US Ambassador Power with Mashable Is Mostly Syria, Nothing on Spying or Haiti Cholera, DRC or Censorship

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, September 22 -- When US Ambassador Samantha Power spoke Sunday at the Social Good Summit at the 92nd Street Y, one expected her to fill in the African holes in President Obama's speech and its run-up.

As Inner City Press reported on Friday, Obama adviser Ben Rhodes' summary of Obama's UN General Assembly speech had no Africa at all: just Syria, Israel-Palestine and Iran. Since so much of the UN's actual work is in Africa, that's where Power would come in, right?

  Not right. Friendly-interviewed for 20 minutes by Pete Cashmore of Mashable, Power's first three country-specific references were all to Syria. She is, as one wag put it, selling that soap. It's an important topic, sure. But there are other topics.

  Amazingly, Power didn't mention the deadly attack on the Westgate Mall in Kenya, for which Al Shabaab has taken credit, yes, on Twitter. This is a UN issue: al Shabaab said the attack was for Kenya sending troops into Kismayo in Somalia, as part of the UN Security Council approved AMISOM mission.

  Beyond Syria, Power mentioned an anti-corruption program in India, then her advocacy to Cuba's foreign minister at a UN meeting. She didn't say: the meeting was on regional cooperation and many countries, especially from Latin America, criticized the US for the NSA's spying exposed by Edward Snowden. Another topic that did not come up.

  Power did mention Sri Lanka, saying that activists there say they like the UN Human Rights Council. She mentioned Zimbabwe twice, about really one incident: a Zimbabwean activist met with her earlier in the day, along with others from Egypt and Ukraine.

  She mentioned Haiti, how social media allowed people to know where others are buried. She did not mention: some of those buried were killed by cholera brought to Haiti by the UN. There will be a protest on that topic on September 26; information is available on the website of the Free UN Coalition for Access, @FUNCA_info.

  Power did not off-hand know her Twitter handle, leading to question: who is tweeting for her? Upstairs in the "Social Media Lounge" -- beyond Mashable, the event was sponsored by UN-fan UN Foundation, with Southwest Airlines and, strangely, Caterpillar also listed among the "Presented By" on the agenda -- tweets of #2030Now and blogs were flying.

But the Democratic Republic of the Congo wasn't mentioned once. And for the UN Security Council's upcoming trip there, in which Ambassador Power will presumably participate, it is France which is allowed to pick and block how it is covered. THAT is the UN, that is censorship. And what will Ambassador Power do, about the DRC and Rwanda? About the UN's impunity for bringing cholera to Haiti? Watch this site.

   

Obama's UN Speech Said To Be Africa-Free, 3/4 Iran & Syria, Fundraising And Ambassadorship to Goldman Sachs Not Shown

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, September 20 -- While a high percentage of the UN's work is in Africa, whenever Secretary General Ban Ki-moon sees a chance to be relevant on a higher profile issue like Syria or the Middle East, he drops Africa like a hot potato (or yam).

  But on the White House call about Obama's upcoming trip to the UN General Assembly, Africa was not mentioned in any of the eight questions taken. Nor did Obama adviser Ben Rhodes include in his summary of Obama's speech either Sudan, or Somalia, or the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

  The first three questions were about Iran; the next three about Syria. Finally a former UN-based reporter asked about a different issue (still not Africa, but Afghanistan and Pakistan).

  Unmentioned was that Obama will be holding a DNC fundraiser while in New York, and that yesterday he nominated Bruce Heyman of Goldman Sachs as US Ambassador to Canada.

As if in another world, UN envoy to the Great Lake Mary Robinson spoke on Friday afternoon and said that the US devoting its one Security Council debate in July to the DR Congo meant it is important to the US. Really?

  In fairness, Obama's first bilateral meeting on September 23 will be with Goodluck Jonathan. But that would seem to be because Obama missed Nigeria in his trip, in favor of Senegal then South Africa. 

  Ban Ki-moon will get the Obama face time that he prized, slipped in between Obama's speech then meetings with Lebanon and Palestine and the UNGA lunch. Will Ban raise an African issue? We doubt it. Watch this site.

Footnote: There would have been a ninth question, but Daniel Robinson of Voice of America did not respond when called on. John Kerry is on the Broadcasting Board of Governors of VOA, so presumably they have other access. We'd heard VOA was getting its budget cut, but damn. We'll have more on this.

   

On Syria, Pinheiro Says No “Seal of Approval” for Rebels, Dodges on Chemical Weapons

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, June 21 – When the UN's Syria Commission of Inquiry briefed the Security Council then the media on Friday, commissioner Carla Del Ponte was not with them.

She famously spoke of strong suspicions that the rebels used chemical weapons – a statement nearly immediately undercut by others in the UN, including Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Commission chair Paulo Pinheiro.

Pinheiro began his Friday stakeout by saying that everything he and co-panelist Karen AbuZayd said, Del Ponte agreed with.

Inner City Press asked about her previous statement on the rebels' use of chemical weapons, which was dropped from the panel's report. Pinheiro cited back to the press release, but went on to say that they have no proof of government use either.

It's doubtful that the US wants to hear this. Also, Inner City Press asked if the Commission keeps track of allegations against different parts of the armed opposition, Al Nusra versus the Free Syrian Army for example, and could give any “seal of approval.”

Pinheiro said it's all relative, and dismissed the idea that there are good guys. Again, with the US moving to provide arms to elements they will describe as good, this cannot be helpful.

Pinheiro and AbuZayd seemed surprised by the focus on chemical weapons. But since Obama has made that his red line, then had Ben Rhodes say that it was crossed, the focus was predictable. So is much else. Watch this site.

In Obama Speed-Meets, Goodluck Makes Cut, Hat Tip to Kazakh Zhotis, No Sudan, Myanmar or Sri Lanka?

By Matthew Russell Lee
www.innercitypress.com/obama1meets041110.html

UNITED NATIONS, April 11 -- Amid the hoopla in Washington before President Obama's nuclear security summit, one of his bilateral meetings was tellingly not announced in advance: one with Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria.

This was disclosed only in response to a reporter's question on a White House press conference call late Sunday afternoon. "We should have mentioned that," acknowledged Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications.

Yes, Nigeria has been in political turmoil, a Lagos source told Inner City Press. But a meeting is a meeting.

Only two and a half bilateral meeting has yet taken place by the time of Sunday's conference call. A short read out of President Obama's meeting with Indian Prime Minister Singh was given, with no mention of issues like Myanmar, despite some reported but unresolved potential nuclear issues, much less Sri Lanka.

A long read-out about Kazakhstan was given, including new locomotive contracts for General Electric and, "lastly," a discussion on democracy and human rights, including the case of Yvgeniy Zhotis. (Click here for previous coverage of l'affaire Zhotis from Inner City Press.)

Mike McFaul, Senior Director for Russia and the Caucasus, said that President Obama told Nursultan Nazarbayev that both countries have to work on their democracies. When asked if this meant they had equivalent problems, McFaul said of course not. But to many, it sounded that way.

The communique to come out of all this will be non-binding, said Laura Holgate, Senior Director, WMD Terrorism and Threat Reduction. It will be a "political" document, making reference to various UN Security Council resolutions.

Of Sudan, an issue the UN Security Council met about on April 8, there was mention. Even given the meeting with South Africa's Jacob Zuma, and the belatedly disclosed meeting with Nigeria's Goodluck Jonathan, there was no discussion of this weekend's Sudanese elections on the call, and seemingly not in the bilaterals. Hey, one wag said, we all have to work on our democracies. Watch this site.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/obama1meets041110.html