By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
September 20
-- While a new
post-coup
Ambassador of
Guinea
Bissau is
already in New
York,
Portugal's
Permanent
Representative
Cabral on
Thursday told
Inner City
Press that
'the old guy'
is still
the country's
diplomat at
the UN, since
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon
has not
accepted the
credentials of
any successor.
At
Thursday's
noon briefing,
Inner City
Press asked
Ban's
spokesman
Martin Nesirky
if Ban would
during the
General Debate
be meeting
with
post-coup
"interim"
president
Manuel Serifo
Nhanadjo, or
accepting the
credentials of
his new
ambassador.
Nesirky
said
that is up to
the UN's
Credentials
Committee,
which as named
this week by
new President
of the General
Assembly Vuk
Jeremic is
composed of
Angola (likely
to support
'the old guy,'
like fellow
CPLP
Lusophone
member
Portugal),
China, Peru,
Russia,
Seychelles,
Sweden,
Thailand,
Trinidad &
Tobago and the
United States.
The
US, several
diplomats told
Inner City
Press,
essentially
joined the
ECOWAS
countries of
West Africa in
recognizing
the coup by
granting a
G-1 visa to
the new
post-coup
Ambassador.
Inner City
Press put the
question to a
US Mission
spokesman on
Thursday
morning, and
will
publish the
respond upon
receipt.
In
the interim,
so to speak,
Inner City
Press asked
Nesirky if
Ban's
Department of
Political
Affairs might
meet with
post-coup
officials
of Guinea
Bissau.
Nesirky said
generally that
yes, the UN
Secretariat
meets with a
range of
people who are
not
necessarily
elected. He
said
he would check
into the
specifics of
Guinea Bissau,
in the context
of
Ban's upcoming
more than 100
bilateral
meetings in
the next week.
We'll be
covering some
of those, for
sure.
From
the UN's
September 20,
2012
transcript:
Inner
City Press:
Guinea-Bissau,
early this
year, had what
was pretty
much
everyone says
was a coup
d'état,
but there are
some countries
that
now recognize
the interim
leaders as the
de facto
authorities
and
there are
some,
particularly
in the CPLP,
Brazil,
Angola,
Portugal,
that are not
recognizing
the current
Government. Is
the
Secretary-General
going to meet
with interim
President
Manuel Serifo
Nhamadjo? I
understand
there is a new
Perm[anent]
Rep[resentative]
representing
them that is
in the
country, but
has not yet
presented
his
credentials;
is the UN… do
they recognize
this
Government and
will they be
meeting with
them?
Spokesperson
Nesirky:
Well, first of
all,
recognition is
a matter for
Member
States;
recognition or
non-recognition
is a matter
for Member
States. And
credentials
for Permanent
Representatives
would be a
matter for
the
Credentials
Committee, so
I think we
would need to
see where that
goes. I am not
familiar right
now with where
things stand
on that
particular
question of
credentials,
so I would
need to check.
But it
would be a
matter for
them.
Inner
City Press: I
appreciate
that, but the
current sort
of de facto
Government, if
they came to
New York for
the general
debate, would
their meeting
with DPA
[Department of
Political
Affairs],
could that
be possible
without any
ruling by the
Credentials
Committee?
Spokesperson
Nesirky:
Well, more
broadly
speaking, and
I am not
saying that it
would apply
specifically
in this case,
but more
broadly
speaking, the
Secretary-General
and other UN
officials will
meet with a
wide range
of individuals
and
representatives,
and not
necessarily
from elected
Governments,
Heads of
State,
ministers, but
other
officials and
individuals,
too, depending
on the subject
matter. And I
think you
will be
familiar with
cases where
that has
happened in
the past, for
very good
reasons,
because these
are topics and
matters of
international
concern. But I
am speaking
broadly here,
in general,
and not on
that specific
case. I’d need
to check, as I
think you
are aware; in
any given
general debate
period, the
Secretary-General
will have
dozens, in
fact beyond
one hundred
and something
bilateral
meetings. I
don’t have
them all to
hand or in my
head,
unfortunately.
I wish I could
do that.
Inner
City Press:
That’s why I
thought I’d
ask this one
now, before it
all starts.
Spokesperson
Nesirky:
Okay, all
right, all
right.
