By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, June 25 -- Alongside the Middle East and Syria briefing in the UN Security Council Tuesday by Oscar Fernandez Taranco, a game of musical chairs was taking place.
Fernandez Tarranco, sources tell Inner City Press, is being asked to take over the Iraq envoy post being vacated by Martin Kobler, who is replacing Roger Meece in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The swirl was set off when Iraq's Al-Maliki stopped meaningfully communicating with Kobler, the sources tell Inner City Press. “You can't be an SRSG like that,” one said, using UN-ese for Special Representative of the Secretary General.
Meanwhile at Tuesday's UN noon briefing, Inner City Press asked Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's deputy spokesperson Eduardo Del Buey if there are any anti-revolving door rules applicable to former UN officials.
Inner City Press is told that after Ibrahim Gambari lost out to head the Organization for the Islamic Cooperation -- “they summoned the African candidates and told them they were going with a Saudi,” a source said -- he's hooking up as a paid consultant to Qatar. Any rules?
And, less of a conflict because for his own country, what about Mohamed Yonis going from being Gambari's deputy at UNAMID in Darfur to now being named Somaliland's foreign minister? (Tweeted by the Free UN Coalition for Access, here.)
Del Buey said he would look into it. But his office has said that before. Inner City Press on June 10 asked for confirmation that Ban's Great Lakes envoy Mary Robinson had hired Frederico Borello. Still there has been no answer, while Rwandan Ambassador Richard Gasana tells Inner City Press that it is true. Watch this site.
