By Matthew Russell Lee
WASHINGTON* DC, September 13 -- For weeks the UN promoted it, that Secretary General Ban Ki-moon would be on Twitter for an hour on September 13, answering questions under the hashtag #AskTheSG.
Ban hadn't held a press conference at UN Headquarters for more than three months, so Inner City Press submitted four questions, including
Why UN response to peacekeeper sexual abuse of underaged girls in Haiti is merely to pay child support? Why in denial on cholera?
Why giving top UN DPKO job to 3d Frenchman in row, Ladsous, spoke for ouster of Aristide & advised Aliot-Marie of Air Ben Ali fame?
Why UN has twice flown ICC indicted war criminal Ahmed Haroun to Abyei in Sudan? Why peacekeepers stood by in S. Kordofan?
Why so quick to clarify this morning UN is not against colonialism in Papua & French Polynesia / Tahiti?
None of these questions were answered. Participants complained of questions like, How many hours a day do you sleep? A celebrity chef's question was taken, perahps by pre-arrangement.
Then at the noon briefing, Ban's spokesman took only four questions, all of them on Palestine or Israel: no questions or answers on Haiti, Congo, Somalia, Sri Lanka or UN corruption, much less the announcement in Washington of a bill which would require the UN to adopt a code of conduct for any any peacekeeping mission, or political mission such as the one Ban wants in Libya -- though his adviser Ian Martin's plan for 200 military observers was shot down by the Libyans.
Ban's spokesman said there were only ten minutes for the noon briefing, four minutes for questions, because Ban was coming to a press conference.
Ban sat there, being congratulated by another UN system official, and given a gift. It was said that questions could be asked - but only about malaria. Of five questions asked, Ban passed three of them to other speakers. He said he "appealed passionately... at world leaders level." Meanwhile where were the watchers? We'll have more on this.
