My faith in international institutions remains much as it ever was.
‘On day nine as crucial votes loomed, delegates were invited to check the electronic balloting device once again.
“This is just to test the system,” the chairman said.
“Here’s a simple question to make sure the buttons are working properly: Is Doha the capital of Qatar? To record Yes, please press button number two.”
Thirty seconds later, once the 150 delegates had reached forward to prod the relevant button and the votes were recorded, two nations, Croatia and Cameroon, had voted No and – perhaps from force of habit long-established in security councils and global gatherings – China abstained.
The Cameroon and Croatian delegations could not or maybe did not want to explain why they appeared to have learnt little about the city in which they had spent the past week.
The Chinese delegation remained inscrutable and said nothing.
Perhaps they thought it might be giving too much away if they stated unequivocally that Doha was the capital of Qatar.
What this identified, I think, is a level of cynicism and mistrust that is new to the convention.’
WTF – they’re preparing to vote about TUNA.
Source: BBC News
