Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/un1francechad041008.html
UNITED NATIONS, April 10 -- France's relations with Chad and Idriss Deby were on display Wednesday at the UN, both in what how its Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert answered on-the-record questions from Inner City Press about mass evictions in N'Djamena and the pardon and release of the Zoe's Ark staff members following their conviction for abducting 103 children, and in how its mission (mis) transcribed Ripert's remarks. The exchange began with Inner City Press asking about reports of evictions after Deby was "almost overthrown in February." Amb. Ripert immediately took issue with this phrasing, saying, "You mean in February when rebels tried to cease power by force against Deby, the elected President of Chad?" Of course, Deby himself took power the same way that the rebels tries.
But on the evictions, Ripert said, "whatever happens in the operations done in N'Djamena, he should do that in respecting the rule of law and the legislation of Chad. if you known N'Djamena, you how it is a very small city and it is difficult to accommodate everyone so the question is not is he allowed to do that, the question is how is it done concretely for the people living these difficult times in Chad." Video here, from Minute 5:44.
The "it" in Ripert's phrase, from the question, signifies evictions. Why isn't it a question of whether he can do it? How is this different from Robert Mugabe's Operation Murambatsvina / Take Out the Trash in Zimbabwe, which France criticized?
The French mission's transcription of Ripert's remarks different from what's actually shown in the video, putting these words in Ripert's mouth: " whatever happens in the operations done in N'Djamena, he should do that in respecting the rule of law and the legislation of Chad. The question is not how did he allow to do that: the question is how it is done concretely for the people who are living." Click here for the French mission's full transcription as sent to media.
The omission of Ripert's statement about N'djamena being so small that not everyone can be accommodated (thereby seeming to justify evictions) and the switch from what he said -- "it is not a question of if he is can do that" -- to "the question is not how did he allow to do that" both operate, after the fact, to make Ripert's defense of Deby's evictions less apparent. Inner City Press has made similar findings in UN in-house transcripts, for example about the UN in Somlia, but until now has taken the French mission's transcripts at face value.
Inner City Press also asked about Deby's pardon and France's release of the Zoe's Ark staff convicted of kidnapping, and whether as has been reported that was any quid pro quo, for France to help defend Deby from the rebels in exchange for Deby pardoning the French citizens. Ripert denied not only a deal, but even any negotiations, even according to the transcript: " there was absolutely no negotiation, no exchange and there is no commitment of the French Government to pay any kind of money that those people hold from the families of those victims."
This was later clarified to mean, France might collect the money for Chad, but it would be coming from the social workers -- perhaps, it was suggested, from the advance and royalties Eric Breteau is said to be receiving for a book about the case. Breteau has alleged that the French government knew what he and his colleagues, including the good doctor Philippe Van Winkelberg, were doing. We'll see.
