By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, April 17 -- Before having any Security Council approval, UN Peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous began a procurement process for drones in West Africa and Central Africa.
Even to the concept of UN drones, particularly under the command of Ladsous, the fourth Frenchman in a row to head UN Peacekeeping, there was opposition in the “C-34” Committee on Peacekeeping. But like a drone, Ladsous proceeded unseen.
Finally he received a Council letter, a one time experimental approval, only for the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Inner City Press, which first covered the UN drone issue and asked Ladsous about it -- after that, he started refusing to answer any Inner City Press questions, including on his memos during the Rwanda genocide -- has asked who won the recent DRC drone procurement.
The UN has refused to answer.
But now there is a drones proposal in the new UN report on Cote d'Ivoire, cravenly reported by Ladsous' scribes at Reuters, like his cover up of the rapes at Minova in the DRC, without any of the questions and criticism, which are easy enough to find unless like Ladsous one doesn't want to hear them.
In fact, diplomats are already complaining to Inner City Press that without any approval at all for drones in Cote d'Ivoire, Ladsous' DPKO has slipped the drones or UAV issue into the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions.
“That should be illegal,” one diplomat told Inner City Press. But at the UN, there is no law. And Ladsous has his craven drone-like press. Watch this site.
