By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, February 6, updated w/ UK -- As the UN Security Council met on Somalia behind closed doors on Monday, a major issue was funding for the AMISOM mission. Sources inside the meeting tell Inner City Press that France expressed opposition to "funding all this;" one source called this hypocrisy, given what France says publicly.
The UK, the source went on, though facing a similar financial situation, did not speak as much against funding all this -- in part, the source surmised, because the UK is hosting the upcoming London Conference on Somalia.
Update: On this last, UK Deputy Permanent Representative Philip Parham explained to to the Press that Council members had "perfectly reasonable questions for Susana" Malcorra -- the head of the Department of Field Support widely touted as the next Deputy Secretary General.
Parham said questions concerned the other tracks, political and the development of the TFG for example. Yes, there will be an attempt in the Council -- probably successful, from what Inner City Press can make out -- for a resolution before the London Conference.
A Somali diplomat came to the Security Council but left, telling Inner City Press that he couldn't get into the meeting, since they were "consultations."
There has been controversy about the Twitter feed which has been established by Al Shabab (not unlike the Taliban's account).
One might like to know more about France's positions -- but as simply one example, the French Mission to the UN has a practice of "blocking" even from its Twitter feed of statements journalists which have been critical of, or published leaked documents exposing, French positions, in Cote d'Ivoire and elsewhere.
Question: What kind of Mission to the UN blocks reporters from its Twitter feed? Answer: the French Mission. Watch this site.
