Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/ban2burmapress062909.html
UNITED NATIONS, June 29 -- Myanmar's courts have barred two of Aung San Suu Kyi's four witnesses, just as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced he will travel to the country on July 3-4. In New York, Inner City Press asked Ban's spokesperson Michele Montas if Ban has any comment on the barring of these two witnesses, Win Tin and Tin Oo of the National League for Democracy.
Ms. Montas said of Ban, "He's not talking about the trial right now." Video here, from Minute 17:23.
Inner City Press asked, since in previous trip Ms. Montas' office had informed all UN resident correspondence of such trips and allow them to ask to accompany the Secretary General, if that was done in the case of Myanmar and if not, why not. Montas admitted that it was not done. She said that from among "people who had expressed interest" they "picked people willing to pool for others."
Since Inner City Press has asked numerous questions about the UN and Myanmar of Ms. Montas and others in the UN briefing room, one wonders what "expressing interest" means.
Asking publicly in the briefing room does not count, Ms. Montas said. "You have to come to my office and register on a list."
In fact, Ms. Montas' Office reached out to media organizations which indicated they would have staffers from Bangkok and elsewhere in the Far East accompany Ban and told them that Ban wants only particular reporters who cover him at the UN.
It would appear that, faced with negative press coverage of the first half of his term, particularly of his pro-government victory tour in Sri Lanka, Team Ban has sought to control how the Myanmar trip is covered by hand selecting who gets to cover it. Watch this space.
