By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, September 26 -- As Inner City Press in a nearly empty UN covered the General Assembly debate on September 24, it heard of an emergency Security Council meeting about Aleppo called for the next day, Sunday, at 11 am.
When Syria's Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari spoke, Samantha Power, UK Matthew Rycroft and French Francois Delattre all left the Chamber. Vine here.
While French Duputy Alexis Lamek stayed, the UK and US were at a lower level. For the US, Deputy Michelle Sison returned when Staffan de Mistura replied to Ja'afari.
Inner City Press asked Churkin about the walkout and he said, Ask the Ambassador of Syria. So Inner City Press did, and Ja'afari said it “proves they are not Permanent Representatives.” Minutes later on UNTV Inner City Press asked de Mistura about the walkout, and for the status of the UN investigation of the strike on the aid convoy and if it was an AIR strike. He said, No comment on either. Video here. It's come to this.
On September 26, Inner City Press asked Ban Ki-moon's deputy spokesman Farhan Haq about the UN investigation of the strike on the convoy, UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: the strike against the aid convoy in Syria, it was a big topic yesterday in the… in the speeches back and forth. I tried to ask Mr. de Mistura, what's the status of any UN investigation? And when he did his stakeout, what's the status of any UN investigation into the strike on the aid convoy? And he said he had no comment. But I just wanted to ask you, as a factual matter: Is the UN looking at it? Is it the UN's position it was an airstrike as opposed to any other kind of strike? What is the UN doing to get to the bottom of it?
Deputy Spokesman: At this stage, as you're aware, we have no on-the-ground presence that could conduct an investigation. We would like to receive any relevant information. This deserves to be fully investigated. As we've pointed out, any deliberate targeting of humanitarian convoy would constitute a war crime. So it's the responsibility of the parties on the ground to be able to provide any relevant information on this.
ICP Question: But it… does the UN believe it's an airstrike or not? Does it not even… can you not even make that distinction between air and…
Deputy Spokesman: At this stage, as you're aware, there are many contradictory accounts of what's happened, so we want a definitive account.
Earlier at 10:40 am arriving despite Ban Ki-moon's Press eviction order, the Ambassadors of Russia, France and the UK spoke on their way in. Russian's Vitaly Churkin was asked if he thought the calling of the meeting was a stunt (which US Samantha Power called Russia's meeting the week before.”
We don't accuse anybody, Churkin said, we are too self-confident for that. Vine video here.
Inside the Chamber, as Samantha Power spoke of the airstrikes in Syria, it was hard not to think of those in Yemen, too. France's Francois Delattre cited Guernica, a replica of Picasso's painting of which still hangs at the UNSC stakeout where journalists waited for Ban Ki-moon's delayed Cyprus press statement.
Russian's Churkin recounted that John Kerry has assured he wouldn't go public with two Russian planes over the struck aid convoy but "other agencies" in DC leaked it.
Two days after the UN Security Council meeting on the US-led coalition's bombing of Syrian soldiers in Deir Ez-Zor, the US denounced an airstrike on an aid convoy, below. Also on September 19, Saudi Arabia hosted a Syrian opposition event at the Westin Hotel near the UN, Inner City Press Periscope here.
On September 17 an emergency UN Security Council meeting was called by Russia at 7:30 pm after reported US airstrikes killed more then 60 Syria soldiers in Deir Ez-Zor.
This came a day after a planned briefing of the Council by Russia and the US was canceled. It was also just as UN General Assembly week began, with a meeting of the International Syria Support Group planned for Tuesday morning. Now this.
Russia's Vitaly Churkin as he went into the Council told the press he'd explain “at some length, afterward.”
Then US Samantha Power arrived and went straight to the UNTV microphone, reading from notes about the loss of life (Vine here) (Beyond the Vine here) called the meeting a stunt,Vine here, and saying that Russia's spokesperson Maria Zakharova should be ashamed of herself.
Russia's Churkin re-emerged and criticized Power for speaking before even entering the meeting. He asked, Who is in charge in Washington - the White House or the Pentagon?
Inner City Press asked Churkin about quotes that the Pentagon would consider "condolence" payments to the families of Syrian soldiers. He said, It's for the Syrian government to respond. Beyond the Vine here; Vine here
Afterward, Inner City Press was locked out of the UN Security Council stakeout due to the eviction orders of UNSG Ban Ki-moon and his head of communications Cristina Gallach, Beyond the Vine video here; NYT here; petition here.
Back on September 9 when the UN's Staffan de Mistura and Stephen O'Brien held a joint stakeout in Geneva, the letter from NGOs breaking off cooperation with the UN was the elephant in the room.
But the room, off-camera, was either not full or ill-prepared. The UN moderator called on Voice of America, which had nothing; she called on France 24 twice, and without further identification “Egyptian TV.”
