By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, November 19 -- For killings in Darfur, Sudan's president and defense minister have been indicted for war crimes and genocide. But on November 13, the UNAMID "peacekeeping" mission under the watch of Herve Ladsous flew a dozen Sudanese Armed Forces troops to medical assistance in El Fasher.
After a weekend in which Ladsous not only refused to answer any Press question but even directed his spokesman to have UN staff made sure Inner City Press did not get the Security Council stakeout microphone to ask, at the UN's November 19 noon briefing Inner City Press asked the UN about it.
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's deputy spokesman Eduardo Del Buey looked through his papers, saying "I have something here." Then he read out: On medical assistance by the Mission, following the fighitng UMAMID airlifted upon request the injured combattants from its team site to El Fasher."
He said this was "a core requirement of international humanitarian law, which falls under UNAMID's mandate... with due respect to principles of neutrality and impartiality"
Some might wonder about the UN providing such assistance after the ICC genocide indictment.
Others might point out that Ladsous' DPKO is hardly operating under principles of "neutrality and impartiality" -- in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, his MONUSCO flew the government to meet Mai Mai militia to recruit them to fight the M23 mutineers -- then said it didn't know what the meeting was about.
Now Ladsous refuses to answer "Who broke the ceasefire." Video here, from Minte 3:47 to 3:57. Ladsous' spokesman says the factual question is "a distraction."
Our position: at least Ladsous should (have to) answer questions about it. Watch this site.
