By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, October 9 -- It's the right topic, Corruption of UN Peacekeeping, but in the wrong place: a clubhouse corruptly given to the UN Correspondents Association, members of whose Executive Committee have propped up and taken hallway briefings from the dubious boss of UN Peacekeeping, Herve Ladsous.
See hallway video here, Ladsous' refusal to answer, here. This was covered yesterday in the UK New Statesman.
But doesn't stop UNCA, a gang in search of a mission. During the General Debate they twice promised -- only to those who pay them money -- to host the Saudi sponsored Syria rebel boss Ahmad al Jarba in the clubhouse the UN gives them, to leave locked up with its own pantry and wine glasses.
Now, even though Tranparency International's chair Huguette Labelle presented the VERY SAME REPORT across First Avenue at the One UN Hotel from 1 pm to 2:30 pm, UNCA 2013 president Pamela Falk used the robotically given first question at Wednesday's noon briefing to promote this needless, pretextual event: a second serving of Transparency International's report, a block and a half away from the first one.
A question arises: why would Transparency International, not only Labelle but also Mark Pyman and former UK Ambassador to NATO, Sir Stewart Eldon, wade into this? But that's another question -- the UN lets UNCA be the "backdoor" way into the UN, like with Jarba. But does Transparency International need a back door? And what do they say to this?
Did they know UNCA's first vice president Louis Charbonneau of Reuters essentially spied for the UN, giving it an internal UNCA anti-Press document three minutes after promising not to? Story here, audio here, document here.What do they say to this?
The goal here is to try to prop up the legitimacy of the UNCA Executive Committee. It no longer advocates -- the most recent letter on its glassed in bulletin board is from February 2013 -- but tries to have events, such as with the Chefs to Chefs of State, and this.
If it can prop up its legitimacy, then it can put it to use for people like the Saudi sponsored rebel Jarba. Corruption? Tell us about it. Watch this site.
