As WFP Staff Complain Safety Chief Banned from Security After Iraq, Ban Is Asked

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, October 25 -- After the deadly bombing of the UN compound in the Canal Hotel in Baghdad in 2003, then Secretary General Kofi Annan's spokesman said that Ramiro Lopes da Silva would be required to resign but could "return to his 'D-2' (Director) post in World Food Programme," emphasizing that "his future assignments will not include any responsibilities for security matters." Click here for UN transcript.

Two weeks ago, WFP staff contacted Inner City Press to complain that despite this history, Ramiro Lopes da Silva had been put in charge of WFP security by chief Josette Sheeran.

On October 17 Inner City Press sought an explanation from four WFP official, including spokesman Gregory Barrow and Ms. Sheeran herself:

"please respond to criticism of having put Ramiro Lopes da Silva in charge of security for WFP, given his role in Iraq in connection with the Canal Hotel bombing."

Only after a week had passed, and Inner City Press had published a first story, did WFP respond, through its spokesman Greg Barrow:

In response to your questions: DED Ramiro Lopes da Silva is one of WFP's most experienced senior managers, and we have the utmost confidence in him.

This did not in anyway respond to Ramiro Lopes da Silva's role in Iraq in connection with the Canal Hotel bombing, much less Kofi Annan's spokesman Fred Eckhard's statement that "Ramiro Lopes da Silva was allowed to go back to his previous position with WFP in Rome, at his old level, with the directive that he will no longer have security responsibilities in the UN again."

Inner City Press wrote back to Barrow, and wrote directly to Ramiro Lopes da Silva

"I have asked WFP without much substantive response the question below, now having found your contact information in fairness and hoping for a response I ask you: please respond to criticism of having put Ramiro Lopes da Silva in charge of security for WFP, given his role in Iraq in connection with the Canal Hotel bombing. Please respond - on deadline."

Ramiro Lopes da Silva not having responded, Inner City Press asked the spokesman of Ban Ki-moon, who has inissted that UN system staff security is important to him, whether he gave Ramiro Lopes da Silva a waiver from the action of Kofi Annan after the Canal Hotel bombing, or if there was simply no UN system follow through.

Spokesman Martin Nesirky has said that he will answer. Watch this site.

At UN, Council Excludes Spokesman's Office Without A Fight, Ineptitude or Nationality?

By Matthew Russell Lee
www.innercitypress.com/ossg1excluded041510.html

UNITED NATIONS, April 15, updated -- A shift of power has taken place in the UN, with UN Secretariat staff now barred from Security Council consultations, and it is unclear what role ineptitude has in the power play.

Until now, when the 15 members of the UN Security Council met behind closed doors, representatives of the Secretary General's Office of the Spokesman, and UN Peacekeeping staffers, could attend.

Beginning earlier this month, the UN Spokesperson's Office and most Peacekeeping staffers have been barred from consultations. Several of these staffers have complained to Inner City Press, how can they implement or explain the Council's mandates if they cannot hear what members think?

But for Ban Ki-moon's Spokesperson's Office to be barred raises other issues, several journalists say. Already, they say, new Spokesperson Martin Nesirky finds it difficult to answer questions, even if he wants to, due to lack of sources.

They marvel that Nesirky did not himself fight for access to consultations, but instead sent his Deputy Marie Okabe. Whether this was because Nesirky was away on travel through Central Asia, or because Ms. Okabe is Japanese like this month's Council president Yukio Takasu is not known. But the reporters slammed Nesirky for allowing his Office to lose power without even putting up a fight.

"Fred Eckhart would never have allowed this," one said, referring to Kofi Annan's long time spokesman.

"Even Stephane Dujarric," chimed in another, referring to the spokesman for the latter stage Kofi, now with UNDP.

In most mature political systems, separation of powers questions are not resolved in such ad hoc, incompetent ways. But perhaps the UN is not a mature political system.

Footnotes: Council president Yukio Takasu on April 15 was asked if there was any progress on restoring to the UN press corps at least as much access as they had on the second floor, before the Council moved to the UN's basement. Takasu called it a work in progress. Later, a UN Security official told Inner City Press, you have good news. Did it refer to access to the stairs, to be able to discourse with willing Ambassadors as they leave the Council? We'll see.

Update of April 16: while access has still not been granted to the stairs, the pen to which the press is confined has been made smaller. There are moves afoot to install a UN TV camera trained on the Council entrance. "There'll be five years of this," one Ambassador quipped to Inner City Press as he left the Council.

While the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary General was losing access to information with out a fight, its Associate Spokesperson Farhan Haq was doling out response to questions asked at the UN's noon briefing to media other than the one that asked. Such selective propaganda is another low point for the Office, perhaps not unrelated to its increasing loss of access, relevance and credibility.

Update of April 16: At Friday's noon briefing, Inner City Press asked Martin Nesirky if the work of his Office suffered due to exclusion from Council consultations. He responded that he is still trying to understand the changes. We will revisit this issue.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/ossg1excluded041510.html