By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, December 26 -- The UN continues to claim that its response to the crisis in the Central African Republic is the first example of its post Sri Lanka failure Rights Up Front plan.
But now with Chadian soldiers in the UN supported MISCA "peacekeeping" force throwing a grenade at other peacekeepers from Burundi, and now a reported explosion by l'Hotel Ledger Plaza in Bangui, the UN has refused to answer Press questions about CAR for 125 hours now.
With protesters in Bangui calling French president Francois Hollande an "anti-Muslim" criminal, the UN won't answer questions, won't even hold a noon briefing where questions can be asked.
And so, in writing, these have been submitted at noon on December 24 and December 26, without any answer by 5:30 pm on December 26:
Dec 24: In the Central African Republic, please confirm or deny that Chadian peacekeepers fired on protesters (and that the UN will do about it), and engaged in a skirmish with Burundian peacekeepers.
and
Dec 26: On the Central African Republic, please state the UN's knowledge of the lethal use of force by Chadian peacekeepers and French soldiers since mid-December, and statement how the UN's Human Rights Due Diligence Policy applies.
Earlier, after six Chadian troops were killed and a peacekeeper was reportedly been killed not by Seleka but by the anti-balaka, Inner City Press asked: how fast (or slow) will France be with a Security Council press statement?
The answer is, France which hold the presidency of the Security Council for December called no meeting on this on December 26. A meeting slated for December 27, albeit on South Sudan, was canceled. Rights Up Front, indeed.
Inner City Press back on December 23 asked Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's Office of the Spokesperson:
"In Central African Republic, please confirm civilian(s) killed by Chad troops in MISCA force, and state whether there is any UN support to this unit and if so how the UN's Human Rights Due Diligence Policy applies."
The UNanswered questions are piling up, but Ban's chosen exclusive interlocutors on press issues has not even asked that noon briefings be held, in the midst of the CAR and South Sudan crises.
On December 18, Ban Ki-moon made Miley Cyrus twerking jokes to this group of complacent correspondents who tried to silence reporting on Sri Lanka.
On CAR that same day, Amnesty International outed the UN for having undercounted and downplayed the extent of the killing in the CAR.
And Doctors Without Border complained of UN inaction in Bangui, with international staff hiding in their compounds while people were killed and suffering just outside. When Inner City Press asked Ban about this, he blamed it on the lack of government and infrastructure in the CAR.
Well, Central African Republic was a French colony that was left in shambles. France supported "Emperor" Bokasa and sold him Faberge eggs and mink capes, then supported Bozize, and may still.
The UN has gotten so desperate that it applauds France re-asserting its colonial interests, and ascribes France's deployments to itself, "Rights Up Front."
But when the soldiers France has brought into Mali from other former colonies and put in blue helmets to get paid, like France does for airfield services in Kidal, open fire at civilians, no one will answer for it.
Least of all France, whose Ambassador Araud even as December's Security Council president has twice rejected and tried to mock questions about the chain of command in Mali. Araud has refused to say how much France is paid by the UN for airfield support in Mali.
Meanwhile past 9 pm on Wednesday the UN Budget Committee met. President of the General Assembly John Ashe seemed to say its work will finish in two days, the Friday before Christmas. Amid talk of bracketing, this seems unlikely. In any case for the UN, credibility can't be budgeted.
Wednesday night alongside the ball of the UN Censorship Alliance, another diplomat tweeted photos from an eventwhere Herve Ladsous, the fourth Frenchman in a row to head UN Peacekeeping, purported to thank troop contributing countries in the Dag Hammarskjold Library penthouse.
It is unknown for now what Ladsous said -- on December 17 he refused to talk about South Sudan, then let it leak out that 400 to 500 were killed. Is that subject to the 100% Amnesty International UN obfuscation multiplier? Watch this site.
