 2nd
February, to
193 member
states by the
President of
the General
conference,
the Ambassador
of Turkey,
Altay Cengizer
(here) drew
the attention
of member
states to the
importance of
respecting
existing rules
and practices.
It whistled
the end of the
pre-electoral
silly game by
the French DG.
As a
consequence,
the
ambassadors,
happily
involved in
the
discreditable
arrangement,
felt badly
exposed.
Inner
City Press has
put the letter
on its DocumentCloud, here.
According
to our
sources, on
the very next
day, the
Cabinet of
Azoulay,
Kacyanides and
Firmin Matoko,
initiated the
political
counteroffensive,
despite not
yet having a
clue about
what and how
to do it about
it. As
reportedly
said, Azoulay
is “looking
for a solution
that could
save the
situation by
attacking the
President of
the General
Conference”.
What remains
unclear though
in her
reaction, is
why not rather
complying with
the rules,
since the
letter is
factual and
was sent
within the
prerogatives
and the
obligations of
the President
Cengizer.
The
first idea was
to involve her
tamed lapdog,
the Moroccan
ambassador
Samir Addahre,
but the
maneuvering
was considered
to be too
obvious, since
Azoulay is
half Moroccan
and her father
André Azoulay
is the adviser
of the King of
Morocco,
Mohammed
VI. The
next on the
list was the
eternal loyal
follower, the
ambassador of
Tunisia, Ghazi
Gherairi, who,
being a lawyer
himself, was
smart enough
to decline the
offer to lead
a charge that
has no legal
ground against
the head of
the supreme
governing
body. Still,
he confirmed
to the Cabinet
that he would
happily
support it,
should any
ignoramus
accept to
initiate a
political
prosecution.
At the
end, the only
string-puppet
left on hand
in the
Azoulay’s
shop-window
was the
seductive
ambassador of
Jordan, Makram
Queisi.
As
pointed out by
our source in
the Cabinet,
“As instructed
by Azoulay,
Makram, her
intimate
friend, will
spend his
weekend
brainstorming
with
Kacyanides and
some
like-minded
ambassadors,
so as to
sketch out the
possible
angles for
retaliating to
the President
of the General
conference.
Azoulay has no
doubt “Pretty
Boy” Makram
will go
all-out to
deliver, since
he is one of
those who
rushed in
sending her a
letter of
support”.
For
some, the crux
of the matter
is whether the
price for
buying member
states’
support to her
stratagems is
paid from
UNESCO’s
concealed
accounts.
“Member
states are
becoming
totally whacky
to get
involved in
the plotting
orchestrated
by French
“Queen of
Disaster” and
her Cabinet”,
added our
source.
It is clear,
nevertheless,
for both for
the
Secretariat
and for the
big players at
the Executive
board, that
the Turkish
ambassador did
the right
thing by
sending the
corrective
letter, while
Azoulay
totally lost
the momentum.
Even
few EU
ambassadors
confessed in
private that
“it was but
time to put
some order in
the House”,
although,
understandably,
the Europeans
did not like
the upbraiding
apropos the
importance of
duly following
and respecting
democratic
governance and
electoral
processes.
Whatever
happens next
week, after
the letter by
the President
of the General
conference, it
will be
problematical
for Azoulay to
pursue her
unprecedentedly
weird
pre-electoral
strategy, even
if the French
are known for
their
arrogance and
“I-know-it-better”
attitude.
The
looming
deadline of 15
March for the
submission of
candidacies is
making them
inexplicably
nervous. One
more month to
go before
either they
calm down, in
the absence of
another
candidate, or
in the
opposite case,
to hit the
roof.
This is where
UNESCO stands
today.
A UN
agency
propitious to
the
flourishing of
anti-democratic
governance,
corruption,
anti-constitutional
political
moves, sexual
performances-based
promotions,
abuse of power
and nepotism.
We will have
more on that.
***
Feedback:
Editorial [at] innercitypress.com
Past (and
future?) UN Office: S-303, UN, NY 10017 USA
For now: Box 20047,
Dag Hammarskjold Station NY NY 10017
Reporter's mobile (and weekends):
718-716-3540
Other, earlier Inner City Press are
listed here,
and some are available in the ProQuest
service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.
Copyright 2006-2020 Inner City
Press, Inc. To request reprint or other
permission, e-contact Editorial [at]
innercitypress.com for
|
,
