By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, November 29 -- France's interventions in Mali and now Central African Republic are spun in today's New York Times by Alan Cowell into a new, more humanitarian and UN / multilateral approach than in the past.
But Cowell omits that France has controlled UN Peacekeeping for sixteen years, most recently through HerveLadsous, and uses the UN in colonial fashion for example in Cote d'Ivoire.
Even on Central African Republic, France is hardly the hero. It propped up Bokassa and then Bozize; this summer's inaction on CAR in the Security Council was attributable to France, which "holds the pen" on CAR as on other former colonies, going on vacation for all of August, as Inner City Press reported from sources inside the Council.
To others, Cowell's failure to mention France's and Ladsous' still outrageous role in during the Rwanda genocide in 1994 speaks volumes.
Ladsous was then France's Deputy Permanent Representative in the UN Security Council, arguing for the escape of the genocidaires into Eastern Congo, over which Ladsous stands poised to deploy drones on December 1, on which it also takes over presidency of the Security Council.
During the Council's October 2013 trip through Africa, France got itself declared the overall "leader" of the trip, through Rwanda for example is on the Council, and was seen as abusing that power in ways large and small. Yes, France is "using" the UN -- but it is also ABuse.
Cowell reports from London, quoting Rue89's Pierre Haski and a person - we'll leave him unnamed -- from Chatham House. Is this whitewash the result of the Chatham House rules? Watch this site.
