By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, April 1 -- Four months after the Congolese Army raped at least 126 women in Minova, and the UN belatedly set a deadline today for Congolese governmental action, at Monday's noon briefing Inner City Press asked and was told that unspecified “appropriate actions” have been taken.
Inner City Press asked, what are these actions?
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's deputy spokesman Eduardo Del Buey could not or would not say.
On March 28, Inner City Press asked UN Peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous to name the two battalions involved in the rapes and why no action has been taken for four month.
Ladsous simply refused to answer the question, turning away and pointing to Agence France Presse which asked an easier, “get away” question.
But on March 28, Ban's lead spokesman Martin Nesirky said that on March 25 the MONUSCO mission set a final deadline of April 1, and that this was reiterated by Ladsous to the Congolese foreign minister Tshibanda on March 27.
Now, with Nesirky away from UN Headquarters with Ban for a week, in San Marino then Andorra, Del Buey on Monday when Pressed said, “what I can tell you, wile a number of appropriate actions have importanty been taken by the Congolese government, MONUSCO is still waiting to receive official notification of these actions. Assurances have been received from Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Tshibanda during his visit to New York.”
So now, we can only surmise since Ladsous refuses to answer questions, the meeting between Ladsous and Tshibanda which was portrayed as reiterating the deadline is now being spun as the meeting at which assurances were made and the problem solved, or deadline extended.
Del Buey went on, “MONUSC has been in close contact with the government and is expecting a response in the coming days.”
The deadline was today, pushed to midnight New York (rather than Kinshasa) time. But at the deadline, Del Buey says a response is expected “in the coming days.”
Ban Ki-moon's Human Rights Due Diligence Policy is an April Fool's joke, it appears, made such by Ladsous. So, #Ladsous2013.
Footnote: While refusing to answer Minova rape questions from the Press, Ladsous gave an interview to the UN's own UN Radio, which then appeared on the UN's Radio Okapi. No questions about the rapes or the Human Rights Due Diligence Policy.
Banning the independent press and speaking only to your own controlled media is North Korea style. To this has the UN descended. Watch this site.
