Big Week at the UN

There will be a straw poll taken on new nominees this week. Although symbolic it will be critically important for Thailand's Surakiart Sathirathai to have a strong showing…why? Because if he is not in the top three it completely opens the door to Singaporean ex-Prime Minister Goh to walk in and garner ASEAN support. If that should happen it is all over for Surakiart who continues to suffer from Thai domestic politics and his association with the Thaksin administration. Many Muslim countries are upset over the hundreds of Muslims that were killed in Southern Thailand during domestic unrest over the last two years.

Sri Lankan Dustup

Ambassador Niranjan Deva-Aditya is sporting a new web site these days. He is boasting of his nomination by the former Prime Ministers of France and Poland as a candidate for UN Secretary-General. Michel Rocard and Jerzy Buzek respectively have both written to the President of the UN Security Council requesting that Deva's name be added to the list of candidates. His website can be found at http://www.srilankanforunsg.com/PressRelFinal.doc

This makes the second Sri Lankan to be in the proverbial running. Deva-Aditya other Sri Lankan competition is Jayantha Dhanapala. With a resurgent Tamil threat and much on the diplomatic front, the next several months will be very interesting as these two vie internally and externally for the Secretary General slot. HOWEVER…..there Deva's spin machine might be spinning too quick. First, the Sri Linkan government is backing Dhanapala's candidacy. Second, the letter that Deva is flacking as a "nomination" might be an overstatement. The bottom line is that I am requesting that the ambassador, e-mail me the letter of support from the ex-PMs and I would be happy to post if for those following the race to see first hand what it says.

Time to clear the air,ambassador.

What Does America Want?

I received an e-mail concerning the US and its position on the next SG. The crux of the e-mail was that the US was looking to back an Asian in the race and pointed out President Bush's July 11th comments to a group of reporters:

"As I understand it, traditionally ... regions rotate, and we're really looking in the Far East right now to be the secretary-general…You'll find that we will work closely with friends and allies to come up with the best candidate, but we won't be committing publicly…. The criterion I'm for is somebody who wants to spread liberty and enhance the peace, do difficult things like confront tyranny, worry about the human condition, blow the whistle on human rights violations."

Okay..that seems pretty definitive. However, Congress is placing heavy pressure (Witness the many hearings on corruption and management reform) to look to management issues first. That view is most likely shared by US Ambassador Bolton. My read is that if the US can find a candidate it can support in Asia, so much the better. But lets keep in mind that although there is a gentlemen's agreement that Asia should get the next rotation, it is not written in stone

Good Bye Ramos Horta,

Horta has taken himself out of the running. I am in the process of taking his picture down.

End Notes

Thanks to those who have written. I attempt to answer questions in this space rather than personally due to the many inquiries received. You can agree or disagree with my comments and observations, but can't argue with the fact that this will be a dynamic time at the UN.

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