Amid
Myanmar Crimes
on Rohingya,
UN Calls It
Flux, Passed
Buck
to Ladsous
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
August 16 --
After ethnic
attacks on and
threats to
mass
deport the
Muslim
Rohingya from
Myanmar, Inner
City Press on
Thursday
ran to ask UN
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
deputy
spokesman if
the
UN agrees that
these are
crimes, and
why the UN has
continued
praising
Myanmar's
government or
regime.
Spokesman
Eduardo
Del Buey
replied that
"it's not for
us to debate
if it's
an
International
Criminal Court
crime." Video
here, from
Minute 3:41.
He said in
Myanmar it's
"a few steps
forward, a few
steps
backwards, the
situation is
in
flux and we
accept that...
but we cannot
divorce it
from the
progress
that's taking
place in other
parts of the
country. Hence
the more
comprehensive
approach we've
taken with
Myanmar."
Actually,
US
state media Voice
of America
reports that
"the United
Nations
says the
security
situation is
improving
in Burma's
western
Rakhine
state."
Also dubious UPI
reported that
"Vijay
Nambiar, a
special
adviser to
U.N.
Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon,
said he
welcomed
Turkish and
OIC support
for Myanmar's
reform
processes.
'This has
demonstrated
the
willingness of
the Myanmar
government to
cooperate with
the
international
community to
alleviate the
suffering
of its
people,' he
said in a
statement."
These
UN quotes are
cut and pasted
directly from
UN press
releases. At
Thursday noon
briefing, only
two
correspondents
asked
questions, on
a
total of four
topics:
Myanmar,
Syria, the crash
of Uganda
helicopters
on the way to
Somalia and if
the UN will
pay for them
(Del Buey told
Inner City
Press he's
check) and the
repatriation
of Nigerian
peacekeepers
from Darfur.
On
this last, Del
Buey told
Inner City
Press to "ask
DPKO."
But the chief
of DPKO Herve
Ladsous is on
record
that he
will not
answer
Inner City
Press questions.
Del Buey said
that "Mr.
Dwyer" can
answer. But it
was Kieran
Dwyer who
said, on
camera
on July 17, "we
are
on the
record as not
answering your
questions."
Also, it was DPKO and the
UN which
failed for a
full day to
provide
confirmation
after Inner
City Press reported
Gambari had
left Darfur,
even as "UN
News" ran an
interview with
Gambari.
And so it goes
at the
UN.
, 
