By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, August 14 -- After next month's UN General Assembly is kicked off on the morning of Tuesday, September 25 by Brazil's Dilma Rousseff and US President Barack Obama, then things get interesting. Inner City Press is putting the Provisional List of Speakers online here.
The next day, Iran's head of state Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is scheduled to speak in the morning. Sri Lanka's Mahinda Rajapaksa starts that afternoon's session, which includes Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe.
Also on the afternoon of September 26 is Rwanda's President Paul Kagame, followed the next morning by Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with the so-called M23 mutineers probably still on the agenda.
But another son-of-a-leader, Syria's Bashar al-Assad, is not scheduled to come. Syria is related to what some call "garbage time" the next week and even month. On Monday, October 1, Syria is penciled in at only the Ministerial level.
The same is true of the world's most populous democracy, India: only a minister will come, on October 1. Ethiopia, perhaps not surprisingly, plans to send its Deputy Prime Minister, on Friday, September 28 -- the same day Venezuela's Head of State -- Hugo Chavez? -- is scheduled to speak.
Evo Morales of Bolivia is the last speaker on September 26, perhaps ready with the coca leaf he's waved before. Palestine is the last speaker on the morning of September 27 -- will another announcement be made?
Turkey, which roughed up UN Security during Mahmoud Abbas' presentation last year, is set this year for the first day, but not in the premium time between Barack Obama and, well, France's new president Francois Hollande.
In that Tuesday morning space is Qatar, armer of rebels everywhere, and Serbia whose Vuk Jeremic will have taken over the presidency of the the General Assembly from Qatar.
Morocco is in there, in the midst of its supposed dispute with Secretary General Ban Ki-moon about his Western Sahara envoy Christopher Ross.
Also Tuesday morning there is Cyprus, which holds the presidency of the European Union (whose own spot comes on the next afternooon), Georgia, Indonesia and Bulgaria, sure to talk about this summer's terrorist attack.
Tuesday afternoon, beyond Turkey, has Finland (which isrunning for a Security Council seat against Australia -- confined to Thursday -- and Luxembourg). There are also Argentina sure to talk about the Malvinas, and Myanmar, unlikely to meaningfully address the abused Rohingyas.
