Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/un1corriere042408.html
UNITED NATIONS, April 24 -- Heroic moves at the UN have become rare, and so sometimes they are invented. Take, for example, the leading Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera's front page article of April 24, blaring that Italy's Ambassador Marcello Spatafora had stopped the Security Council on April 23 as soon as Libya's deputy permanent representative compared the Gaza Strip to World War II concentration camps, by telling the Council's president to suspend the session. But when Inner City Press on April 24 asked the Council president Dumisani Kumalo if Amb. Spotafora had in any way suspended the session, Kumalo said "No, I am not familiar with that, I don't remember any procedural thing." Video here
Inner City Press' reporting indicates a comedy of errors leading to the frankly erroneous headline in Italy's leading newspaper. An Italian wire service was told by a spokesman of the Italian mission to the UN that Spotafora stopped the meeting by signaling the president. Rather than ask the President, the wire service ran an urgent bulletin about Italy's heroism, based only on the spin of the Ambassador's press spokesman. Corriere's editors saw the wire service piece, and decided to cover the issue on their front page.
Thereafter the Italian mission offered a tale of lesser heroism, that Spotafora told Kumalo before the meeting that if things got ugly, he might close the meeting, based on a signal from Spotafora, a form of winking. Based on Kumalo's on-camera answer on Thursday that he did not remember any such communications calls even the wink-and-nod story into question. But will Corriere, or the Italian mission to the UN, make any correction? Watch this site.
Footnote: Italy's Ambassador to the UN Marcello Spatafora, who was so accessible to the press in the month in 2007 when Italy held the Security Council presidency, has not done a single "stakeout" interview in 2008. He was seen during last week's Africa Council session escorting Prime Minister Prodi around, including to a terrace meeting with Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo. On April 23 at the UN noon briefing, Inner City Press asked, "Did the Secretary-General meet with Prime Minister Prodi of Italy?"
Spokesperson: Yes, he did.
Inner City Press: And you know if it is okay to as if, whether, among other things, a possible post with the UN was discussed?
Spokesperson: Not that I know of.
And see, www.innercitypress.com/un1corriere042408.html
