By Matthew Russell Lee
www.innercitypress.com/un2gfm123009.html
UNITED NATIONS, December 30 -- With hundreds of protesters outside the UN's building in Cairo, in New York the spin of Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's position(s) on the Egypt's construction of an underground wall to seal off Gaza gathered force.
The Kuwait News Agency, KUNA, headlined an article on December 29, "Ban supports Egypt's decision to build steel wall along border with Gaza." Since the UN has repeatedly dodged questions about the wall, which Inner City Press asked in connection with the now-stalled Gaza Freedom March, this seemed surprising.
The KUNA article, further down, said that Ban's support for the wall is "implicit," and quoted his Deputy Spokesperson:
"UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon implicitly supports Egypt's decision to build a steel wall along its border with Egypt, meant to curb weapons smuggling into the Strip. 'We are aware of the media reports over recent days. It is our understanding that Egyptian efforts to counter illicit trafficking of arms and ammunition into the Gaza Strip, as all states are called upon to do by UN Security Council Resolution 1860, are ongoing,' his deputy spokesperson Marie Okabe told KUNA."
Given the UN's refusal to answer Inner City Press' December 28 request for comment on Egyptian authorities' blocking press access to the protesters in front of the UN building in Cairo, on December 30 Inner City Press asked a narrower, more targeted question, "In light of the public report that Ban "supports Egypt's decision to build steel wall along border with Gaza," please clarify whether Ban in fact supports, implicitly or otherwise, the construction of this wall."
The response repeats the quote used by KUNA, but amplifies it with an additional paragraph expressing concern for potential humanitarian consequences, see below.
Subj: Your question on Egypt/Gaza
From: unspokesperson-donotreply [at] un.org
To: Inner City Press
Sent: 12/30/2009 1:42:28 P.M. Eastern Standard Time
Regarding the reports about Egypt's construction activity, we would reiterate that it is our understanding that Egyptian efforts to counter illicit trafficking of arms and ammunition into the Gaza Strip, as all states are called upon to do by UN Security Council Resolution 1860, are ongoing.
As for any potential humanitarian consequences, we continue to be gravely concerned about socio-economic conditions in Gaza. The key to a sustainable solution to the crisis in Gaza is for resolution 1860 to be implemented in full, including an end to the Israeli blockade and the reopening of all legitimate crossings between Gaza and Israel and Gaza and Egypt, as prescribed in the 2005 Agreement on Movement and Access.
So does UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon support Egypt's construction of the wall? Watch this site.And see, www.innercitypress.com/un2gfm123009.html
