By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, June 21 -- When the African members of the UN Security Council proposed a Presidential Statement on Libya the day before last week's closed door meeting with the African Union, the US Mission to the UN led by Susan Rice said it had been proposed too late to be issued on June 15.
Then on June 17, sources tell Inner City Press, the US Mission proposed a series of amendments to the African draft, essentially killing it. While the purpose of the African draft was to reiterate the contents of the Council's Resolution 1973, the US has proposed for example a paragraph that
“The Members of the Security Council urged Member States to recognize the Transitional National Council as the legitimate interlocutor for the Libyan people.”
On June 21, Inner City Press asked the Deputy Permanent Representative of one of the seven countries fully supporting the African Libya PRST about the draft and this paragraph. The DPR, after a shake of the head, said: “They should stick to what was said in the room... We try to.”
Inner City Press has sought US Mission comment on this, and on their scheduling at 3 pm on Tuesday of a political coordinators meeting on the US draft Sudan PRST, after the same coordinators had been summoned to a 3:30 consultation on the Libya text.
No response was received before the US-called meeting on Sudan, including on the purpose of the Sudan PRST, and when a resolution for the proposed Ethiopian troops for Abyei might be forthcoming.
Nor was an answer given when Ambassador Susan Rice and her two spokesmen walked into the General Assembly at 3:15 pm for Ban Ki-moon's second term vote. Then, Rice was observed chatting with her Russian counterpart. These are the consultations which count.
