By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, September 23 -- When Peru's President Ollanta Humala Tasso and Li Yong, Director General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, UNIDO, held a media stakeout at the UN on Monday, one expected them to take at least a few questions.
France cut funding to and dropped out of UNIDO in April 2013, following the UK. What does the agency think of this? What does Peru think of it?
But after each man read out a statement, there was confusion. "No questions!" came a call from the side of the stakeout. Inner City Press asked anyway, about the cutting of funding. A spokesperson came up and said, if you want to ask a question, give me your card. Inner City Press did.
But what is the point of a stakeout, with the media present, if no questions are taken? Are the journalists just extras? This is a question asked by the new Free UN Coalition for Access,@FUNCA_info.
For this, Inner City Press missed the Democratic Republic of the Congo photo-op, in advance of UN envoy Mary Robinson's 1 pm stakeout. One expects answers there, on matters ranging from the 135 Minova rapes by the UN's partners in the Congolese Army to the UN's new "Intervention Brigade," making the UN a party to the conflict. Watch this site.
