By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive
UNITED NATIONS, February 17 -- With the Israel settlements resolution pending in the UN Security Council, some of its non-Council member sponsors are moving to step back from the resolution, Council sources tell Inner City Press, mentioning among others Honduras, Cameroon, Kazakhstan and Panama.
“The US is asking them to drop off the settlements resolution,” a well placed source told Inner City Press exclusively on Thursday morning, “in exchange for aid packages.”
While the buzz on Wednesday was of a counteroffer of a Presidential Statement, a Quartet Statement in March and the Russia proposed Middle East trip by the Council. But while on a resolution members can simply abstain or vote no -- five members have the veto -- on a Presidential Statement members have to agree on every word, which they will not.
Cameroon voted against include a US sponsored clause on the protection of gays in a recent resolution on extra judicial executions in the UN Third Committee which it chairs -- then did not vote at all in the full General Assembly, apparently at the request of the US, as here.
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who a number of Ambassadors have told Inner City Press does not support the Russia proposed Middle East trip by the Council, held a rare press stakeout on Thursday morning. But no questions about the Middle East trip, or settlements resolution, were allowed.
Ban's spokesman said questions had to be limited to what Ban read a statement about -- democracy movements in Egypt and Bahrain. Meanwhile the nitty gritty work at the UN goes on, of large countries buying off smaller ones with money. Watch this site.
