ICP Asks Turkish FM of Somaliland & S. Sudan, Answers on Somalia & Sudan
By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, September 26, 2014 -- Mediation should be what the UN is all
about, so when Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu along with his
Finnish counterpart Erkki Tuomioja
<
https://twitter.com/innercitypress/status/515505759866859522> took
questions on the topic on September 26, Inner City Press asked about
Turkey's role in Somaliland
<
http://www.innercitypress.com/somaliland2unsom090914.html> , and about
IGAD's mediation in South Sudan.
In responding, Cavusoglu seemed to understand the latter to mean Sudan and
South Sudan, talking about relations between the two countries. He did not
mention Somaliland, but only Somali where he said Turkey buildings hospitals
and has troops.
Actually, it was IGAD member-state troops being in South Sudan that Inner
City Press was asking about: how can one be a mediator and militarily
supporting one of the sides at the same time?
In fairness, Turkey has been doing a creditable mediation job on
Somaliland, including for a time on the problems caused by the UN
unilaterally giving management of airspace over Somaliland to Mogadishu.
Cavusoglu was asked if Turkey will be participation in the Coalition
bombing Syria, and did not directly answer, as another correspondent pointed
out. The first question was taken by UNCA, the set-aside that the new Free
UN Coalition for Access <
http://www.funca.info> opposes. In this case, UNCA
sent Turkey state media -- this is why they should not be any automatic
first question, to use this way. We'll have more on this.
Also, the loss of press work space by the Security Council, to the
so-called Turkish Lounge, should be reconsidered and reversed, FUNCA says.
Closer coverage would help, not harm, mediation.
Overall, real mediation on Eastern Ukraine might have been what the UN is
all about. But with the UN Secretariat so clearly aligned with one side, it
became sidelined. Others will mediate. But what is happening to the UN?
Watch this site.
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Salva Kiir Not At UN Meeting on South Sudan, Copter Shootdown UNsolved
By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, September 25, 2014 -- While South Sudan President Salva Kiir
is in New York, he did not attend the UN's "High Level" event about his
country on September 25.
A Senior US State Department Official, speaking on background, said that
"there was a lot of disappointment expressed in the meeting that Salva Kiir
who is here in New York did not attend the meeting. He sent his Minister of
Foreign Affairs and some of his ministers to the meeting and several of the
attendees made a point of noting that Salva Kiir was not at the meeting."
Inner City Press asked the Senior State Department Official if the US know
who was behind the recent shooting down of a UN helicopter, if it could
confirm that forces under the control of Peter Gadet, already under US
sanctions, did it.
The US official said "we know that the UN is investigating it, we are
waiting for the results of that investigation. Gadet has been put on the
sanctions list even before that happened."
The official called the shoot-down "evidence of how difficult it is to work
in South Sudan," and added that South Sudan's foreign minister had said the
government is committed to not blocking NGOs and the UN from providing aid.
"We have to hold them to that commitment," the official concluded, "people
are suffering."
Background: back on May 6, 2014, when the US imposed sanctions on Gadet
<
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2014/05/225701.htm> , Inner City Press
asked <
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2014/05/225701.htm> :
MODERATOR: Great. Thank you. Our next question is from the other Matt Lee,
Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press. Go ahead.
QUESTION: Great. Thanks a lot, [Moderator]. I wanted to ask, there was a -
it was said that in Security Council consultations at the UN that senior
government officials were named in a radio broadcast prior to the attacks in
Bor on the UN compound in killing the civilians. I just wonder if you can
say are these people - is that the case? Do you know the names of people
that sort of called for that attack, and in which case, why aren't they on
this list?
And I also - this might for Senior Administration Official Number Two.
Secretary Kerry was talking about a legitimate force to help make peace. And
I just wanted to know, is the UN - is the U.S. thinking of that as part of
UNMISS mission or as the IGAD force? And if so, would it require a Security
Council approval? Thanks.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL ONE: On the first, I mean, we typically do
not comment on actors against whom we are - we have not yet - we have not
yet acted, a clunky way of saying we don't comment on those who are not part
of our designation. But anyone who is contributing to the violence, whether
that's by directing violence, whether that's by funding it, fueling it,
contributing arms, can be a subject of designation in the future. And I'll
leave it to my State Department colleague to answer the second question.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL TWO: Yeah. On the question about the regional
force and on UNMISS, we - it is something that conversations and discussions
are ongoing between countries of IGAD, with New York, with ourselves and
others on how best to create this additional force presence that we are
working very much with UNMISS and see this as part of the same effort. But
we do think it's very important that the regional forces are able to join
this effort in larger numbers and appreciate the efforts of, particularly,
the governments of Ethiopia and Kenya, who are leading the mediation and who
are seeking to work with UNMISS in this regard.
Received on Fri Sep 26 2014 - 17:39:19 EDT