By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, December 10 -- Israel's current lead Ambassador to the UN didn't mince his words on December 9, about reports on the flotilla incident, Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan and UNRWA's John Ging.
Inner City Press, introduced as such, asked Meron Reuben about what a Turkish diplomat had said earlier in the day, the Israel might turn in its report on the flotilla “in Hebrew, so the UN would have to translate it.”
Reuben scoffed and said it will be submitted in English and it will be a “proper report. We could have done a trumped up report but instead did a proper one. Our government won't come out smelling like a rose, I can promise you that.”
He acknowledged that Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's panel, including former Colombian president Uribe, canceled its December meeting to wait for Israel's report, which he said will be submitted in 2011, “not at the very beginning of the year.”
After a pause, Reuben said “It would be interesting to see how connected Erdowan is to militant organizations connected to Al Qaeda.”
Earlier in the week at the US Mission to the UN, State Department spokesman PJ Crowley was asked about Erodogan's threat to sue the US diplomats who repeated unnamed sources allegations that Erdogan has secret bank accounts in Switzerland. As with most things WikiLeaked, Crowley declined to response in any detail.
Iner City Press asked Reuben about UNRWA's John Ging, who when Inner City Press asked last week about shutdowns of the Gaza power plant called it an “intra-Palestinian” matter about payment, and not any fuel blockade by Israel.
Israel was “not impressed” by Ging's report, Reuben said. Sources tell Inner City Press that Reuben has yet to present his credentials to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, being something of a recess appointment. How long will the recess continue? Watch this site.
