On Syria Ceasefire Draft, 15-0 Approval After Changes, UN Final Version on Patreon, UNTV Cut Ja'afari

By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon here, photos

UNITED NATIONS, February 24 – Amid talk that a call for a ceasefire in Syria is unrealistic, Inner City Press on February 22 alone staked out an evening meeting of the UN Security Council's Elected Ten members, exclusive video here. On February 24, more than twohours after it was scheduled, the changed draft was aprpoved 15-0, with this in Operative Paragraph 1:"Demands that all parties cease hostilities without delay and engage immediately to ensure full and comprehensive implementation of this demand by all parties, for a durable humanitarian pause for at least 30 consecutive days throughout Syria," etc. Full version put out by the UN attached here on Patreon; Alamy speech photos here. We'll have more on this. 

The UN Department of Public Information's UNTV is live during meetings of the Security Council, like on Saturday February 24, and moves in with a boommicrophone to record Ambassadors speaking to reporters. It happened on February 23 with the UK and Jordan, and February 24 with the Netherlands. But during the consultations with Syria's Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari emerged and was speaking to a half dozen reporters, fielding questions in English and Arabic, UNTV stopped filming. Why? And why does UN DPI, under Alison Smale, not answer any questions, but only censor and spin? Inner City Press has requested the video before and after cut from DPI. Back on February 22, Inner City Press asked Sweden's Olof Skoog if the meeting was productive. He said the E10 are always helpful, the "extremes" are represented on the E10. He indicted that a new draft would be put out on February 23. And on February 23, with Inner City Press roped in to cover a meeting in ECOSOC, with UN minder four feet away, Skoog rushed by at 10 am and into the Council. Russia's Nebenzia followed five minutes later, stopping to ask Inner City Press, This is a new stakeout? Only Inner City Press is caged in, for two years for its coverage. But no vote at 11, then none at noon. At 2:30, there was an "E10 coordination meeting."An afternoon of closed door consultations, with non Council members waiting in the chamber, continued past five. Then Skoog said he is disappointed but there will be a vote Saturday at noon, either way. Kuwait's  Mansour Al-Otaibi, the president of the Council for February, said the issue is "OP1" - Operative Paragraph 1 - but reiterated, vote Saturday at noon. At that time, US Ambassador Nikki Haley walked into the Council and told the Press, "Today we're going to see if Russia has a conscience." Video here, and tweeted Vine. Full Periscope here, including Syrian Ambassador Ja'afari asking if Al Jazeera is chairing the day's Security Council session.

Inner City Press on February 22 alone staked out an evening meeting of the UN Security Council's Elected Ten members, exclusive video here.