Inner City Press: Investigative Reporting from the United Nations 16.09.

10 15:41

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These reports are usually
available through Google News As Myanmar Dissolves NLD, UN Prior Notice and Efforts
and on Lexis-Nexis
Not Clear, UN Meeting Undefined
CONTRIBUTE By Matthew Russell Lee

Subscribe to RSS feed UNITED NATIONS, September 15 -- In the wake of

BloggingHeads.tv Myanmar dissolving the National League for Democracy of
Aun Sang Suu Kyi, the UN Wednesday issued cautious
criticism in response to a question from Inner City Press,
Video (new)
while implicitly admitting the UN and its envoy Vijay
Nambiar cannot or simply do not speak with the parties there.
Reuters AlertNet 8/17/07
Previously when Inner City Press has asked UN spokesman
Reuters AlertNet 7/14/07
Martin Nesirky about the NLD being absent from the
Support this work upcoming elections in Myanmar, which many call a scam,
by buying this Nesirky has responded with a UN position that the NLD was
book
free, and chose, to boycott the election.
But now that the government has dissolved the NLD and
other parties, the UN finally had criticism ready. Did it come
from UN envoy -- and chief of staff to Secretary General Ban
Ki-moon -- Vijay Nambiar? There is no way to know.
When Inner City Press what Nambiar and his “Good
Office” team have been up to, Nambiar first said “you are
well aware.” That is not the case. For example, did Nambiar
Click on cover for know in advance of the impending dissolution of the NLD?
secure site orders Nesirky would not say.
"Toxic Credit
also includes
in the Global Inner City" Inner City Press what Ban plans to come out of the
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Inner City Press: Investigative Reporting from the United Nations 16.09.10 15:41

September 27 meeting of his “Friends on Myanmar.” While

already for the similar meeting about Sudan on September
24, also during the UN General Debate, there's talk of an
outcome statement about the planned referendum, Nesirky
merely said to watch for a press availability after the
Community September 27 meeting.
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UN's Ban & Than Shwe: NLD, Aun Sang Suu Kyi and Vijay Nambiar not shown

From the UN transcript of September 15:

Inner City Press: On Myanmar and something about MDGs
[Millennium Development Goals] promotion, promotions by the
UN. On Myanmar, the National League, the NLD [National
League for Democracy] has been dissolved by the Government.
They had previously voluntarily chosen to boycott the election,
and I think the UN had said, well it’s up to parties what they
want to do. But now the Government has dissolved them and the
party. The NLD has said that this is an illegal move by the
Government, that they’re protesting the dissolution of their
political party by the Government. So I’m wondering, given the
good offices role, given the run-up now to this election, what’s
the UN where it previously it sort of said, “well, the NLD can
boycott if they choose”, what about the Government dissolving
this historic force for democracy in Myanmar?

Spokesperson Nesirky: The Secretary-General notes with some

concern the decision by the Union Election Commission to
dissolve 10 political parties prior to the general election,
including the National League for Democracy and four others for
failing to renew their registration, and he further notes that the
Union Election Commission has issued campaigning guidelines
for the remaining 37 parties to register to contest the elections.
The Secretary-General once again urges the Myanmar authorities
to ensure conditions conducive for a fully inclusive and
participatory electoral process.

Inner City Press: Thanks a lot for that. What’s the involvement of
Mr. [Vijay] Nambiar in the good offices and what does the
Secretary-General hope to come out of the meeting of the

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Inner City Press: Investigative Reporting from the United Nations 16.09.10 15:41

Secretary-General’s Friends on Myanmar in the upcoming

general debate?

Spokesperson: Well, I think you’re fully familiar with Mr.

Nambiar’s good offices role related to Myanmar. The Group of
Friends meeting, which would be at ministerial level, is likely to
be on 27 [September]. Further details are being worked out on
that, including press availability, and I think at that point, after the
meeting, you’ll be able to find out the content of the meeting.

Inner City Press: Just about Mr. Nambiar, because I’m actually
not clear on what the office does. I wanted to know, on
something like this, did they know in advance that this decision
was being made by the Government? Had they spoken to the
NLD about these concerns or are they just reacting to the stories
about it? I don’t meant that insultingly, I just mean, I’m just
trying to get a sense, did that office try to forestall this decision
by the Government, or are they as mystified as everyone else?

Spokesperson: Well, there are a couple of things here. Mr.

Nambiar has support, people who are obviously able to help him,
who are monitoring this daily, the whole time. Therefore, they
will clearly have been aware of movements. What the diplomatic
process might entail, I’m not in a position to say. I would
reiterate what the Secretary-General himself has said. He’s
expressed his frustration here on the access to the Myanmar
authorities to talk about these kinds of things, so I think that
might answer your question.

So if Mr. Ban cannot speak with the Myanmar authorities,

despite the UN allowing them to take up to 25% of post
Cyclone Nargis aid money and declaring the response one of
his finest hours, it seems clear that Mr. Nambiar can't either.
What Good Offices? Watch this site.
***

As Myanmar Ends Visas for Cyclone NGOs, UN Looks

Away, Blessing Scam Election
By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, August 23 -- In the run up to a

November election which will exclude Aung San Suu Kyi
and her National League for Democracy, the military
government of Myanmar has moved to curtail the system of
entry visas for aid workers instituted after Cyclone Nargis.

While one might expect the UN, whose Secretary General

Ban Ki-moon once claimed this post-Nargis access as one of
his major accomplishments, to speak out against this re-
closing down of Myanmar, that has not been the case.

In recent weeks, Inner City Press has repeatedly asked the

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Inner City Press: Investigative Reporting from the United Nations 16.09.10 15:41

UN Spokesman Martin Nesirky and UN officials who

appeared only on condition of not being named to list any
recent accomplishment on Myanmar of the UN's Good
Offices role. On August 20, Inner City Press specifically
asked if the UN or its envoy on Myanmar Vijay Nambiar,
Ban's chief of staff, had any comment on the visa crackdown.
Here is the UN's response in Inner City Press:
Subject: Your question on the TCG
From: UN Spokesperson - Do Not Reply <unspokesperson-
donotreply [at] un.org>
To: Matthew Lee [at] innercitypress.com
Date: Fri, Aug 20, 2010 at 3:25 PM

At the 43rd ASEAN annual meeting Hanoi on 19–20 July 2010,

the ASEAN Foreign agreed to officially to end the Tripartite Core
Group (TCG) and the ASEAN Humanitarian Task Force (AHTF)
by 31 July 2010 and to transfer the coordination role to the
Government.

In light of the Government’s announcement that Nargis related

work will be taken up by the relevant line ministries, the UNCT is
engaging closely with the authorities to ensure that needed
assistance in not interrupted.

There are today 15 UN agencies, 50 international organizations

and a similar number of local NGOs operating inside the country
, and are working not only in the Ayeyarwaddy delta, but in all
regions of Myanmar. Looking forward, the United Nations and
the Government of Myanmar have reached agreement for
collaborating on a two-year Joint Humanitarian Initiative (2010-
2011) for Northern Rakhine State, a border area whose population
faces a particularly difficult combination of socio-economic and
humanitarian factors.
So will the UN's current push for Pakistan end with a
similar whimper?

UN's Ban at Burma model village, follow through not shown

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Inner City Press: Investigative Reporting from the United Nations 16.09.10 15:41

As elsewhere reported on the Myanmar visa crackdown,

“this brings about several changes, none of them good for aid
workers or the cyclone survivors who can hardly make ends meet.
First, as there is no single ministry overseeing aid work, aid
agencies will have to sign cooperation agreements with individual
ministries... A veteran aid worker who declined to be named said
that it usually takes between four months and two years to obtain
a cooperation agreement with a ministry and another five months
to be granted a visa.”

By which time, of course, the scam election entrenching the

military dictatorship will already have taken place -- with
what to some now seems the de facto “blessing” of the UN.
Watch this site.
***

At UN, Aung San Suu Kyi Absent from Ban's Statement As

From Myanmar "Sham" Nov 7 Election: Good Offices?
By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, August 13 -- In the wake of the

Myanmar military government's announcement it will hold
what was quickly called its “sham” election on November 7,
with Aung San Suu Kyi still under house arrest, Inner City
Press asked UN Spokesman Martin Nesirky if Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon or his Myanmar adviser, Vijay
Nambiar, had any comment. Video here, from Minute 3:47.

At first, Nesirky had nothing to say. Later in the day's noon

briefing, a statement was brought to Nesirky. When he read it
out, it had no mention of Aung San Suu Kyi, the long
imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner who declined to meet
with Ban's previous Myanmar adviser Ibrahim Gambari.

Inner City Press asked, does Mr. Ban believe that Aung San
Suu Kyi should be able to participate in the election? Video
here, from Minute 9:34.

“That's what it says,” Nesirky replied, pointing at the

canned “Statement Attributable to the Spokesperson for the
Secretary General” that he had just read.

But the statement didn't mention Aung San Suu Kyi.

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Inner City Press: Investigative Reporting from the United Nations 16.09.10 15:41

UN's Ban, Gambari and Nambiar, reference to ASSK not

shown

And earlier this month, Nesirky and his office walked away
from another similar statement, about Kashmir.
After India complained, the UN backtracked and noted that
the Secretary General himself had not said the words, they
were mere “media guidance.”
So what DOES Mr. Ban himself think of the Myanmar
elections?

Or his Special Adviser, who just got a new sign on the UN

Library's third floor, despite rarely going to that office. When
Gambari left the job, the so called Good Offices role,
Nambiar was called a temporary fill in. But the post has yet
to be filled. Some Good Offices. Watch this site.
***

Click here for an Inner City Press YouTube channel video,

mostly UN Headquarters footage, about civilian deaths in Sri
Lanka.
Click here for Inner City Press' March 27 UN debate

Click here for Inner City Press March 12 UN (and AIG bailout) debate

Click here for Inner City Press' Feb 26 UN debate

Click here for Feb. 12 debate on Sri Lanka

http://bloggingheads.tv/diavlogs/17772?in=11:33&out=32:56

Click here for Inner City Press' Jan. 16, 2009 debate about
Gaza

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