By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, November 12 -- With the death count in the camps in Western Sahara unclear, and the UN's Department of Peacekeeping Operations scheduled to give a report to a closed door session of the UN Security Council on November 16, Inner City Press on November 12 asked UN acting Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq what the UN knows about the deaths, on a Spanish national and others, and the barring of foreign media.
Haq said the UN “has no first hand information,” and that this had been “made clear when we made the statement on Monday.” Video here, from Minute 28:41.
Inner City Press asked what the UN's MINURSO peacekeeping mission has been doing. In October, the UN and Security Council were told of the impending attacks on the camp by Moroccan forces. Did MINURSO do nothing, not only to prevent, but even to observe the carnage?
In fact, Inner City Press is told by sources in the UN Department of Political Affairs that on Monday, November 8 they were watching YouTube videos of events, just before that day's noon press briefing, in order to figure out what statement to issue.
Now, sources in Rabat, Morocco tell Inner City Press of a European Union diplomat there bragging about access to MINURSO's report to be delivered (or read from) on Tuesday, saying that it takes Morocco's side. Watch this site.
