By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, August 7 -- With the UN of Ban Ki-moon and Herve Ladsous still denying all claims that Ladsous' UN Peacekeeping brought cholera to Haiti and killed 8,000 people, on August 7 after Inner City Press again asked Ban's spokesperson about it, Ladsous' predecessor Jean-Marie Guehenno tweeted this:
"Peacekeepers have done a lot for Haiti, but UN needs to come clean on cholera crisis."
This is a former chief of UN Peacekeeping. So where is Herve Ladsous on this? He's out of headquarters, after refusing Press questions then spoon-feeding spin to a friendly scribe. August 7 video here.
On Haiti, here's Inner City Press' question from the August 7 UN noon briefing:
Inner City Press: on Haiti first. There is a report that I am sure that you have seen, it came out of the Law School and the Medical School at Yale yesterday regarding the cholera in Haiti, it’s a medical and legal analysis that there should have been the claims process and saying that the UN needs to rehabilitate --
Spokesperson Martin Nesirky: What’s the question?
Inner City Press: My question is: what’s your response to this study, and also, whether the new Head of the Office of Legal Affairs, whether there is any indication that, you know, like Nicolas Michel in the past, but unlike Ms. O’Brien, whether he will take questions on legal topics such as these? Why the claim was was dismissed and what the legal implications are?
Spokesperson: Well, on the second part of your questions, we just in the past few minutes announced this appointment, so I don’t think you would expect me to pass further judgement on what he may or may not wish to do with regard to speaking to the media, but we will certainly convey your wishes to him. With regard to the first part of your questions, I don’t have anything further to say beyond what we have said in the past. We are obviously aware of this latest report. [More here.]
Thursday August 8 is a UN holiday. But what will the UN say about its own former head of peacekeeping, a post now devolved to Herve Ladsous who was rejected in favor of Guehenno, then in favor of Alain Le Roy, then a third strike in favor of Jerome Bonnafont -- only to be put in the job by France after Bonnafont bragged about getting it?
The flaw was that Ladsous has a record, of arguing for the escape of the genocidaires from Rwanda into Eastern Congo. How can he lead an (all African) intervention brigade now in the Congo? Watch this site.
