By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, February 23, updated 4:17 pm -- Seven days ago now, Israel's ambassador Ron Prosor complained that the UN "Security Council should have condemned these attacks immediately. Israel expects it to issue a clear condemnation today."
On Wednesday evening Inner City Press reported that a draft statement circulated by Togo as Council President had been put under silence procedure ending Thursday at noon.
Now we can report that "silence has been broken," according to multiple Council sources. India, for example, wants the text to make clear that not only should member states help Israel investigate but also India, which should be given any information found about the attack in New Delhi.
Others said that the events in Bangkok and Tblisi shouldn't yet be called terrorist attacks. The Permanent Representative of Azerbaijan noted to Inner City Press that there had been a plot in his country, it was stopped early and is not in the statement.
The sponsor of the statement told the Press that Russia, which broke silence, and the United States are meeting bilaterally to see if a revised text can be put under a new silence procedure.
Update of 3:12 pm: a new draft, not naming particular countries to cooperate with, was put under silence under 3 pm. Now a well placed Council sources tells Inner City Press no one silence, "so it's done."
Update of 4:17 pm: the final press statement was e-mailed out; it included only the New Delhi and Tblisi attacks, with Bangkok being omitted. Why did Togo, as President, not go and read it at the stakeout, which Togo has not gone all month? Apparently Israel so much wanted it released, it stayed after its Women, Peace and Security speech until the statement was sent out. Hands on.
In other regional news, at the UN's Thursday noon briefing, Inner City Press asked about criticism and attacks on UNRWA in Tyre, for neglecting to provide a hospital referral to a Lebanese woman who died. The Office of the Spokesperson, typically, "had nothing."
There still remains surprise as the "weakness" of Secretary General Ban Ki-moon response, a "mere" note to correspondents. Sources in the Executive Office of the Secretary General indicated that this is because "nobody died." Ban has issued stronger statements, the complaint goes, in cases in which no one was actually killed. Now Ban has set off on a trip not only to London but also Zambia and Angola.
Ambassador Prosor came to the Security Council on Tuesday afternoon; Israel was on the list of speakers in the all day debate on crime and the Sahel. He assigned blame -- saying that Hezbollah is active in West Africa. And now... the start and stop Togolese solution. Watch this site.
