By Matthew Russell Lee
www.innercitypress.com/untreki1office101409.html
UNITED NATIONS, October 14 -- While the occupant of the Office of the President of the UN General Assembly changes each year, the same cannot be said for practices like nepotism and lack of transparency. Under the previous President, Nicaragua's Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, Inner City Press found and reported the hiring of two of his relatives, nephew Michael Clark and niece Sofia Clark, in the Office.
Now, new President Ali Treki of Libya lists on the web site of his Cabinet a relative named Ali Mohamed Treki. When Inner City Press asked the Office's spokesman and chief of staff for the precise familial relation, the talk got vague and went off the record.
Then Inner City Press discovered that Ali Treki's daughter Amal Ali Treki is working in the Office, and got this confirmed by Treki's thus far fair spokesman Jean-Victor Nkolo. Several other questions remain outstanding; the responses will be reported upon receipt.
The post of President of the General Assembly is the highest, at least technically, in the UN system. But it is run like a family business.
Inner City Press has also asked by whom and how much President Treki gets paid. This seems like a basic and fair question, but it has yet to be answered. It has been implied that Inner City Press should assume that Treki is paid by his government, Libya, but it has also been argued that he is and will be independent from Libya and its leader, Colonel Gaddafi. Which is it?
Two presidencies ago, Srgjan Kerim left unanswered who paid him -- a private company called WAZ Media -- and how much (reputed at $400,000). Inner City Press was asked, how many should Treki be paid, without being told by whom.
Treki has been embroiled in controversies, some by choice and some by happenstance. He did not write Gaddafi's disjointed General Debate speech: perhaps no one did. And continued reporting by Inner City Press about the Assembly's overruling of Treki's decision to give the floor to Madagascar's coup leader find that Treki was misled, to some degree, by those who called the question and the vote.
But Treki's decision on September 18 to answer a stray question about gay rights by calling homosexuality "not acceptable," not only by him but by "two billion Muslims and... Buddists and Jews," was his own choice. Inner City Press reported the comments, then asked Treki about the resulting condemnation by Congressman Barney Frank and counterparts of his in the UK and Australia. Treki stood by his comments, which Inner City Press understand that many of his own staff counseled him against.
To his credit, Treki has attracted some savvy UN staffers, using the professional level UN-paid posts available to him. His chief of staff Jamal Benomar, an expert on the rule of law, has his work cut out for him. His economic adviser Yasser Elnaggar has been around the UN block. Some say that Treki's daughter is among his best staff members. That's what every small businessman says...
Footnote: Inner City Press held publication of this article for several days seeking additional answers and comments from PGA Treki's office. If and when these are received, they will be published in future articles on Dr. Treki, his Office and the General Assembly.
