By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, March 28 -- When if ever will the UN act on the 126 rapes from November 20 to 22 in Minova by the Congolese Army, its partners?
On March 27 at the UN's noon briefing Inner City Press asked Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesman Martin Nesirky just that. Nesirky said he would get the answer from the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, which is run by Herve Ladsous.
After that, without any response to Inner City Press, the answer was given -- not for attirbution of course -- to Ladsous' favorite lapdog, Agence France Presse.
Previously Inner City Press noted that Ladsous made a mockery of Ban's supposed Human Rights Due Diligence Policy by adopted for mass rape a “three strikes and you're out” policy.
Now it is conclusively worse: Ladsous had given ANOTHER threat, as on February 4 and February 18, to the Congolese foreign minister Raymond Tshibanda at least pretend to take action or, God forbid, the UN might suspend some assistance to two unidentified rapist units of the army.
It and Ladsous -- and the scribes who channel him without analysis -- are a joke. Yes, lapdogs.
Ladsous, it will be recalled, refused to answer about these 126 rapes when asked at the Security Council stakeout onNovember 27, December 7 and December 18 (mic seizing video here, any UN public action not shown.)
Inner City Press asked Ban Ki-moon himself at the stakeout on March 5.
The result was Ladsous' DPKO giving a misleading half answer on March 7 -- but only to friendly scribes from his favorite, Agence France Presse, as well as Reuters and other wires (NOT the wire service of Russia, which has had the Security Council presidency in March and whose pilots were killed for DPKO in South Sudan in December).
Inner City Press objected, in writing, and while answering a question to another journalist on March 8 Tim Witcher of AFP hissed, “lies and distortion.” Inner City Press replied, “Lapdog.”
Witcher of AFP and Michelle Nichols of Reuters, whose repertoire consists almost entirely of craven re-typing of UN hand-outs or things seen on UN Television, filed complaints against Inner City Press with UN Security, entirely based on speech and publication.
The UN repeatedly demanded a written response charges it never showed or even summarized to Inner City Press.
Citing Franz Kafka, Inner City Press refused until it was shown a copy, and told what the rules are. Inner City Press complained in writing to the head of the Department of Public Information on March 15.
On March 18, DPI conducted a raid of Inner City Press' office without notice or consent, went through papers, and took photographs. Also taking photographs was Pamela Falk of CBS News, the president of the UN Correspondents Association on whose Executive Committee sit Tim Witcher of AFP and Nichols boss, Louis Charbonneau of Reuters.
The photos, including of Inner City Press' papers and bookshelves - what is has been reading - were given to and published by BuzzFeed on March 22.
Despite specific requests at the UN noon briefings of March 25 and March 26 that DPI disclose who it let into the office, who took pictures and who they gave them to, DPI has refused.
Now Ladsous has struck again, handing the “news” of his four strikes and you're out policy to AFP et al. Inner City Press says again: Lapdogs. Will there be new bogus complaints? Another raid? Something more? Involving Ladsous? Watch this site.
