UNITED NATIONS, April 14 -- After the killing of five UN staff at the Bakhtar Guesthouse in Kabul last October and since, the UN has cast the blame for all the deaths on Taliban insurgents, who attacked the guesthouse.
Inner City Press was told by sources in Afghanistan that, in fact, Afghan government security forces were responsible for most of the deaths, including the "summary execution" of UN Security Officer, Louis Maxwell, a U.S. citizen.
Wednesday in response to questions from Inner City Press, the UN Spokesperson's Office confirmed the UN's heretofore undislosed awareness of the controversy, and later said that a board of inquiry has been established and Mr. Maxwell's family consulted.
Inner City Press' sources in Afghanistan, however, say that the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has shown a decided lack of enthusiasm to raise the issue to the Afghan government. Three of the four other UN staff killed, in this account, were killed by Afghan national security forces.
At Wednesday's noon briefing, Mr. Ban's spokesman Martin Nesirky said that Ban has raised it to Afghanistan. Inner City Press asked, why didn't Mr. Ban or the UN publicly say that their previous account, that all five deaths were caused by the Taliban, had been called into question, including by a video shot by Germans in Kabul and shown on Der Spiegel's web site?
Inner City Press is told that Louis Maxwell, who resisted the attackers and thus allowed many others to successfully escape, was summarily executed at point blank range by an Afghan National Army member while in their custody, unarmed and not offering any resistance. The extra-judicial killing was captured on video by a staff member of the German Embassy and copies were provided to UN investigators. The video has since been posted on the German Stern media site although they have failed to realize (or at least publish) what exactly it is they are airing.
"In the aftermath of the incident many Afghan security forces are interviewed on camera by the local Afghan media and one Army Officer admits killing an 'Arab' terrorist outside the guesthouse. (Mr. Maxwell was an African American). Irrespective of whether he was mistaken for one of the attackers, his killing was nothing short of murder.
The source continues, UN SG Ban has refused to allow the issue to be raised with the Afghan government for political reasons and wants the US authorities to handle the 'problem.'"
While the UN is now belatedly saying they are investigating, the approach seems at odds with the stated commitment to staff safety, and to truth. We will continue to pursue this. Watch this site.
Update: while, after the noon briefing, the UN Spokesperson's Office read out a statement that the FBI is involved and nothing more will be said, the question remains why false impressions were left -- and also, what was known when, and what was done. Developing.
UN's response to Inner City Press after the April 14 noon briefing:
From: UN Spokesperson - Do Not Reply
Subject: Your questions on Louis Maxwell
To: Inner City Press
Date: Wed, Apr 14, 2010
(further response on Louis Maxwell)
The United Nations has followed due process in investigating the death of staff in Afghanistan last October by instituting a Board of Inquiry after an initial fact-finding by staff in Kabul and New York. The United Nations has been in contact with the responsible Afghan authorities in the course of its inquiries. The Board will submit its report in due course. Further actions by the United Nations will depend on its findings. The specific circumstances in which Louis Maxwell died are currently being investigated and it would be premature to comment further at this stage.
The United Nations is also cooperating with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in its inquiries into the incident. The United Nations has briefed the Maxwell family on the progress of its initial inquiries and is determined to support the family.
