And now, UN finds refuge in semantics

UNITED NATIONS: A diplomatic feud rages over remarks that were put out by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s office last week, which called for calm in Kashmir.

The UN appears to be backtracking on its position after India registered a complaint that the remarks were unwarranted. The UN communicated to New Delhi that the remarks were not a statement made by the Secretary General but a “press guidance that was taken out of context.” Mr Ban’s chief spokesperson Martin Nesirky said that this information was not a statement made by Mr Ban but it was “information provided by the Secretariat distributed by the spokesperson’s office.”

Mr Ban’s associate spokesperson Farhan Haq, who is of Pakistani-origin, who originally sent the information by e-mail to journalists, said that while this was not a statement made by Ban, “it was all generated by the UN.”

Despite India’s objections, Mr Haq has maintained that the contents of the e-mail reflected the views of the UN chief.

The nature of the remarks, however, does not sound like a “press guidance” and at this point the UN is struggling to resolve the situation without completely disowning its remarks.