At UN on Haiti, Ban Dodges on Immigration, Armenians Rebuffed, No Copter Update

By Matthew Russell Lee
www.innercitypress.com/unsc2quakehaiti011910.html

UNITED NATIONS, January 19 -- As the UN Security Council voted to authorize 3500 more peacekeepers for Haiti, including 1500 more police, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on member states to step forward with offers of troops.

Inner City Press asked about the Dominican Republic's offer of a battalion, said to number 800, and whether Ban and the UN think that countries should be less stringent with their immigration restrictions after the Haitian earthquake.

Mr. Ban replied by praising the Dominican Republic for its troop offer -- which some see as simply blue helmeting a border guarding force -- and for its help with the humanitarian effort. He is aware, he said, of the Dominican Republic's attempt to accommodate Haitians within the Republic's "rules and regulations."

Inner City Press asked Ban about reports that the UN had run out of fuel for its trucks to deliver aid. Top humanitarian John Holmes passed a note to Ban Ki-moon, who read out that last night 10,000 gallons of fuels had arrived.

When Holmes himself took to the custom made podium brought out for Ban Ki-moon, Inner City Press asked him about a reported complaint by Armenia's Mission to the UN, that they had offered a rescue team last Thursday but were never told of any UN acceptance or decision.

Holmes replied that he was unaware, but that there are always issues of matching needs with offers. But from member states?

Inner City Press, which reported exclusively Monday evening about what UN sources said was a helicopter crash in Haiti, asked chief Peacekeeper Alain Leroy for an update. I've seen those reports, he said, but I have no new information this morning. He said to ask Edmond Mulet, who will be appearing later on Tuesday by video link from Haiti.

The Ambassador of China Zhang Yesui, this month's Security Council president, came out at announced the Council's vote. While usually he leaves the stakeout without taking any questions -- on Monday he walked away as Inner City Press asked about the attacks in Afghanistan -- this time he called on Xinhua, and offered a long answer on camera, in Chinese. It concerned the UN's role in responding to Haiti.

Asked if China would offer any more troops -- its 125 member contingent is, as Inner City Press has reported, a "riot squad" that when rotated has flown back to Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region -- Zhang Yesui said it would be taken under advisement.

The last speaker at the stakeout was U.S. Deputy Ambassador Alejandro Wolff, who came prepared with an answer to Inner City Press' question of Monday, whether the $100 million of aid announced by President Barack Obama would be part of the UN's flash appeal.

No, Ambassador Wolff said, the $100 million is "bilateral." But he said that the US will be contributing generously to the UN's flash appeal, in the coming days. We'll see.

Footnote: because the UN and even Security Council has become all Haiti, all the time for now, Inner City Press asked the U.S.'s Alejandro Wolff about reports of bombing in Darfur, requests to protect civilians, and Chad's statement it does not want the mandate of the Darfur related MINURCAT peacekeeping mission renewed. Wolff said the U.S. is concerned and is seeking more information. Inner City Press has asked the UN too, and hopes to be able to write more on this topic shortly. Watch this site.

From the UN's January 19 transcript:

Inner City Press: Mr. Secretary-General, the Dominican Republic has offered a battalion – it has been said publicly – they’ve also said that they are very concerned about immigration and people crossing the border. Does the UN have anything to say whether countries should loosen their immigration restrictions on Haitians, or otherwise, after this crisis? And also, does the UN still have gas to run its trucks? There was a report in USA Today that the UN was running out of gas for its food distribution trucks.

SG Ban Ki-moon: From the beginning of this crisis, the Dominican Republic Government has been providing very generously and swiftly all possible assistance to their neighbouring country, Haiti, and we are very much grateful to them. I am also aware of the Dominican Republic’s intention to dispatch troops there - that is also welcome. For the immigration issues, I am also aware that the Dominican Republic Government is trying to accommodate as many as possible, those people within the existing rules and regulations of their country, but they have been very generous. Of course, this fuel is quite limited in Haiti. Ten thousand gallons of fuel, I think, arrived last night from the Dominican Republic. That will help more, as we continue our operations.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/unsc2quakehaiti011910.html

At UN, China Takes Few Questions, ECOWAS Unheeded on Guinea, Myanmar Waits

By Matthew Russell Lee
www.innercitypress.com/unsc1china1jan010510.html

UNITED NATIONS, January 5 -- As China takes over the UN Security Council presidency for the month of January, at the customary program of work press conference, its Permanent Representative Zhang Yesui took only six questions -- four topics and two follow ups -- and barely answered them.

One of the questions was from Chinese state owned media Xinhua and was a softball. What is China's thinking in choosing to hold its thematic debate about regional organizations -- including the Shanghai Cooperation Organization -- and how can regional organizations help maintain stability?

Ambassador Zhang Yesui, seeming entirely prepared for the question, said that often regional organizations know more about the problems that they deal with. He cited the African Union's work on Sudan, and later Somalia -- although that doesn't seem to be going so well -- but he might have mentioned ASEAN and its "hands off Myanmar" stance.

Some analysts believe that China's and the U.S.'s increasing use of regional organization reflects that militarily dominant countries, not wanting the UN to criticize what they do, from Xinjiang to Afghanistan, like to limit the Security Council's jurisdiction. One test of this will be whether the U.S., up in arms about Yemen, raises the matter at the Security Council.

Ambassador Zhang Yesui was asked if China thinks that "moderate Taliban in Afghanistan" should be spoken with. He replied that "internal affairs of a state should be determined by its people."

Surprising, then, that China goes along however reluctantly with the Council's statements on Myanmar, urging the military junta to engage with the opposition and free Aung San Suu Kyi. China, of course, has just imposed an 11 year sentence on Liu Xiaobo. No questions on this, however, were taken at the briefing.

Ambassador Zhang Yesui said there has been progress with North Korea -- his American counterpart Susan Rice says the same. Kim Jong Il is reportedly headed to Beijing. Meanwhile, the Indian miltary has spoken darkly of "two front" preparations for Pakistan and China, but this rattling of nuclear sabres was not mentioned in the press conference. It's a regional thing.

In the program of work's footnotes is the phrase "Peace consolidation in West Africa." While no question on this was taken, one assumes this means Guinea, the massacre of September 28 and the resulting UN report. A Presidential Statement is being prepared.

While China may go along with it, China signed a business deal with the junta soon after the massacre. This contradicted the stance of the regional organization, ECOWAS. What was that again, about respect for regional organizations? Watch this site.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/unsc1china1jan010510.html

On North Korean Missile, UN Council's Failure to Launch Called "Cautious" by China

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/unsc4dprk040509.html

UNITED NATIONS, April 5 -- The Security Council meeting on North Korea broke up Sunday evening with a whisp of a press statement, and a seemingly illusory promise of "constructive consultation" on getting a Council resolution to condemn North Korea's missile launch. The most telling on-camera comment came from China's Ambassador Zhang Yesui, who said that the Council's response must be "cautious and proportionate."

Council sources tell Inner City Press that during the consultations, China said that a press statement, and nothing more, certainly not a resolution, would be the appropriate response to North Korea's launch. Inner City Press asked Council president Claude Heller of Mexico point blank to confirm that China said this. That's something to ask China, Ambassador Heller replied.

China's reasoning emerged in background interviews with other diplomats. (Zhang Yesui refused all questions at the stakeout, his spokesman saying that he had to rush to meetings with the American mission.) Japan's Ambassador Yukio Takasu offered a summary of the past decade of North Korean launches and attempted launches, in 1998, 2006 and now. China is noting that in 1998, all the Council did was issue a press statement. So there is precedent for that approach, in their view. And that is all they need.

Others argue that this present launch violates 2006's Resolution 1918, which prohibited acts related to ballistic missile technology. But, the reply argument goes, if North Korea has a right to develop space, how else can they launch their satellites? And if Resolution 1718 was intended to have the effect of barring their development of space, it should have spelled that out.

Inner City Press asked Ambassador Takasu if the issues of human rights or the Japanese abductees came up, and if China had indeed said a press statement is all that is appropriate. "That is not my position," Ambassador Takasu replied, leaning away from the microphone, leaving the questions of human rights and abductees unanswered. So too with U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice: she was already leaving the microphone as human rights as a question was posed by Inner City Press. There was no answer. But there may be answers to all this, later this week. Watch this site.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/unsc4dprk040509.html