By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive
www.innercitypress.com/ukun2mybiar031710.html
UNITED NATIONS, March 17 -- Amid criticism of the election laws propounded by Burmese military leader Than Shwe, at the UN on March 25 the Group of Friends of the Secretary General on Myanmar will meet, Inner City Press has learned.
On March 16, after UK prime minister Gordon Brown had been quoted in a government press release that he had sent a letter to S-G Ban Ki-moon requesting an emergency meeting in New York, Inner City Press asked Mr. Ban if he had gotten the letter, and if there would be a meeting of his Group of Friends.
No, Mr. Ban replied, he had not gotten any UK letter. But he said there might be a meeting of the Group of Friends.
UK Permanent Representative to the UN Mark Lyall Grant, who had no-commented a Press question about Myanmar on his way into the Security Council Tuesday morning, did not come to Wednesday's Council meeting.
His Deputy Philip Parham came, but split off from Austria's Ambassador and entered the chamber without passing by the press. Austria's Ambassador told Inner City Press that on Myanmar, he had no more information than the day before.
But later on Wednesday morning, not from the UK mission, Inner City Press learned that Mr. Ban has requested a meeting of his Group of Friend on March 25. China cannot block it, the source said. The Friends meet when Mr. Ban requests it.
A question is whether Ban will claim that he was already planning to convene his Group of Friends on Myanmar before getting -- or even hearing about -- Gordon Brown's letter.
Timing is everything, especially in the absence of action.
The Press has been told that Tuesday following Mr. Ban's noon press conference at the conclusion of which he told Inner City Press he had no letter from Brown but there might be a meeting of the Friends, the UK's Lyall Grant finally hand delivered Brown's letter to Ban.
Had Ban heard of Brown's letter, and decided to get out in front of it? Or do great or at least Friendly minds think alike?
