By Matthew Russell Lee, Eighteenth in a Series
UNITED NATIONS, January 1 -- In the final days of Ban Ki-moon's decade as UN Secretary General, covering up genocides in Sri Lanka, Burundi and Yemen and evicting the Press which asked about (t)his corruption, Inner City Press is reviewing Ban's end, year by year. See also this Twitter Moment.
In 2009, Ban misspoke about his history in Sri Lanka, the mass killing in which he ignored to attend his son Woo-hyun's wedding, and where his son in law Siddharth Chatterjee had previously played an active, killing role.
While Ban would later evict and still restrict Inner City Press, in 2009 his strategy was to get it removed from Google News - and it happened (though it was later reversed). Here's Inner City Press' report from June 3, 2009.
And now Ban threatens to sue, for ambition.
Ban's ambition, then as now, was about South Korea. And as far back as 2010, Ban was weak on Burundi. From Inner City Press' June 30, 2010 story:
"UNITED NATIONS, June 30 -- When an election on which the UN has spent years ends up with a single candidate and the opponent in hiding, and polling's marked with the deadly tossing of grenades, what does Secretary General Ban Ki-moon do? He “takes note” of the one party election, in this case in Burundi. But what does this mean?
On June 28, after Ban praised the referendum in Kyrgyzstan that was marked by ethnic cleansing then declined to take questions on his praise, Inner City Press asked his spokesman Martin Nesirky if Ban would also praise Burundi. We'll have something tomorrow, Nesirky said.
And indeed he did. In the opening of the June 29 noon briefing, Nesirky provided updates on two outstanding questions:
Yesterday I was asked about Burundi. The Secretary-General takes note of the presidential election that took place on 28 June. In regard to the rest of the electoral cycle, the Secretary-General calls on all Burundians, and their political parties, to continue settling their disputes through peaceful means and an inclusive dialogue, and he urges them to persist in consolidating national cohesion and their hard-won peace.
It goes without saying that a one party election is far less than ideal. And so Inner City Press asked Nesirky:
Inner City Press: I just wanted to follow up on these two announcements that you made on Burundi and Guinea-Bissau. In the Burundi election, there was only one candidate, and since then grenades have been thrown at the Electoral Commission, killing two people. You’re saying Ban Ki-moon takes note of it. What does that mean?
Spokesperson Nesirky: I said he took note of the presidential election.
Inner City Press: Is that some kind — “taking note” means he doesn’t view a one candidate’s election positively, or he views the throwing of grenades as unhelpful? What is he taking note of?
UN's Ban takes note of one party election in Burundi, grenade attacks not shown
Spokesperson: Of the presidential election that took place on 28 June. And what it also says — I can repeat it for you — is that he calls on all Burundians and their political parties to continue settling their disputes through peaceful means and inclusive dialogue; peaceful means and inclusive dialogue. And that’s a message that he took directly to the people, including the President, when he visited Bujumbura earlier this month.
Inner City Press: I was just wondering, maybe if you could get [inaudible] like at the Security Council, like taking note. Is he troubled by it? Is he concerned by it? Is he just aware of it? I just want, if you could give…
Spokesperson: Well, for now it says what it says, Matthew. It says what it says. There may be more coming from the Mission subsequently, but that’s what we’re saying at the moment. And importantly, he stressed on the spot, when he was there in Bujumbura, and he’s saying it again now, through me, as he is on his way to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, that this is a process after a conflict, and there needs to be some persistence here to work to consolidate national cohesion. No one is saying that they’re there yet. But they need to push ahead with that. And in doing so, they need to be as inclusive as possible. Okay, and you want to add something on Guinea-Bissau, did you say?
Inner City Press: No, I think it’s just you used exactly the same phrase, and it seems like, I think the question you were asked yesterday is whether the UN, which had expressed concern about this individual getting the post, is concerned now that the person has gotten the post. And I guess, I put the two together, maybe “taking note” means there is concern. I just wasn’t sure.
Spokesperson: Well, it’s not for me to try to parse or interpret the wording. I think, probably, I’d have to leave that to you.
So how should we interpret Ban's mere "taking note" of this UN's inability to positively impact even Burundi and Guinea Bissau? Watch this site."
In 2006 after Ban was given the job since he was NOT “God's gift to humanity,” even then he was criticized for close business links with Myanmar, by Djoko Susiloamong others.
