By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
May 8 -- The
split between
the Syria
statements of
envoy
Kofi Annan and
his successor
as UN
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon is
growing more
pronounced,
with Annan on
Tuesday
pointing out
some
improvements
in the
country.
Meanwhile
Ban,
according to
the Atlantic
Council where
he spoke on
Monday night,
said that
Bashar al
Assad might
face the same
fate of
Liberia's
Charles Taylor
or even
Libya's
Gaddafi.
One
wondered: is
Ban now
celebrating
the role of
the gun in
Gaddafi's
on-camera end?
Inner
City Press
asked Syrian
Permanent
Representative
Bashar
Ja'afari about
Ban's
statement, and
Ban's
difference
from Annan.
(Some say that
Ban's
material is
increasingly
written in
Washington,
where he
delivered
the Monday
night
remarks).
Ja'afari
stayed
diplomatic,
saying that
ten days ago
he urged Ban
to support
Annan's
mission and
stay positive
and that he
now reiterated
this "humble
request."
Ja'afari
said that
his country is
fighting
terrorists,
specifically
Al Qaeda. He
said,
when Al Qaeda
attacks the
US, the
Security
Council jumps
into action.
But the
Council treats
Syria
differently.
(Not
all of the
Council.
Indian
Permanent
Representative
Hardeen Singh
Puri told
Inner City
Press that
while there
are "still
some
problems,"
Annan mission
has "had some
calming
effect.")
Inner
City Press
asked US
Ambassador
Rice about the
claim of
terrorism and
Al Qaeda in
Syria. Rice
called this
"substantially
a diversion,"
while
noting that "we've
seen-frankly
seen foreign
fighters in
Syria-transit
Syria-for
years on their
way into Iraq,
and there may
be a flow in
the opposite
direction."
As
her stakeout's
final
question,
Inner City
Press asked
Rice about the
US position on
Guinea
Bissau, where
ECOWAS and its
appears the
Security
Council are
ready to grant
12 months to
military coup
leaders.
Rice
said "Guinea
Bissau and
Syria are far
apart, so
let's take
them one at a
time."
Okay,
different
continent, but
the concept of
democracy
connects or
should connect
them. On
Guinea Bissau,
she said
the US wants
to increase
pressure on
the coup
leaders, and
mentioned
sanctions.
Rice said, "we're
going to
continue in
partnership
with others to
increase
the pressure
on the regime
and work
toward the
swiftest
possible
restoration of
a democratic
government."
Twelve months
is the
swiftest
possible?
Yesterday the
ECOWAS
minister told
Inner City
Press
that a
full year is
needed, for
such things as
review of the
voters'
rolls. Is
the Security
Council's --
and the US' --
approach to
democracy
different in
Syria and
Guinea Bissau?
It sure looks
like
it...
On
Syria, a
European
source
directed Inner
City Press to
the
opposition's
changing
tactics in
Aleppo, and to
the number of
pending visa
requests for
observers. UN
Peacekeeping
chief Herve
Ladsous
refused
again to speak
to the press.
French
Ambassador
Gerard Araud
explained his
own refusal to
speak: "We are
in an
electoral
period in
France, so I
am awaiting my
new
authorities to
arrive." Some
are hoping
that means a
new Permanent
Representative,
including in
the spirit of
the Arab
Spring.
Other
wonder if
Francois
Holland and
his new
foreign
minister might
move to
replace
Ladsous, who
after all was
an aide to
Sarkozy
minister
Michele
Aliot-Marie,
when she flew
on aircraft of
cronies of
Tunisian
dictator Ben
Ali. Watch
this site.
From
US
Mission to the
UN transcript:
Inner
City
Press: The
Syrian
government
keeps saying
that they're
facing
terrorism or
foreign
fighters. The
ambassador
just waived
around a
CD saying that
these are
confessions of
foreign
fighters, and
he said
that, if Al
Qaeda attacks
the United
States,
immediately
people come
to the Council
but that the
same thing
should happen
in this case.
Is that
totally
specious? Are
there any
foreign
fighters
involved
and what do
you say about
it? And I'm
going to ask
you one more
thing about
Guinea Bissau,
I'm sorry to
say, since
it's on the
Council's
agenda-
Ambassador
Rice:
Hold on.
Because Guinea
Bissau and
Syria are far
apart, so
let's take
them one at a
time. With
respect to the
challenge of
terrorism and
foreign
fighters, I
don't think
anybody can
say with
complete
certainty that
there are not
any foreign
fighters in
Syria. I mean
we've
seen-frankly
seen foreign
fighters in
Syria-transit
Syria-for
years on their
way into Iraq,
and there may
be a flow in
the opposite
direction. But
this is
substantially
a diversion
from
the main
point.
The
main
point is that
the government
continues to
kill its own
people,
and having
done so over
the course of
more than a
year, it has
created a
situation in
which people
have taken up
arms to defend
themselves.
Peaceful
protesters and
those who set
out to address
their concerns
through
peaceful means
continue to do
so. But there
are some who
have taken up
arms in
self-defense.
And there are
some
who may be
taking
advantage of
what is
increasingly a
violent and
chaotic
situation, who
have extremist
motivations
and who may be
doing this for
reasons that
have nothing
to do with the
aspirations
of the
peaceful
protesters.
And on Guinea
Bissau?
Inner City Press: Very
briefly. Some
are saying
that what the
Council would
consider
doing or what
ECOWAS is
doing is
essentially
rewarding
coups
leaders-that
there was a
coup and that
now the plan
is to give
them
12 months to
make a
transition and
then have
elections that
were
supposed to
have already
been held
right about
now. Does the
U.S.
support the
ECOWAS plan
and how does
that comport
with its
commitment
to democracy
elsewhere?
Ambassador
Rice:
Well the
United States
has been very
clear in
condemning the
coup. We have
imposed
sanctions on
those who have
committed the
coup, and now
Guinea
Bissau's
assistance is
suspended
pursuant to
U.S. law. Our
position on
this and other
situations
where a
government is
overthrow by
force is that
that is
completely
unacceptable.
We've said as
a Council that
there could
potentially
be
consequences,
including
potentially
sanctions on
the coup
regime. So,
we're going to
continue in
partnership
with others to
increase
the pressure
on the regime
and work
toward the
swiftest
possible
restoration of
a democratic
government.
