Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/un2rice061908.html
UNITED NATIONS, June 19 -- The staged Zimbabwe meeting convened by Condi Rice occupied less than an hour in the UN basement Thursday. Around a horseshoe table were nameplates for the 15 Council members. South Africa's and Libya's seats stayed empty until 11:55. Then again, Costa Rica's seat was not filled,* and doubtless Mugabe's name is mud in San Jose. The rape debate upstairs created conflict. In Conference Room 7, African nations were given the extra seats, along with World Vision in the center.
Ms. Rice's co-sponsor, the foreign minister of Burkina Faso, said afterwards that now is not the time for sanctions. The UK's Attorney General, Baroness Scotland of Asthal, congratulated African nations for standing unanimous up to Mugabe. Mbeki, not so much. But in the wings waits Jacob Zuma. The world is closing in upon Harare, but the location of the meeting, in the basement not the chamber, was telling. Perhaps World Vision was there only as a fig leaf, the rationale for exile from the Chamber. When NGOs brief the Council, it happens in the basement. But if one or more nations opposed addressing Zimbabwe in the chamber, other than as a strictly humanitarian issue, a room in the basement and a sample NGO were matched to move things forward.
Condi Rice took just a few questions, the first two on the Middle East. The settlements should not be addressed in the Council, she said -- some muttered this is like some other P-5's position in Myanmar and Zimbabwe -- and yes, for the record, Iraq is a sovereign country. BBC Afrique, ever intrepid, got to the front and asked if pressure on Mugabe really helps the Zimbabwean people. Mugabe is not helping them, Condi Rice shot back. Then she turned to leave, but a quick-thinking journalist called after the Burkina Faso minister. They returned, complete with translator, to say it's not the time for sanctions.
As the entourage moved off, two men from World Vision came out. They've called for an end to Mugabe's restrictions on NGOs. Inner City Press asked, what's the status of restrictions in Myanmar. It's gotten much better, was the answer, although the government of Than Shwe is still "overly sensitive about security." Might that be Mugabe's excuse?
And see, www.innercitypress.com/un2rice061908.html
