By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, September 10 -- Hours after the abrupt cancellation of a Syria meeting of the UN Security Council, due to disagreements about the Council's Permanent Five members, five other Ambassadors in the UN's basement auditorium sang, for peace.
As Inner City Press noted earlier in the day, two of the five represent countries which are among the 33 who have signed the US "Joint Statement on Syria" -- Canada and Romania.
Romania's Ambassador Simona Miculescu was quoted, "please keep in mind that peace starts with each of you." Inner City Press last covered her when she was part of what some called the "White Wash" report on Sri Lanka.
Why would a country support missiles strikes on another, based on the stated 1400 killed on August 21, but take such a different approach to Sri Lanka, where 40,000 were killed? An attendee quite close to this matter said, politics.
Many countries want to be seen on the US side; there was no upside to speaking up against the deaths in Sri Lanka. Canada, which still might not attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Sri Lanka, at least by that would show consistency. But the UK?
The UN's Disarmament and now Syria envoy Angela Kane was in attendance, as was German Ambassador Peter Wittig. Germany will mark its forty years in the UN with another event next week, at the Security Council stake. (Click here for announcement, and Twitter-length analysis, by the Free UN Coalition for Access, @FUNCA_info.) There's still no media work table or enough outlets there. But there will be a party. This is the UN. Watch this site.
