According to Reuters, Yakin Erturk has just resigned from the UN’s Commission of Inquiry on Syria “in protest at the Syrian government’s refusal to allow them into the country.” The Turkish sociologist and long-time UN official said that “the commission cannot do comprehensive work and investigate (certain) areas because of no access, so I decided not to continue.”
The odd thing, however, is that only two weeks ago, Erturk gave a very different story. In a letter to the president of the UN Human Rights Council, which oversees the recently-renewed inquiry, Erturk gave notice that “should the mandate of the Commission be extended beyond 23 March 2012, I will not be able to continue my functions due to previous professional commitments.” (Emphasis added.)
