By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, August 30 -- While the UN tries to distance itself from the leaked Martin report on Libya, which Inner City Press exclusively obtained and published on August 26, the report's statement that NATO will continue to have a role in "post-conflict" Libya is causing waves.
China's Permanent Represenative Li Baodong told Inner City Press on August 30 that post conflict "should be the end of NATO's mission."
In a NATO press conference earlier on August 30, NATO's spokeswoman Oana Lungescu and Colonel Roland Lavoie said it was up to them to assess when to stop bombing Libya, and said that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon had confirmed this. Is that what the UN's Martin report means?
Inner City Press asked Ban's departing deputy spokesman Farhan Haq to explain the NATO line, and which "two Member States" Ban's Secretariat had told of its "force requirements." The latter question, Haq refused to answer. And on the first, he said that Ian Martin will be answering questions in front of the Security Council after Tuesday afternoon's consultations.
Inner City Press asked, "Will Martin take this question?"
Haq said, "You spoke with him Friday." But as with so much here, that's not really true. At Friday's stakeout in the North Lawn building, Haq refused to allow Inner City Press to ask Martin or Ban about the report, on the day Inner City Press has exclusively published it. After the stakeout was over, Inner City Press approached Martin, who refused to answer the question, saying 'It's an internal report.'" And now?
Inner City Press also on Tuesday asked Haq when Algeria told Ban that they were hosting members of the Gaddafi family, and what Ban thinks of it. Haq said that Algeria's Permanent Representative told Ban on August 29, and that Ban is still studying it, has no comment.
Ban was scheduled to take questions from the Press on Tuesday outside the Council, but canceled the appearance, sending Martin and Lynn Pascoe in his place. Ban will flying to Paris for the Septemer 1 meeting on Libya, and then still away from New York, in New Zealand, Australia, even Kiribati and the Solomon Islands. Watch this site.
