At UN, Bonnafont Has Kudos of French Pol Bockel - & Peacekeeping Post?

By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive

UNITED NATIONS, August 20 -- For the seven weeks after Inner City Press first reported that Jerome Bonnafont, France's ambassador to India, was being tapped to replace fellow Frenchman Alain Le Roy as chief of the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations, the UN has refused to confirm it.

Now with Alain Le Roy already gone from the UN, amid charges of covered up negligence by peacekeepers in Southern Kordofan, and a failure to plan in advance for medical evacuation of Ethiopian UN peacekeepers in Abyei in Sudan, the French political establishment has already started congratulating Bonnafont.

Inner City Press is today putting online a letter of congratulations addressed to Bonnafont at the UN in New York from Jean-Marie Bockel, a former French minister and mayor of Mulhouse, now Senator from Haut-Rhin in northern France.

Bochel wrote, "I am happy to learn that you have been [named] Under Secretary General of the UN, in charge of peacekeeping operations."

Previously, Inner City Press quoted diplomats to whom Bonnafont had already bragged that he had the UN job. Now Bonnafont is receiving letters of congratulations.

There are several questions: why has the UN left the top job in DPKO empty at this time, when they had ample notice that Le Roy would leave on August 10?

Why hasn't the UN been willing to describe their process for selecting a replacement? (One UN-based Permanent Representative said that besides Bonnafont there were two other candidates -- both French.)

Why does the top Peacekeeping slot essentially belong to France? Inner City Press asked Le Roy in his exit press conference if he didn't think it would make sense that his successor come from a major Troop Contributing Country, like Pakistan or Bangladesh or Nepal or India. Le Roy said, "It is up the Secretary General." Is it?

Some joke that in naming Bonnafont, Ban Ki-moon is trying to please two countries: France bien sur, but also India since Bonnafont has been ambassador to India and is known there. Cold comfort.

This is more and more a pattern with Ban Ki-moon. When the top spot at the UN mission in Iraq opened up, when Dutchman Al Merkert said he wanted to leave after two years, there were only three final candidates: all German.

Inner City Press on June 24 reported that Michael von der Schulenburg, the German atop the UN in Sierra Leone, wanted the Iraq post, perhaps due to its antiquities, and that "Dutch politician Bert Koenders is set to replace UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's ally Choi Young-jin" at the UN in Cote d'Ivoire.

As it turned out, Ban for Iraq set up a German troika of candidates, just as he's said to have constructed a phantom French troika for DPKO. Ultimately Ban gave the Iraq job to another German, Martin Kobler.

But for DPKO, Bonnafont is already being congratulated from within the French political establishment, click here and watch this site.

On S. Kordofan Report, Sudan Declares Victory, Blames UN for Abyei Lack of SOFA, Failure to Ask for Visas

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, August 19 -- After the UN Security Council took no action Friday on the UN report of war crimes by Sudan in Southern Kordofan, with inaction by UN peacekeepers airbrushed out, Inner City Press asked UN High Commissioner on Human Rights Navi Pillay to explain her deletion of portions of the draft report. She claimed not to know about them. Her staff promised to respond by e-mail, but seven hours later had not.

At two pm with no other reporters around, Sudanese Permanent Representative to the UN Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman emerged from the Council and spoke with Inner City Press, which asked, how did it go?

"You know we are righteous people," Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman told Inner City Press, "today is a holy day, Friday for us as Muslims, our prayers to the Almighty, we have defeated faulty, groundless allegations."

Since UN TV was not in operation, perhaps due to UN budget cuts, Inner City Press began filming Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman. He said, "We have conveyed to all members of the SC that we have two reservations on the report. First of all , it's a preliminary report." See YouTube video, here and embedded below.

He went on to say that his government would itself investigate the allegations. Inner City Press asked, by when? In two weeks, he said.

He then said, making news, that his government had agreed to allow in to Southern Kordofan a UN humanitarian assessment mission.

Inner City Press asked about top UN humanitarian Valerie Amos' statement that visas were being blocked, amplified by her staff's email to Inner City Press that

"Humanitarian agencies have raised concerns on S Kordofan with various international mediators, including Thabo Mbeki, the head of the AU high level implementing panel on Sudan, and with Haile Menkerios, the UN Special Envoy. I think the Govt Sudan has said it sees the situation in S Kordofan as an internal matter - the international community is still trying to raise awareness of humanitarian issues and concerns. Since mid-July, only three international staff have received travel permits for South Kordofan."

Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman said, on (YouTube) camera, that very few visas have been requested from his Mission.

Later, when UN TV re-opened, Inner City Press asked there if Sudan would allow the UN to rescue injured peacekeepers from Abyei by flying from Wau in South Sudan, as was recently blocked. Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman replied that the government has been ready to negotiate a new Status of Forces Agreement, but the UN has not sent anyone to negotiate.

UN TV seemed to be filming this, so Inner City Press stopped. But six hours later, the footage is not online. In the middle of the stakeout, a fire alarm went off. Only at the UN. Watch this site.

As UN Fails to Pass Israel or Gaza Statements, Palestine Says May Be Military

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, August 19 -- After the UN Security Council broke up its Friday meeting without agreeing on any statements, Inner City Press asked the Permanent Observer of Palestine Riyad Mansour if the killings in southern Israel constituted a terrorist attack."

Mansour replied, "If there are clashes involving military forces on both sides... it would be difficult to have anyone make any description... without knowing all the facts." Video here, from Minute 5:35.

Inner City Press earlier on Friday reported exclusively, on this argument that since there was a bus containing Israeli soldiers, it was not a terrorist attack, and that a separate statement on Gaza was being proposed. At the stakeout, Inner City Press asked Mansour if Palestine could have lived, or could still live, with two statements.

"Two separate statements to be adopted together," he said, "today, was not accepted."

Inner City Press asked if he thought the Security Council might have to reconvene this weekend.

"It depends if they want to exploit this incident to look for an escapegoat for social pressures inside Israel, and what we'll be doing in September," Mansour replied, "if there are extremists on part of the Israelis, and maybe other extremists, to divert from issues they are facing, it might be convenient to intensify the fighting... in Gaza." Video here, from Minute 10:57.

While US Deputy Permanent Representative Rosemary DiCarlo at least came out to issue a short statement that it was unfortunate a standard anti-terror statement could not be agreed to, Lebanon's delegation did not come out to speak. Later Inner City Press was told Lebanon's position is that it offered to "meet the US half way," and have two statements. Lebanon should speak more. Watch this site.

At UN, Proposal for 2 Statements on Gaza and Israel Attacks, Terrorist Or Not?

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, August 19 -- As Lebanon and the US met during a break in Security Council break consultations, the idea of separate Press Statements on the attacks in southern Israel, and in Gaza, was floated.

"Caroline has a good point," a Council source told Inner City Press, referring to Lebanon Deputy Permanent Representative Caroline Ziade. "She said that the death of a baby on either side has to be treated the same way."

Ziade met with US Deputy Permanent Representative Rosemary DiCarlo, as Perm Rep Susan Rice is away from the UN. Palestinian Permanent Observer Riyad Mansour confirmed to Inner City Press there's discussion in the Council to not call the attack on a bus containing Israeli soldiers a "terrorist" attack.

On the issue of Israel's settlements, it seems unlikely to make it into any Council statement at this time, since there is a Council debate on "the Middle East" coming up. But terrorism, or just attacks, just be condemned relatively quickly, the argument goes. But are they terrorist? Watch this site.

At UN, Resistance to Calling Attack in Israel "Terrorist," As Soldiers On Board

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, August 19 -- As the Security Council met behind closed doors Friday about the attacks in southern Israel, sources in the meeting told Inner City Press of a move to remove from the US introduced draft Press Statement the characterization as "terrorist" the shooting at a bus with Israeli soldiers on it.

"It's going to be a long meeting," one of the sources said. Beyond the move to strip out the word "terrorist," there's a proposal to condemn Israel's actions after the attack. Palestinian Observer Riyad Mansour told the Press that Israel has killed eight civilians in the Gaza Strip, including two children.

Asked if he thought the briefing by UN Assistant Secretary General Oscar Fernandez Taranco was even handed, Mansour responded with a question: do you think it might not be fair?

That was the implication of Syrian Permanent Representative Bashar Ja'afari on August 18, when he told the Press that while he had given information about developments in his country to the UN Secretariat, some did not pass it on to the Security Council.

Another source inside the Council meeting derived Taranco's briefing as being based only on "open source" information, meaning surfing the Internet. We shouldn't be making decision on this scanty information, the Council source said. But so it goes at the UN. Watch this site.

At UN on Syria, Some Europeans Disagree on ICC, on Ban's Assad Readout

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, August 19 -- The day after the US and four European nations announced they'll put forward a resolution on Syria, the question persisted of whether a referral to the International Criminal Court will be included. France has said the ICC referral should be made.

When Inner City Press asked Germany's Deputy Permanent Representative Miguel Berger about the resolution, he said the four European and the US are already at work.

Inner City Press asked if an ICC referral would be included in the draft. Berger said that is being discussed, along with eying the upcoming Human Rights Council session on August 22.

Berger added that given events on the ground, it would be "very difficult for Russia" to oppose a resolution on Syria.

Inner City Press asked a representative of India, which holds the presidency of the Council for August, about a possible ICC referral. The response was negative, including because "there is no escape clause" - because even Article 16 deferral has yet to be used.

A European representative, from a country not currently on the Security Council, also expressed to Inner City Press skepticism about an ICC referral.

But the problems may run deeper. A representative of a veto-wielding Council member said that even a sanctions resolution would be problematic. "We just passed the PRST," the representative said, referring to the Presidential Statement adopted August 3. "The Council can't just keep making demands."

Meanwhile Inner City Press asked Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's acting deputy spokesman Farhan about Ban's read out of his call with Bashar al Assad, which recited that Assad said military and political operations had stopped -- did Ban think that was true?

The Secretary General thinks it should be investigated, Haq said for the second time. Does he not have a television?

Inner City Press asked if what Ban's Department of Political Affairs (DPA) chief Lynn Pascoe told the Council -- that Assad "implied" operations were over -- was different from Ban's read out. Haq said that Pascoe and DPA were responsible for the read out.

Other Ban Administration sources say they disagreed with the inclusion in Ban's read out of what Assad said. But they were apparently overruled. Watch this site.