At UN's Gaza Meeting, Croatia Corrects CNN Report They Leave the Council on Jan. 1

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/unsc1nocroatia123108.html

UNITED NATIONS, December 31 -- As the UN Security Council's New Year's Eve meeting about Gaza proceeds and the resolution introduced by Libya circulates, two representatives of Croatia's, the Council president for December, emerged from the chamber and approached Inner City Press. We need your help, they said. CNN just reported that Croatia is leaving the Council tonight. But we have another year. We need to get it corrected.

Inner City Press escorted them up to CNN's office. Both of them showed Blackberries full of queries about Croatia's future on the Council. "Half of Europe is watching," one of them said.

Up in CNN, long-time correspondent Richard Roth was diplomatic.* He said if he was allowed to be more at the UN, the reference would not have happened. He promised to correct it.

* - his show Diplomatic License is much missed at the UN

On the way down, the Croatians confirmed to Inner City Press that if the meeting goes until midnight, it would have to be suspended, and the five Council members which unlike Croatia are actually leaving: Italy, Indonesia, Panama, Belgium and South Africa. Then the five new members would have to seated: Austria, Turkey, Mexico, Japan and Uganda. The change makes the Libyan introduced resolution harder to pass, even disregarding the anticipated use(s) of the veto.

The Croatians also confirmed to Inner City Press that they had finessed the Arab Group's December 30 request that the Council's President Neven Jurica write a letter to Israel on behalf of the Council demanding a cessation of air strikes. Instead, Jurica formally handed the Ambassador of Israel and the Permanent Observer of Palestine copies of the three-paragraph press statement he had read out at 2 a.m. on December 28. We could have screwed that one up, one of the Croatians in essence said. There are four more hours to do so, Inner City Press noted. Two hundred minutes, the Croatian corrected. CNN's correction is still awaited, and if seen will be reported on this site.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/unsc1nocroatia123108.html