After Somalia & Eritrea Monitor Resigns, UNSC Chair Thinks "Taken Care Of"
By Matthew Russell Lee, Follow Up to Exclusive
UNITED NATIONS, October 15, 2014 -- On October 7 Inner City Press
exclusively reported that a member of the UN's Somalia Eritrea Monitoring
Group Dinesh Mahtani used UN SEMG time and letterhead for unrelated advocacy
regarding Eritrea. Mahtani's letter was exclusively put online here
<
http://www.innercitypress.com/smeg1mahtaniicp.pdf> by Inner City Press.
On October 15, the Somalia and Eritrea sanctions committee chairman
Ambassador Oh Joon of South Korea, when Inner City Press asked of Mahtani,
said no, "we didn't have a discussion on him. It's been taken care of, I
think." Taken care of.
Since October 8 not only Reuters but also Agence France Presse
<
http://zeenews.india.com/news/world/somali-government-as-corrupt-shebab-as-
deadly-as-ever-un-experts_1483976.html> have retyped copies of the SEMG
report given to them -- with no mention of the SEMG scandal and resignation
acknowledged right in the UN Press Briefing Room on October 8.
Isn't this like "reporting" on a panel of judges' ruling without
mentioning that one of the judges just resigned after being confronted with
a letter he wrote about the subject matter of the case?
On October 15, when the UN Security Council met behind closed doors about
SEMG and the report, the bylined scribe of Reuters Mahtani-less story about
the report stood briefly in front of the Council, then left.
After an hour and a half when the meeting ended, Inner City Press asked
the sanctions committee chairman Oh Joon if Mahtani and his resignation has
been raised in the meeting. No, Oh Joon replied, "we didn't have a
discussion on him. It's been taken care of, I think."
But some question what the chairman of the SEMG knew, and how the
involvement of the now-resigned Mahtani in the report under review impacted
it. We'll have more on this.
On October 8, Inner City Press asked UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric about
Mahtani's letter and if it was appropriate behavior for a sanctions monitor.
No, Dujarric said, adding that the letter was "shown" to Dinesh Mahtani, who
has resigned. Video here <
http://youtu.be/p7YDv-Oocm4> .
On October 10, Reuters
<
http://www.chillingeffects.org/notice.cgi?sID=1117933> two UN
<
http://www.chillingeffects.org/notice.cgi?sID=1117933> correspondents
dutifully regurgitated
<
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/10/us-somalia-charcoal-un-idUSKCN0HZ
2E120141010> the SEMG's most recent report, even called it "exclusive" -- a
basis on which Reuters pays
<
http://talkingbiznews.com/1/reuters-reporters-beat-stories-and-exclusives/>
-- with no mention that one of the SEMG's members had resigned after being
exposed for pushing regime change.
Key fact: Dinesh Mahtani used to work for Reuters, see c.v. here
<
http://www.lse.ac.uk/IDEAS/programmes/africaProgramme/people/IndivAssociate
s/Mahtani_D.aspx> .
This puts Reuters' non-mention of SEMG member Mahtani's resignation is a
different light.
On October 13, AFP in English
<
http://zeenews.india.com/news/world/somali-government-as-corrupt-shebab-as-
deadly-as-ever-un-experts_1483976.html> retyped its copy of the SEMG
report, no mention of regime-change scandal. This too is how the UN works
<
http://www.innercitypress.com/france1afponu092111.html> , or doesn't
<
http://www.innercitypress.com/afp2unicpout1pmess061812.pdf> .
Sources had told Inner City Press that Mahtani, the finance expert on SEMG
and previously on the DR Congo Sanctions group, was found requesting favors
from a member state, to which the SEMG reports. Here is a document
<
http://www.innercitypress.com/smeg1mahtaniicp.pdf> :
a letter from Dinesh Mahtani, ostensibly in his SEMG role, saying that
former Eritrean official Ali Abdu "has great potential to play a stabilizing
role in Eritrea with the country possibly headed to an uncertain period in
its history."
This is hardly the first controversy in the SEMG -- but usually the members
wait until they are off or on their way off the Monitor Group to "let it all
hang out," as one source put it of previous SEMG chair Matt Bryden.
The current chair, Jarat Chopra, has faced complaints from Somalia, also
exclusively reported
<
http://www.innercitypress.com/sanctions3smeg120513.html> by Inner City
Press.
Bryden's departure was telegraphed in remarks to, and a report by
<
http://www.innercitypress.com/som1jimale072412.html> , Inner City Press on
July 24, 2012 when Security Council members from three countries gave Inner
City Press exclusive and negative reviews of Bryden's performance.
"He's leaving," one of them said dismissively and definitely of Bryden.
There was snarky speculation Bryden may have been angling for a book deal,
or a post with a group like HRW.
With Bryden the questions were larger of leaking, of micro-managing the
Eritrean air force and more. Those about Mahtani, the sources tell Inner
City Press, are "bigger... regime change on UN letterhead." Now Mahtani has
resigned. We'll have more on this.
*******************************************************
In Abyei, Sudan Balloting Panned, Referendum Lobbied For, Closed Doors
By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, October 14, -- When the UN Security Council's closed-door
meeting about Abyei ended on October 7, UN Peacekeeping's Edmond Mulet
<
http://www.innercitypress.com/haiti1uncensorfunca101314.html> walked
briskly out and to the elevator.
A Sudanese diplomat raced after him, catching him before the elevator door
closed and speaking for a minute. The diplomat told Inner City Press there
are "issues" on the ostensibly non-controversial technical roll-over of the
mandate of the UN mission in Abyei, UNISFA.
The mandate was unanimously extended a week later on October 14, after
behind the scenes griping that, unlike on also unanimous Haiti mandate
extension on October 14, did not give rise to explanation of vote by any
Council member.
(South Sudan Permanent Representative and former UN official Francis Deng
said that those pushing to recognition of the Dinka's unilateral referendum
in Abyei "might" be sitting behind him.)
Inner City Press spoke with a number of Security Council members and
learned one issue was this unilateralism -- specifically, the Dinka held
their own unilateral referendum, and now the Sudanese want to include Abyei
in their own elections.
At least two Council members said behind closed doors that Sudan is within
its rights on this, and others agreed afterward. But it was said such
inclusion would fan tensions -- all this behind closed doors.
The October 7 Abyei meeting, and a meeting earlier that day on the tail end
of the Syria chemical weapons mission, were both behind closed doors. This
is when the Free UN Coalition for Access <
http://www.funca.info> has asked
that Council president's hold question and answer stakeouts. It did not
happen on October 7, and there were no explanations of vote on October 14.
At the October 7 noon briefing when FUNCA asked, UN Spokesman Stephane
Dujarric said his Office was to blame for the lack of notice to the press of
October's UNSC President's read-out at the UNTV stakeout
<
http://www.innercitypress.com/funca1nounscnotice100314.html> of multiple
press statements. Issues sail through in this fashion. We'll have more on
this.
Received on Wed Oct 15 2014 - 17:33:49 EDT