By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, February 13 – Who's presenting the Yemeni national dialogue today across the street from the UN at the International Peace Institute?
Well, it's a former minister of strong man Ali Saleh, Amat Al Alim Alsoswa. Despite her roots in despotism, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon deployed her as his interface with the Arab Spring for a time.
Now she reappears at IPI, run by semi-UN official Terje Roed-Larsen who recently visited Bahrain for IPI. Before that, he visited with a UN staffer, but said it wasn't a UN trip. It's a murky world, but the Yemen “roundtable” pitch is online (though not on IPI's website).
IPI is very selective: it doesn't like tough questions. So UN envoys like Bert Koenders, who doesn't want to answer questions about covering up the killing of IDPs and UN inaction in Cote d'Ivoire, go across the street to IPI, where access is controlled to exclude critical UN correspondents, rather than speak at the UN.
Also on Yemen at the UN on Wednesday, the Iran Sanctions committee will be meeting at 3 pm. The last Yemen session of the Security Council was hijacked, at least in the media, by the allegation of Iranian arms, now repeated with regard to Somalia.
Forget Somalia and its problems - it's all about Iran! Just ask IPI. Watch this site.
Footnote: Sources tell Inner City Press that Amat Al Alim Alsoswa may be gunning for an even more surreal post: deputy human rights director of the Gulf Cooperation Council, which offered Ali Saleh immunity. Is Amat Al Alim Alsoswa covered by that immunity deal? Inquiring minds want to know.
