By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, June 22 -- Hilde Johnson of Norway has been tapped to head the UN Mission in South Sudan, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesman Martin Nesirky confirmed to Inner City Press on Wednesday.
Inner City Press asked about Sudanese president Omar al Bashir's threat to cut off the oil pipeline from South Sudan, set for independence on July 9, and whether the UN would sent Ms. Johnson there.
The oil pipeline threat is just one example of the foreseeable tensions between South Sudan and Khartoum that a UN envoy in Juba should work on.
But well placed UN sources have told Inner City Press, which first reported Ms. Johnson's candidacy and confirmed it with her, that “heart-felt activist” Hilde Johnson may find it hard to be heard in and by Khartoum.
After reporting Ms. Johnson's candidacy for the post as far back at May 16, along with UN officials Ian Martin of the UK and “Fink” Haysom of South Africa, Inner City Press asked the US Mission to the UN to confirm that Ambassador Susan Rice was lobbying Ban Ki-moon to give the post to Johnson.
US Mission spokesman Mark Kornblau replied to Inner City Press on June 14 that “we generally don’t comment on nominees until they are officially put forward by the Secretary General.”
On June 21, having confirmed from other diplomatic sources that Ban Ki-moon had acceded and tapped Johnson for the post, Inner City Press asked Kornblau, now that “she has the UNMIS job -- did the US / Ambassador Rice support her?” Twenty three hours later there has been no response. Now that the UN itself has confirmed, will Rice or her Mission now speak out?
Johnson recently chaired a UN session on how to help South Sudan. She is hardworking, having reportedly clashed while at UNICEF with other UN officials about the use of heightened security threat ratings by the UN during the Arab Spring.
But as one well placed source put it, “Why not name, like, Susan Rice at the UN's envoy to South Sudan? Isn't the point of the UN to be able to talk to both sides of a conflict?”
Some see this move by Ban as symbolic of the over-domination by the United States which even wire services have reported, much to the displeasure of Ban's communications team. The proof is and will be in the pudding. Watch this site.
