By Matthew Russell Lee
www.innercitypress.com/darfur5nigeria120209.html
UNITED NATIONS, December 2 -- Two days after Inner City Press exclusively reported it, on Wednesday morning a Security Council member confirmed that a letter nominating Ibrahim Gambari of Nigeria as the UN's and African Union's Special Representative to Darfur has gone to Council members.
Inner City Press asked U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice, for the second time, about Mr. Garbari for Darfur, given that the U.S. criticized his predecessor Rodolphe Adada for being too soft on Khartoum. Ambassador Rice said Gambari should play an "active and vigilant role... to halt attacks on civilians." Video here, from Minute 11:41.
During his time as UN envoy on Myanmar, Gambari was criticized by human rights groups for being too close to the military government of Than Shwe. Gambari's response, privately and then publicly, was that if the "Western powers" didn't give him benefits to offer to Myanmar, he could accomplish little because the country has natural gas and oil which China and India want.
Darfur, of course, also has oil which China wants and is obtaining. So what benefits, what "carrots instead of sticks," will the U.S. through Ambassador Rice allow Gambari to offer?
At the UN's noon briefing, the day after Inner City Press had asked acting Spokesperson Marie Okabe about Gambari, she read a statement about his nomination.
Inner City Press asked her to respond to the statements, including by an African Ambassador who withheld his name from consideration for the post, that Nigeria "blackmailed" Ban Ki-moon by threatening to pull its troops from Darfur if a Nigerian didn't get the post.
Ms. Okabe declined to respond, saying it is now with the Security Council. Inner City Press asked U.S. Ambassador Rice about the Nigerians threat to pull out of Darfur. Video here, from Minute 13:23.
"I can't comment on that," Ambassador Rice said as she walked away from the stakeout microphone. Why not? Some say Nigeria was miffed at the Obama administration for visiting Ghana rather than Lagos. We'll see.
Footnote: Ambassador Rice also declined to provide the U.S. position on what should be done with with the UN good office post on Myanmar that Gambari has been filling.
"I'll let the UN address that question as to what his relationship with MYanmar will continue to be, if any," she said. Inner City Press was told by an involved Ambassador that the UK -- and the U.S.? -- wanted Gambari out of that post for being too soft on Than Shwe. Is Darfur less important? Has it become just a footnote?
From the U.S. Mission's transcript, video here from Minute 7:27 -
Inner City Press: On Darfur? I wanted to ask you, it’s known that…
Ambassador: Hold on, can we continue on Afghanistan?
Later, video here from Minute 11:41 --
Inner City Press: I want to ask you on Darfur, it’s… it’s thought or known that the US had concerns about Rodolphe Adada when he was SRSG of the UN for UNAMID. Now that Mr. Gambari’s been nominated in a letter sent to the Council does the US, you know… do they… do you feel that his approach will be different than that of Adada what do think he should do as SRSG and relatedly what’s going to happen with Myanmar for the UN? Is he going to cover both?
Ambassador Rice: I’ll let the UN address that question as to what his relationship to Myanmar will continue to be, if any. We have significant appreciation and respect for Ambassador Gambari and we look forward to working with him as he takes over the role of SRSG for Darfur. We think it’s vitally important that UNAMID come up to full strength; that the impediments to its movement and access are immediately eliminated; and that the SRSG play a very active and vigilant role in ensuring that both sides adhere to their obligations to halt attacks on civilians, to adhere, we hope, to a lasting cessation of hostilities. There is great work to be done as we discussed the other day in the Council on the political front, but there’s a vital need to ensure that UNAMID, whose mandate it is to protect civilians, is fully able to accomplish that and that’s what we will look to Ambassador Gambari as SRSG to accomplish.
And then the question about Nigeria's reported blackmail to get the post for Gambari is not included in the U.S. Mission's transcript.
