Distracted by DSK & Hacking, IMF Ignores Sudan & Afghan Banks, Questions about Censoring Its Research

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, June 23 -- With the International Monetary Fund refusing to answer or even acknowledge questions about its consideration of programs from Afghanistan through Belarus to South Sudan, set for independence on July 9, it seems the arrest and resignation of Dominique Strauss Kahn, the two candidate race to replace him and a recent hacking scandal have distracted the IMF.

When the IMF on Thursday morning held its first press briefing in two weeks, the questions largely related to the race between Christine Lagarde of France and Agustin Carstens of Mexico to replace DSK. Two questions, one online and the other in-person, concerned the IMF getting hacked. Deputy spokesman David Hawley said that “files were copied,” but deferred other answers.

Inner City Press submitted as it has in the past four questions by the IMF's online briefing center. In the past at least some questions have been answered, about Sudan and less frequently Sri Lanka.

But in his post-DSK era, these June 23 questions were entirely ignored:

With South Sudan set to declare independence on July 9, what is the status of the IMF's consideration of South Sudan, including in light of Sudanese president Omar al Bashir's threat to cut off the pipelines that takes South Sudan's oil to market?

Afghan authorities have complained about negotiations with IMF. On Afghanistan, can you state the status of and explain IMF's requirement that shareholders not have any management role in Afghan banks, given that this is allowed in the US, for example?

In terms of the IMF's research budget, some have questioned whether the IMF at times censors the conclusions of research. Is that true, and if so how does the IMF respond to the criticism?

In Belarus, will the new arrests of protesters in the last days have any impact on the IMF's consideration of Belarus' request for an IMF program?

Nor in the half hour between Hawley saying “there are no more questions” -- which wasn't true -- and the expiration of the embargo were any of the four questions answered. Previously the IMF has been asked about gift filings by its top officials, and hasn't answered. Oh, transparency.

France Pitching Lagarde for IMF Called “Not Incompatible” with Leading G-20

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, June 3 -- For the second time during France's presidency of the Group of 20, a French minister has come to the UN and held a closed door briefing, excluding the press, about how open the Sarkozy administration's leadership of the G-20 is.

But when Labor and Health Minister Xavier Bertrand came on June 3, something had changed. Dominique Strauss Kahn had lost the top post at the International Monetary Fund after being charged with sexual assault on a maid at Sofitel in New York, and fellow French minster Christine Lagarde is globetrotting to procure a vote this month to replace DSK.

Inner City Press asked Bertrand, flanked by French Ambassador to the UN Gerard Araud and his spokesman, about a complaint by South Africa's minister of finance Pravin Gardhan that the fast moves for Lagarde breach some commitment by the G-20 for a more open process.

As Bertrand rolled his eyes even before the question was finished, Inner City Press asked if there might be a conflict of interest in France leading the G-20 while pushing for Lagarde to replace DSK. Might a G-20 with a developing world president speak and act differently during this period?

After saying he hadn't come to speak about the question of the IMF, Bertrand emphasized that Lagarde has support “beyond France, even beyond Europe.” He said that while “certain [people] take into account nationality,” Lagarde's experience goes beyond that.

He claimed that France's leadership of the G-20 is “collective,” and is “not incompatible,” with pushing Lagarde.

Inner City Press did not mentioned DSK, having noted that Bertrand has even come to the defense of fellow French official Georges Tron, also charged with sex abuse. Innocent until proven guilty, Bertrand has said -- without referring to the upcoming June 10 court decision on Lagarde's role in the payment of a large governmental settlement to Sarkozy ally Bernard Tapie. Watch this site.

Footnotes: while some in France ascribe Agustin Carstens counter candidacy to l'affaire Cassez between Mexico, others tell Inner City Press that if Lagarde's candidacy survives the June 10 court decision, and if she replaced DSK, it would not be for a full term, and a stronger commitment would be made that her successor would not be European. We'll see.

At Bertrand's closed door G-20 pitch, Singapore's Permanent Representative Vanu Gopala Menon on behalf of the Global Governance Group (3G) urged France to “allow greater involvement of non G-20 countries in work groups” of the G-20. Inner City Press asked Bertrand about this as well; he responded that Singapore is invited, France's G-20 is not a club. Watch this site.