By Matthew Russell Lee
www.innercitypress.com/unsc1guinea102109.html
UNITED NATIONS, October 21 -- When the UN Security Council held a closed door meeting Wednesday about Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's announcement of a UN international commission of inquiry into the killing and raping of protesters in Guinea, sources tell Inner City Press that Russia raised questions and objections.
By what right, Russia asked, did Ban decide to send such a commission? (We noted, while Russia didn't, that the UN has failed to send any commission to look into a much higher number of deaths this year in Sri Lanka).
When Ban's representative in the Council meeting, Haile Menkerios, came to the stakeout, Inner City Press put to him, on camera, the questions Russia had asked. How was the decision made? How will the commission be paid for? Video here, from Minute 6:09.
Tellingly, Menkerios said that "ECOWAS in its last meeting requested -- we understood from Doctor Chambas that ECOWAS was going to ask... that it would be difficult for them." He went on to say that Ban consulted informally with members of the Security Council.
Inner City Press has been told that French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner was most forceful in demanding a UN commission of inquiry. But it appears that Ban did not sufficiently consult with all of the Permanent Members of the Security Council, in light of Russia's objections on Wednesday.
The rest of Menkerios' answer implied that ECOWAS may send military or security observers, if security is not assured to the commission and to Guineans. Burkina Faso's president will first try to get the security commitments. So, some wonder, would this be a peacekeeping force?
As to why Russia took the position it did in the Guinea consultations, some say Russia would have liked a UN inquiry into Georgia after its attempt to take back South Ossetia by force. Some speculate on other Russian reasons.
On the question of who would pay for the commission, Inner City Press asked France's Ambassador Gerard Araud at the stakeout. As he walked away, he said, "That's one of the questions, we don't know." Video here, at end.
In a similar walk away from a question, when Inner City Press asked Menkerios for the second time about China's multi billion dollars investment with the military leader of Guinea in the midst of the crisis, and whether they was helpful, Menkerios said to "ask Guineans or others." Video here, from Minute 10:39. It appears the UN is reluctant to criticize China.
Footnotes: on this, when Inner City Press asked Ban's Deputy Spokesperson Marie Okabe at Wednesday's noon briefing if he or the UN have any response to the report that at least 43 Uighurs have been disappeared by the government in Xinjiang, Ms. Okabe said she had been told that UN High Commissioner on Human Rights Navi Pillay would be speaking on that later on Wednesday.
But when Inner City Press asked Ms. Pillay, on camera, about the disappeared Uighurs, she said nothing. (On another Inner City Press questions, about the Sri Lankan asylum seekers diverted from Australia to Indonesia, and those in Canada, she let her co-panelists answer, and said nothing as well). Her staffer said a statement on the Uighurs might be provided later on Wednesday. We'll see.
Finally, on how the Guinea commission of inquiry would be paid for, Menkerios said, "This would not be the first commission." Later, a UN financial official told Inner City Press that the Secretary General has a budget, likened to a slush fund, of $8 million for unforeable expenses related to peace and security. We'll see.
