By Matthew Russell Lee
www.innercitypress.com/unga3goldstone110509.html
UNITED NATIONS, November 5 -- Moments after the UN General Assembly voted 114 to 18 with 44 abstaining to endorse the Goldstone report on war crimes in Gaza, three speakers took to the UN Television microphone and spoke to the Press. First was Assembly President Ali Treki of Libya, who took only one question.
Next was the Permanent Observer of Palestine Riyad Mansour, who took questions in both Arabic and English. Inner City Press asked what Mansour expects of the Security Council, whose Permanent Five members fought against the referral of the Goldstone report. Video here, from Minute 5:47.
Finally a short woman took to the microphone, criticizing the resolution for not mentioning Hamas. Journalists took notes, one later telling Inner City Press he thought she was from the U.S. Mission. In fact, she was Anne Bayefsky of the Touro College Institute for Human Rights -- that is, a non governmental organization or NGO.
A representative of the UN's Media Accreditation and Liaison Unit monitoring the stakeout grimaced, but did not move to stop Ms. Bayefsky's speech. (As Inner City Press reported, once when a representative of Western Sahara's Polisario Front was speaking at the Security Council stakeout, the plug was plugged on the camera and microphone, later claimed to be an electrical system snafu.)
Two and then four UN Security officers arrived. After Ms. Bayefsky finished, they surrounded her and a young man she had brought into the UN with her. She was asked, How did you get him in? What type of UN pass do you have? The two were marched down to the UN Security office on the first floor.
Just then, Palestine's Observer Riyad Mansour walked back the General Assembly. Inner City Press mentioned that a seeming pro-Israel NGO had spoke at the stakeout after him. Mansour stopped and asked, "Did we capture them?"
Inner City Press went down to the Security office. Minutes later, Ms. Bayefsky and her colleague were marched out by two blue shirted guards. Ms. Bayefsky called Inner City Press over. "This is your story," she said. As Inner City Press took notes, one of the guards asked that the interview wait until Ms. Bayefsky was escorted out onto First Avenue. Missing, one wag mused, was the K-9 unit.
Once there, in the dusk, Ms. Bayefsky argued that other NGOs are allowed to speak at that stakeout, for example Human Rights Watch after the election of members to the UN Human Rights Council. Later Inner City Press verified this: May 17, 2007, video here. (By contrast, on November 5, 2009, the Bayefsky stakeout footage was not put on the UN's website, after Mansour's, here.)
Ms. Bayefsky stated that a white shirted UN Security officer with a large belly said that this was only happened because the Permanent Observer of Palestine was mad. (This bought to mind the Heisenberg Principle, that even by observing or reporting on something, inevitably it is changed.)
Some on the other hand view it as a crackdown after the UN and UN Security were embarrassed by KFC's Colonel Sanders impersonator being invited to take photos with GA President Ali Treki, apparently by Treki's daughter who works in the Office of the President. But was Colonel Sanders escorted to the Security Office and then out to First Avenue? Watch this site.
