By Matthew Russell Lee
www.innercitypress.com/un1paychad021710.html
UNITED NATIONS, February 17 -- In Chad, the "traffic" of the UN's peacekeeping mission is "destroying our infrastructure," Chad's Ambassador to the UN Ahmad Allam-mi told the Press on Wednesday. Inner City Press asked him about landing and other fees that Chad's Idriss Deby government had been charging international peacekeepers, and to respond to the idea that Deby's threat to throw the UN out is just a ploy to get more money. Video here, from Minute 28:41.
Ambassador Ahmad Allam-mi replied that there are "taxes for services rendered by state companies." He called these a "royalty" and said that "there is an agreement that we signed."
But the UN, like the European Union force before it, has never wanted to disclose how much it agreed to pay Deby. Even at Wednesday's UN noon briefing, when Inner City Press asked UN Deputy Spokesperson Marie Okabe, she did not provide an answer, or even promise one in the future. Video here.
After the noon briefing, when the Security Council suspended their meeting on Chad for a lunch break, Inner City Press asked top UN Peacekeeper Alain Le Roy about the alleged "destruction" of Chad's infrastructure, and whether the UN might now agree to pay more in order to keep the MINURCAT mission in place.
"We are not there yet," Le Roy said. But are "we" getting there?
In December 2008, Inner City Press exclusively covered a closed door meeting of Troop Contributing Countries at which European countries with notable exception of France, Chad's former colonial power, complained about high landing fees charged by Deby. Click here for that Inner City Press story.
As the mission was handed over from the European Union to the UN, it was said, Deby tried to charge the UN for infrastructure built by the EU. Now, informed sources say, Deby is at it again.
Humanitarian groups are demanding that MINURCAT stay in place to protect their operations and civilians. As top UN Humanitarian John Holmes told the Press on Wednesday, while some NGOs won't accept escorts from armed peacekeepers, others do.
Inner City Press asked Holmes if it would be possible to keep the mission in the Central African Republic, which it also serves, even if Chad kicks it out. No, Holmes answered. It would have to be a separate mission. He said he thinks the Central African Republic wants to keep the UN Mission.
Ironically, if Deby's gambit results in higher payments from the UN, the Central African Republic and other hosts of peacekeeping missions would be foolish not to also try the shakedown. Watch this site.
Footnotes: in mid 2008 when Inner City Press and other UN correspondents accompanied the Security Council to Chad and elsewhere in Africa, Deby skipped a scheduled meeting with the Council. Many questioned why Deby would rebuff France, whose then Ambassador Jean Maurice Ripert was in charge of the Chad leg of the trip. Sources tell Inner City Press that Deby was four sheets to the wind, en flight back from Libya.
After Wednesday's briefing, Ambassador Ahmad Allam-mi told Inner City Press, you try to get me in trouble by quoting my president to me. But President Deby, it appears, contains multitudes.
And see, www.innercitypress.com/un1paychad021710.html
