By Matthew Russell Lee
www.innercitypress.com/unspox1shago120809.html
UNITED NATIONS, December 8 -- A poster denouncing China's censorship of the Internet was removed by the UN last month from its Internet Governance Forum event in Egypt in a widely publicized event. Also during the conference, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's Under Secretary General for Economic and Social Affairs Sha Zukang told the audience that while he knew "I am offending everyone, I do not care, at all!" Video here, from Minute 1:40.
Mr. Ban new spokesman Martin Nesirky was asked about the incidents on December 8:
Inner City Press: Under-Secretary-General Sha [Zukang] was at this Internet Governance Forum in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Now somebody has posted on YouTube footage of him gabbling and saying, complaining about the security at the conference and saying “I don’t care if I’m being rude”. Some have described him as sort of losing it. I wanted to know whether the Secretary-General, was he aware of that and what…? This was a conference at which a poster about Chinese Internet censorship was removed. Some on the online world are saying it was a new low. But I’m just wondering whether the Secretary-General was aware of that or that just takes place out there.
Spokesperson Nesirky: Well, as you know, Matthew, there is an awful lot out there online, and I can’t imagine that it would be fair to assume that the Secretary-General is aware of absolutely everything that’s online out there all the time. So we’ll need to take a look at that and then we can get back to you. But thanks for raising it. Any further questions? Okay, thank you very much.
Twelve hours later, Mr. Nesirky had not "gotten back" to Inner City Press with anything about the incidents, nor about the Secretary General's report on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, see below
Inner City Press: In your summary of the Secretary-General’s new report on the Democratic Republic of the Congo that the country is largely at peace, I believe you said it was in the Kivu, and maybe Ituri? What was the second?
Spokesperson Nesirky: I think it was Orientale. Orientale.
Inner City Press: Okay, because there are these reports in Equateur Province of the Government now sending 500 commandos and MONUC sending 120 to try and put down unrest. I’m just wondering is it that the UN doesn’t see that as… Is that the second reference or do they not see that as being significant on an ongoing basis? There was a helicopter, UN helicopter shot at recently there. Just wondering…
Spokesperson Nesirky: Let me check on that, Matthew. I’ll come back to you.
Given the wide availability of reports of unrest in Dongo in Equateur including a UN helicopter being fired at, as reported by Reuters, and given top UN Peacekeeper Alain Le Roy's personal commitment that his department would quickly answer questions going forward, it would seem this question could have been answered in less than twelve hours.
And see, www.innercitypress.com/unspox1shago120809.html
