Posted on 10/23/2007 5:35:46 AM PDT by Schnucki
UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations has apologised to Syria over an interpreter’s error that created the wrong impression that Damascus admitted that an Israeli air strike last month targeted a Syrian nuclear site, a spokesman said on Monday.
“An apology has been given to the Syrian mission regarding the interpretation error and accepted by them as an unintended mistake,” spokesman Farhan Haq said in a statement.
“The interpreter who was responsible for the unfortunate mistake has been given a note of reprimand,” he added.
Based on the interpreter’s error, a UN transcript last week suggested that a Syrian delegate told the General Assembly’s disarmament committee that the September 6 Israeli air strike targeted a nuclear installation in Syria.
A review of the delegate’s remarks made in Arabic ascertained that he never referred to a nuclear site.
The Syrian delegate, Bassam Darwish, issued a statement welcoming the UN apology for the “grave error” which, he said, had caused confusion, leading to political consequences which were used to defame his country and his delegation.
The NYT last week reported that Israeli warplanes bombed a site that Israeli and US intelligence believe was a partly built nuclear reactor possibly modelled after one in North Korea.
Has Israel ever received one? (don’t bother answering)
Yes, and Baghdad Bob said the Coalition Forces were nowhere near Baghdad. lol
“A review of the delegate’s remarks made in Arabic ascertained that he never referred to a nuclear site.”
Maybe just an atomic site, not a nuclear site.
A “Usual Gang of Idiots” ping.
As a former US federal government simultaneous interpreter (Italian), I would like a lot more information on this error. Firstly, errors of this magnitude are exceedingly rare, and are corrected within minutes of happening. Secondly, if it was indeed an interpreting error, was it just a word, or was it a phrase? The whole thing stinks, IMHO. Is the interpreter to be fired? If it was indeed an error of that magnitude, then certainly he should be fired. If he has not been fired, then why?
Because this is a third world face saving move.
Syria can't very well behead their rep now, confirming that what he said was true.
Did you keep recordings of the input and translations? Maybe the UN is pulling a Columbia U, and not releasing the tapes?
“Yes, and Baghdad Bob said the Coalition Forces were nowhere near Baghdad. lol”
It is pleasureable and humorous watching the UN become a victim of it’s own consequences.
No, I did not, but sometimes the hearings or trials or tribunals were recorded by either the US Government or by the Italian or Swiss, (or whatever) government, or agency. The UN is and was very very corrupt, and I never worked for them directly (I owned an interpreting and translation agency for a while that did contract work for them.)
The whole affair of the bad interpretation sounds fishy!
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