By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, January 14 -- When UN peacekeepers or humanitarian contractors are injured or especially kidnapped, the UN usually speaks up quickly to deplore and demand action by the host government.
But this week when three Bulgarians working in Darfur for the UN and its World Food Program were taken hostage, the UN didn't even announce it in its daily media briefing in New York.
This came days after a coalition of human rights groups accused the UN in Darfur, particularly the UNAMID mission under Ibrahim Gambari, of imposing a “humanitarian information blackout” which benefits the Omar al Bashir government of Sudan. The group surmise that the blackout is getting worse and worse as the UN tries to not upset Bashir, despite his indictment for genocide, during the Southern Sudan secession referendum.
The groups appear to be right, not only as to the UN stopping or delaying response to and reporting of attacks on civilians in Darfur, but even attacks on and kidnappings of UN affiliated personnel. How else to explain the UN's failure to mention the kidnapping of the three Bulgarians, and to follow through and name the guilty parties -- allegedly Bashir connected and even funded tribes -- in previous Darfur kidnappings?
Here is the transcript of the UN's January 13 noon briefing:
Inner City Press: On the Sudan, can you — this kidnapping of humanitarian workers, Bulgarian pilots of the UN in Darfur. What’s the — what’s being done about it, and I guess I was expecting you to say it at the beginning. It’s widely now known.
Spokesperson Martin Nesirky: What did you expect me to say?
Inner City Press: I guess that three UN-contracted humanitarian workers have been kidnapped in Darfur, and they should be returned, and the Government should do all it can — if the tribes that did it are associated with them.
Spokesperson: So what’s the question?
Inner City Press: I guess my question is, I’m just saying as an aside, I wonder — what’s the standard? If UN personnel are taken hostage, isn’t it usually said from here?
Spokesperson: Well, you’ve asked me, and I can tell you.
Inner City Press: Okay, so what’s the status?
Spokesperson: That we can confirm. But you’ve pretty much — it’s almost as though you wrote it, Matthew. We can confirm that three helicopter crew members working for the United Nations humanitarian air service, managed by the World Food Programme, have been abducted by armed men in Sudan. The incident happened at 10:35 local time on Thursday — that’s today — at a landing strip at Um Shalaya, 60 kilometres south-east of El Geneina in West Darfur.
Inner City Press: Since this has been — it’s happened many times — it’s always said that nothing will be said while they’re being held, but once they’re released something will be said. In the case, for example, of the peacekeeper that was taken in El-Fasher and was returned, did the UN conclude that these were Government-affiliated kidnappers? Rebel-affiliated? What conclusion have they reached? It seems to happen all the time.
Spokesperson: The point is that Istvan Papp, the Hungarian civilian working in the Mission, was released. And as you know, he was held for 90-something days. That’s the most important point here, is that he was released. I don’t have anything further on who abducted him and why, but simply — the local authorities, the [UN] Mission and the Department for Safety and Security worked extremely hard to secure his release.
Inner City Press: There’s just always this — the reason I asked you about announcing, is that — that definitely is an indicator of kind of lack of stability and of a problem. It seems like — maybe you think it’s a strange question. Because normally the UN speaks about if a staff member is injured or taken hostage — it just strikes me — to some, it seems strange not to say it, if it happens in Darfur. Is it a big deal, or…
Spokesperson: But I’ve said it, Matthew. I’m not quite sure what the point is there.
The point is, Nesirky only said anything about the three kidnapping because he was asked a question. He had the information, but waited to see if anyone would ask about it. The UN does this when it does not want to offend a government. But should that be its approach now to Sudan? Watch this site.
