By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive
UNITED NATIONS, April 9, updated -- The UN Security Council may be briefed Tuesday about Syria, a Security Council Permanent Representative told Inner City Press on Monday night, referring to a "letter from Kofi... we need clarification on the ceasefire deadline."
[At 11 pm April 9 Inner City Press wrote a follow up story quoting sources that Annan will move to give Assad an extension and, separately, specifying that Annan's deputy Guehenno be on video, confirmed to Inner City Press by Annan's spokesman on April 10. Click here for that story, itself being updated.]
This diplomat, contrary to others' defense of cutting off UN Television coverage on April 5 before Syria could responded to Annan's and others' speeches, told Inner City Press that the cut-off was "not the standard process," and made the UN look bad.
Another Council diplomat, also present, wondered by Inner City Press hadn't yet in April writing about what he called the "lack of productivity under the US presidency" of the Council. He hearkened back to CNN using the need to "check in with Atlanta" as excuse for cutting off Omar Abdel-Rahman when accused in the (first) World Trade Center bombing, as he mentioned the US' support for Hosni Mubarak.
Earlier on Monday, Inner City Press asked Ban Ki-moon's spokesman Martin Nesirky for Ban's position on Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the country of the President of the General Assembly who determined to cut UN TV on Syria's defense, funding the salaries of Syrian rebels:
Spokesperson Nesirky: The Secretary-General has wide-ranging contacts, and I would simply remind you that he has said repeatedly, including in his remarks to the General Assembly, that militarization, further militarization of what is happening is really not desirable. Yes, Matthew?
Inner City Press: I wanted to ask, what does he think of this as opposed to militarization the idea of paying the salaries of the Free Syrian Army, which is something that Saudi Arabia and Qatar are now saying at the Friends of Syria meeting that they would begin to provide funds for either the opposition or armed rebels, is that… does that fall into his idea of militarization or is that okay?
Spokesperson Nesirky: I would simply say that militarization is not desirable.
But what about paying salaries? Watch this site.
