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SYRIA JA'AFARI TELLS ICP OF SHELLING OF LATAKIA, NOW RUSSIA PROPOSAL
Inner City Press
March 27 2014
By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive
UNITED NATIONS, March 26, updated -- While the Security Council
met behind closed doors about the Golan Heights, Syrian Permanent
Representative Bashar Ja'afari came to speak to the press.
Inner City Press asked Ja'afari about Turkey's shooting of a Syrian
plane, and about a Qatar sponsored event held in the UN on March
21 (see below). Ja'afari answered about Al Nusra shelling Latakia,
and moments later Inner City Press was exclusively told of a Russian
proposal on the shelling.
Update: past 6:30 pm, Inner City Press was informed that in response
to Russia's proposal, the briefing by the OPCW's Sigrid Kaag "will
be moved up." We'll see.
On the plane shoot down, Ja'afari said on Saturday, March 22 he
spoke with Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's chief of staff Malcorra --
and with Jeffrey Feltman, then in Kyiv.
Ja'afari told Inner City Press he has asked UN humanitarian chief
Valerie Amos to be sure to include the attacks on "the Armenians"
in Kassab in her briefing to the Council.
Also in response, Ja'afari said that the Al Nusra Front is shelling
Latakia, where chemical weapons are being taken out of Syria.
Moments later a Security Council member exclusively told Inner City
Press that Russia has proposed a statement on this shelling of Latakia.
On the March 21 event, described below, Ja'afari told Inner City
Press he complained to Malcorra, that the UN is being "corrupted
by petro-dollars."
When Qatar sponsored an event at the UN on March 21 at which a
report on torture in Syria which Qatar also funded was presented,
it was not listed in the UN Journal. Nor was the event broadcast on
the UNTV Webcast.
Inner City Press heard about it and asked the UN's top two
spokespeople:
"there is an event in Conference Room 4 right now, sponsored by Qatar,
which is no listed in today's UN Journal, nor is it on UN Webcast
http://webtv.un.org/ but it appears to be being filmed. Please explain
the legal status of this meeting, if there are any sponsored beyond
Qatar, how it was publicized and if any request to have it webcast
was made. Thanks, on deadline."
But no answer was provided. Inner City Press ran to the event and
from the back of a three quarters empty Conference Room 4 asked why
the event was so stealth: not in the UN Journal, not webcast.
The Permanent Representative of Qatar answered, saying it was a
"special event" to which Qatar had invited (some) member states and
groups, and (some) media. There is a UN Media Alert, but this event
was not put in it.
Perhaps it was publicized by the Gulf & Western United Nations
Correspondents Association, which has twice hosted faux "UN" events
by the Syrian National Coalition or Syrian Coalition. (In both cases,
the Free UN Coalition for Access suggested that the SNC hold its
events in the UN briefing room, accessible to all journalists.)
Since French Ambassador Gerard Araud, the first questioner flanked
by representatives of Saudi Arabia and of Turkey which earlier in
the day banned Twitter, has spoken about "fakes" and others about
accountability, Inner City Press asked if the groups Al Nusra and
ISIS, and those who fund them such as private individuals in Qatar
alluded to at the US State Department briefing earlier in the day,
could or would be held accountable.
The SNC representative emphasized what he called links between the
Assad regime and ISIS, saying it was too easy to blame the Gulf
countries.
Here's from the March 21 US State Department briefing transcript:
Question: you have concerns about the withdrawal of the ambassadors.
Do you also have concerns about the reasons that these countries said
that they withdrew their ambassadors from Qatar? In other words, do you
- if you have concerns about the withdrawal of the ambassadors, do you
also have concerns about Qatar's behavior, which - alleged behavior,
let's say - which led to these countries withdrawing their ambassadors?
MS. PSAKI: Well, I know one of the issues that has been mentioned is
the issue of private donations to extremists - and that's something
that some have mentioned - operating in Syria and elsewhere. It remains
an important priority in our high-level discussions, and one that we
also certainly raise with all states in the region, including Qatar,
including the Government of Kuwait, wherever we have concerns.
After Inner City Press asked about the sponsorship of the event,
a one-page "Joint Statement by the Co-Organizers" was passed out,
listing among the co-organizers France, the UK, US, Belgium, the
Netherlands, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Inner City Press tweeted it.
Watch this site.
http://www.innercitypress.com/syria2unseen032614.html
Inner City Press
March 27 2014
By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive
UNITED NATIONS, March 26, updated -- While the Security Council
met behind closed doors about the Golan Heights, Syrian Permanent
Representative Bashar Ja'afari came to speak to the press.
Inner City Press asked Ja'afari about Turkey's shooting of a Syrian
plane, and about a Qatar sponsored event held in the UN on March
21 (see below). Ja'afari answered about Al Nusra shelling Latakia,
and moments later Inner City Press was exclusively told of a Russian
proposal on the shelling.
Update: past 6:30 pm, Inner City Press was informed that in response
to Russia's proposal, the briefing by the OPCW's Sigrid Kaag "will
be moved up." We'll see.
On the plane shoot down, Ja'afari said on Saturday, March 22 he
spoke with Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's chief of staff Malcorra --
and with Jeffrey Feltman, then in Kyiv.
Ja'afari told Inner City Press he has asked UN humanitarian chief
Valerie Amos to be sure to include the attacks on "the Armenians"
in Kassab in her briefing to the Council.
Also in response, Ja'afari said that the Al Nusra Front is shelling
Latakia, where chemical weapons are being taken out of Syria.
Moments later a Security Council member exclusively told Inner City
Press that Russia has proposed a statement on this shelling of Latakia.
On the March 21 event, described below, Ja'afari told Inner City
Press he complained to Malcorra, that the UN is being "corrupted
by petro-dollars."
When Qatar sponsored an event at the UN on March 21 at which a
report on torture in Syria which Qatar also funded was presented,
it was not listed in the UN Journal. Nor was the event broadcast on
the UNTV Webcast.
Inner City Press heard about it and asked the UN's top two
spokespeople:
"there is an event in Conference Room 4 right now, sponsored by Qatar,
which is no listed in today's UN Journal, nor is it on UN Webcast
http://webtv.un.org/ but it appears to be being filmed. Please explain
the legal status of this meeting, if there are any sponsored beyond
Qatar, how it was publicized and if any request to have it webcast
was made. Thanks, on deadline."
But no answer was provided. Inner City Press ran to the event and
from the back of a three quarters empty Conference Room 4 asked why
the event was so stealth: not in the UN Journal, not webcast.
The Permanent Representative of Qatar answered, saying it was a
"special event" to which Qatar had invited (some) member states and
groups, and (some) media. There is a UN Media Alert, but this event
was not put in it.
Perhaps it was publicized by the Gulf & Western United Nations
Correspondents Association, which has twice hosted faux "UN" events
by the Syrian National Coalition or Syrian Coalition. (In both cases,
the Free UN Coalition for Access suggested that the SNC hold its
events in the UN briefing room, accessible to all journalists.)
Since French Ambassador Gerard Araud, the first questioner flanked
by representatives of Saudi Arabia and of Turkey which earlier in
the day banned Twitter, has spoken about "fakes" and others about
accountability, Inner City Press asked if the groups Al Nusra and
ISIS, and those who fund them such as private individuals in Qatar
alluded to at the US State Department briefing earlier in the day,
could or would be held accountable.
The SNC representative emphasized what he called links between the
Assad regime and ISIS, saying it was too easy to blame the Gulf
countries.
Here's from the March 21 US State Department briefing transcript:
Question: you have concerns about the withdrawal of the ambassadors.
Do you also have concerns about the reasons that these countries said
that they withdrew their ambassadors from Qatar? In other words, do you
- if you have concerns about the withdrawal of the ambassadors, do you
also have concerns about Qatar's behavior, which - alleged behavior,
let's say - which led to these countries withdrawing their ambassadors?
MS. PSAKI: Well, I know one of the issues that has been mentioned is
the issue of private donations to extremists - and that's something
that some have mentioned - operating in Syria and elsewhere. It remains
an important priority in our high-level discussions, and one that we
also certainly raise with all states in the region, including Qatar,
including the Government of Kuwait, wherever we have concerns.
After Inner City Press asked about the sponsorship of the event,
a one-page "Joint Statement by the Co-Organizers" was passed out,
listing among the co-organizers France, the UK, US, Belgium, the
Netherlands, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Inner City Press tweeted it.
Watch this site.
http://www.innercitypress.com/syria2unseen032614.html