On Darfur, UN's Three Voices Leave JEM and NGO Questions Unanswered

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/un2darfur042709.html

UNITED NATIONS, April 27 -- In Darfur, the joint African Union - UN mission has three main officials, only one of whom, Rodolphe Adada, speaks with the press in New York. A fourth, General Karake Karenzi who was charged with war crimes, is now leaving the mission.

Mediator Bassole came to New York, but had no media availabilities. General Martin Luther Agwai, the force commander, also comes to New York, but as Inner City Press reported last week, his wife got a job with the UN Medical Service while moonlighting for a Nigerian NGO. This leaves Mr. Adada in his bow tie, speaking to the Security Council and reporters on April 27.

Adada dodged a number of questions, and gave rosy answers to others. Inner City Press asked him about confirmed reports that the Nepali UN police in Nyala are grounded, their armored personnel carriers stuck in Port Sudan. Adada said that is up to the troop contributing country. Inner City Press said, as DPKO told it, that the Nepalis are being required to go to the Czech Republic for training.

Subj: Question on Nepal FPU
From: DPKO
To: Inner City Press
CC: Office of the Spokesperson
Sent: 3/31/2009 7:09:37 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time

Hi Matthew, regarding your question at the Noon Briefing , here's what we have for you:

"There is a Nepalese formed police unit (140 strong), which has deployed to Nyala with all of its own equipment, except for eight armored personnel carriers (APCs) of Czech origin. The APCs have not been deployed from Port Sudan yet as the training package for these vehicles was not able to deploy in country due to visa restrictions on the technicians. To fix this, there's now an agreement now in place to send a Nepalese police personnel to the Czech Republic for training with these APCs."

Adada said he wasn't sure about that, that any "blockade" could be addressed with the Sudanese government. But what about the UN's or Nepali Army's incompetence?

Adada was glowing in his review of both the Justice and Equality Movement rebels, and Minni Minawi. Of the former, Adada did not answer Inner City Press' question about the impact of the death sentences handed down this month in Khartoum to 11 members of JEM for their role in the 2008 assault stopped across the Nile in Omdurman. Of the latter, Adada said he wanted to not be a part of the government, but is. Video here, from Minute 23:45.

He said he has information from the mediator -- Mr. Bassole -- that JEM will in fact rejoin the Doha talks. But when Inner City Press asked about charges by NGOs on a UN-affiliated web site that the government is shaking them down, Adada said he doesn't cover humanitarian issues, the UN's OCHA would know. Video here, from Minute 34:58. We're still waiting. Watch this site.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/un2darfur042709.html