By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, December 5 -- After the West African group ECOWAS "deplored" the recommendations by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that a mission to Mali be paid for by voluntary contribution and not through the UN budget, representatives of ECOWAS, the African Union and Mali addressed the Security Council on Wednesday.
Many close observers noted that Mali's representative Traore Rokiatou Guikine seemed to say that the Tuaregs cannot be negotiated with, and asked Inner City Press, what sort of message does this send? Answer: not one likely to avoid military action.
After the open meeting, Inner City Press asked each of them, and France's Ambassador Gerard Araud, about the mission that has been named AFISMA.
The African Union representative Tete Antonio said that voluntary contributions had not worked for the AU missions in Darfur, AMIS, and AMISOM in Somalia, at first.
Inner City Press asked Antonio if the resistance of the US to fast military action in Mali, made public recently by General Carter Ham, wasn't similar to France dismissing the position of the regional group ICGLR that the M23 mutineers should be negotiated with -- both representing a Permanent Five member dissing an African regional grouping.
Antonio said, let's keep this to Mali, and keep an open mind.
Other well placed UN sources told Inner City Press this was a case of the UN Department of Political Affairs, led by American Jeffrey Feltman, issuing recommendations similar to the US position, while the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations, led by its fourth Frenchman in a row Herve Ladsous, pushes the French line.
There are many who say that: but Ladsous find such questions so insulting, he refuses to take any more Press questions in the UN.
Not so French Ambassador Araud. He took Inner City Press' question, after the closed door consultations, about how the UN's Huamn Rights Due Diligence Policy would apply to this AFISMA mission with the Malian military. Training, he said, to be conducted by ECOWAS and the European Union.
Inner City Press asked Araud, Is France comfortable with Mali's post-coup military? He said it is not a question of being comfortable. He also took a Press question about how the UN's Human Rights Due Diligence Policy is being, orshould be, implemented in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Watch this site.
