IMF Insists Nothing Is Its Fault in Greece or Pakistan, Ignores the Sudans, Defers on Question on Iran

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, September 26 -- Nothing is ever the fault of the International Monetary Fund under Christine Lagarde, it seems. 

Thursday morning at the IMF's embargoed press briefing spokesperson Gerry Rice answered a question about the depreciation of the rupee in Pakistan by saying not only is it not the IMF's fault, the IMF will solve it.

  A journalist down from the UN asked Rice about the view that the rise of "Golden Dawn" in Greece is related to austerity policies. Oh no. Of course not.

  From New York, Inner City Press has asked about Sudan (and South Sudan, and Palestine) --

On Sudan and the deadly protests there of the elimination of fuel subsidies, does the IMF have any view if the elimination was implemented too quickly? What is the status between the IMF and Khartoum, including on any debt relief?

On South Sudan, what is the status of discussions on a Rapid Credit Facility and a government program to be monitored by IMF staff?

On Palestine, what is the IMF's view of yesterday's Communique by the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee?

  How will the IMF answer these questions? Will the IMF give it answer to a question about Iran and Hassan Rouhani -- when is the last time an IMF managing director met a leader of Iran? -- only to the wire service that asked the question in person, or to all press which cover the Fund? Watch this site.

   

At UN, 2 Question Presser Ignores Palestine Tax Diversion, UNCA Propaganda

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, September 25 -- It is difficult to present economic relations between Israel and Palestine as positive and upbeat. But after the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee met on Wednesday and took a mere two questions from the media, that was the spin.

  Inner City Press was there, hand-raised, to asked about the $300 million dispute about tax revenue. But Norway, whose outgoing minister Espen Barth Eide led off the press conference, took only two question. The first, an absurd softball, was automatically given to the UN Correspondents Association, represented by its 2013 president Pamela Falk of CBS.

  Rather than asking about the obvious fiscal problems, she accepted the positive spin and asked about politics which was not answer. The second and final questioner was sharper, zeroing in on Norway's recent election -- but Norway chafed at that.

  This all made ever more clear: the politicized UNCA Executive Committee should not automatically be given the first question. But the UN Department of Public Information's Stephane Dujarric, when the new Free UN Coalition for Access @FUNCA_info challenged the UNCA role in Francois Hollande's September 24 press conference cum propaganda fest, replied:

"As a courtesy to their large traveling press corps which had to move quickly from the North Lawn Building to the Secretariat for Pres. Hollande's press conference, we allowed the French Delegation to reserve a number of seats. The press briefing room was indeed 'standing room only,' but in the end you and other UN press corps members all had seats. I also note that a number of UN correspondents, affiliate with UNCA and FUNCA, were able to ask questions of the President."

  This answer was insufficient, even as to France. But as to the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee on Wednesday, it was clearly bogus: there was UNCA's propagandistic Falk, who twice invited Saudi-sponsored Syria "rebel" boss Jarba for a fauxUN briefing, then a sharper but openly pro-Israel question.

 (Inner City Press has asked Dujarric if Jarba at UNCA could be called a UN briefing, a question like spying he refuses to answer.)

  UNCA for whatever reason canceled its planned second faux UN briefing for Jarba, postponed from September 25 to 26, then canceled. But Dujarric must still answer, on why the many UN correspondents not members of UNCA can't schedule events in what should be the UN Press Club, and why he accepted leaked internal UNCA anti-Press documents from UNCA's first vice president Louis Charbonneau of Reuters. Watch this site.

   

At UN on Palestine, Norway's FM Tells ICP Area C & Water Were Discussed, But What Was Accomplished?

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, September 23 -- After the Palestinian Authority, the World Bank and others reported to the 18-year old Ad Hoc Liaison Committee on Palestine Sunday at the UN, Inner City Press asked Norway's foreign minister Espen Barth Eide about water and, more generally, Area C.

Click here to view the Palestine Water Authority's report.Click here for Inner City Press photo from the stakeout.

  Espen Barth Eide replied that Area C received "strong attention" from "everyone who took the floor," and that it was to be managed by Israel for "transfer back to Palestine."

  He said there have been some improvements, "but not enough to the view of the majority of the donors." He said "institution building" has been a success, but economic development has been held back.

   Economic development was one of the tasks of Tony Blair, who in the meanwhile has taken paying gigs for JP Morgan Chase and others.

   So what is being accomplished on these issues? When Palestine's finance minister spoke next, Inner City Press asked him how Palestine's request for UN Observer State status would impact on any of the issues discussed in the Ad Hoc group.

   That was not discussed in the Ad Hoc group meeting, he said. Minutes later, Israel's representative, after mentioning Area C, said that the way forward is certainly not through the UN. Watch this site.