By Matthew Russell Lee
www.innercitypress.com/un1taliban032210.html
UNITED NATIONS, March 22 -- The UN distanced itself Monday from its former envoy Kai Eide's talks with the Taliban. "At no time was Kai Eide instructed to speak to the Taliban," UN spokesman Martin Nesirky read out, in response to a question from Inner City Press. Video here, from Minute 24.
Given that US envoy Richard Holbrooke has said that Kai Eide told the US about his talks with the Taliban, it is hard to believe that Kai Eide did not simultaneously or before tell UN Headquarters about his talks. So for the UN spokesman to carefully said that Eide was never "instructed to speak to the Taliban" misses the point, intentionally.
If Eide told UN Headquarters and Secretary General Ban Ki-moon about his talks with the Taliban, and they and he were allowed to continue, that was consent. Why not own up to it?
Back on March 18, Inner City Press asked the head of UN Peacekeeping, Alain Leroy, about Hamid Karzai's anger at Pakistan for targeting "moderate" Taliban who could be spoken with. "I don't have to comment," Leroy responded. Video here, from Minute 5:29.
Nesirky pointedly refused at Monday's noon briefing to answer a related questions about the UN in Afghanistan, triggered by a quote from the UN spokesperson in Kabul Susan Manuel that in Kandahar, there "has been a temporary reduction" of UN staff. “We’re trying to determine the profile of the staff, or who needs to be there doing what.”
The UN and Nesirky often deflect questions by saying that the UN does not speak or wish to see stories about the movements of its staff or other "security" matters. But here, the UN has spoken openly about pulling staff out of the way of an impending military engagement. Watch this site.
And see, www.innercitypress.com/un1taliban032210.html
