By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, June 26 -- After UN Humanitarian chief Valerie Amos briefed the Security Council about Syria on June 26, Australian Permanent Representative Gary Quinlan came out of the Council to speak to the press about a pending draft resolution on humanitarian access.
Quinlan said, “we understand the Syrian government has never made one single complaint to the UN anything other than humanitarian material was in any convoy, any humanitarian convoy into the country.”
Inner City Press remembered there had been an issue with a convoy from Turkey, and an hour later asked Australia's Mission to the UN:
I want to make sure I understand something -- Ambassador Quinlan seemed to be saying there have not been any issues with anything other than humanitarian material in any humanitarian convoy into Syria. I remembered something, then looked up and found:
and, Al Jazeera:http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/01/turkish-police-raid-charity-aiding-syria-201411411543616402.html
in January 2014 "security forces had stopped a truck loaded with arms and ammunition on the Syrian border and arrested three people, including a Syrian. The drivers claimed they were carrying aid on behalf of IHH, but the organisation denied the allegations as 'slanderous.' Interior Minister Efkan Ala also denied the reports, saying the truck was shipping aid to the Turkmen community... IHH press coordinator Serkan Nergis said Tuesday's early-morning operation was launched by local counter-terrorism units."
My question: is it that the above-quoted report is not taken seriously, or that Syria never filed a complaint about it with the UN?
The Australian Mission, through Chelsey Martin, to its credit quickly replied: “Ambassador Quinlan’s remarks referred to United Nations convoys and, as he stated, there have been no complaints made to the UN that their humanitarian convoys have contained non-humanitarian goods.”
Does this mean that any pending resolution would only apply to “United Nations” convoys? Other issues: some say that Iraq, long trying to get out from under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, “has issues” with another Chapter 7 resolution naming it. Apparently not to be named is Lebanon. Watch this site.
