UNITED
NATIONS, May
20 -- On what
basis does the
UN decide to cut off
the UN
Television
broadcast of a
speech by
Palestine's
negotiator
Saeb
Erekat,
as happened on
May 20?
Inner
City Press
asked the
question right
after the
cut-off, wrote
about it,
and six and a
half hour
later was told
by the chief
of UNTV
Stephane
Dujarric, "On
the video
coverage of
the
Palestinian
meeting, we
were advised
by the
conference
officer that
the meeting
would now be
closed. For
further
information, I
would ask you
to speak to
the organisers
of the
event."
But
the day's UN
Journal
clearly said
that the
session would
be webcast,
that is,
televised:
Committee
on
the Exercise
of the
Inalienable
Rights of the
Palestinian
People
10:30
to 13:00 352nd
meeting
[webcast]
Economic and
Social Council
Chamber
(CB)
Briefing
by
Mr. Saëb
Erakat, Member
of the
Executive
Committee of
the
Palestine
Liberation
Organization
and Chief
Palestinian
Negotiator
The
UN having
announced in
advance that
something
would be
televised
would seem to
trump whatever
an unnamed
conference
officer said,
no?
So Inner City
Press again
asked
Dujarric:
"Once
UNTV cut off,
I went to the
balcony and
[the meeting
was not
closed.]
And later, at
least after
the noon
briefing, the
UNTV broadcast
was
back on. Not
sure how to
square any of
this with the
answer you've
sent, now at 6
pm. Who is the
conference
officer you
are referring
to? I'm
writing on
this."
Dujarric
responded:
"As for the
Palestinian
meeting,
that's the
info I
have now. When
I get
something
more, I will
share." Inner
City
Press
continued to
wait before
publishing
this article.
Then, past
7:15 pm, this
from the UN's
Dujarric:
From:
Stephane
Dujarric [at]
un.org
Date: Mon, May
20, 2013 at
7:18
PM
Subject: Re:
Pressing Q:
why did UNTV
cut off while
Saeb Erakat
spoke on
Inalienable
Rights of the
Palestinian
People? &
bulletin
board, etc
To: Matthew
Russell Lee
[at]
InnerCityPress.com
Cc:
funca [at]
FUNCA.info,
Maher Nasser
[at] un.org
Dear
Matthew, Due
to a clerical
error the
meeting was
listed as
closed and
notate
available to
UNTV. However,
we will have a
recording made
available to
us tomorrow.
It will then
be posted on
the UN webcast
page.
Best
Stephane
Dujarric
(Mr.)
Director, News
& Media
Division |
Department of
Public
Information
United Nations
Headquarters |
Room: S-1056
New
York, NY,
10017
It's
still hard to
understand
what "clerical
error" could
have
been deemed to
trump the
day's UN
Journal, which
plainly listed
the
session as
open and
webcast.
Getting
these
procedures
right is
important. Why
would UNTV
rely more on
an unnamed
conference
officer
and unspecific
clerical error
than on the UN
Journal and UN
Department of
Public
Information's
Media Alert,
which listed
the
session as
open?
And
if a recording
exists, the
session was
video-taped.
Does this mean
that other
meetings that
UNTV thinks,
rightly or
wrongly, are
closed
are
video-taped?
These
are questions
that people
including
diplomats were
asking as
Monday
came to an end
in the UN's
North Lawn
building.
We'll have
more on
this tomorrow.
Watch this
site.
, 
