By Matthew Russell Lee, Follow up on Exclusive
UNITED NATIONS, June 27 -- Rwanda has complained to the UN Security Council that UN Peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous requested and carried out a travel ban waiver for FDLR leader Gaston Iyamuremye / Rumuli Michel.
Inner City Press has obtained the complaint letter, on which it first reported yesterday, and puts it online here.
The letter recounts irregularities in Ladsous' last-minute request, including that his MONUSCO mission under Martin Kobler effectuated an airlift to Goma and then to Kinshasa on a MONUSCO aircraft even as the request was denied by the 1533 sanctions committee. The accusation is of a "hidden agenda of sanitizing the FDLR genocidaires."
Despite a request to UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric yesterday for the UN's explanation, no response has been received.
When Herve Ladsous was appointed head of UN Peacekeeping by France and UN Peacekeeping, Inner City Press asked him to address his past as French Deputy Permanent Representative at the UN during the Rwanda genocide, arguing for the escape into Eastern Congo of thegenocidaires who would become the FDLR.
Ladsous refused to answer, and then adopted the policy of trying to block Inner City Press questions, going so far as to have his spokesman grab the UN Television microphone to prevent a question. Video here,compilation here.
Now -- not surprisingly -- a scandal has arisen, with Rwandan officials exclusively complaining to Inner City Press, citing letters, about Ladsous granting a travel ban waiver for FDLR leader Iyamuremye / Rumuli to fly from the DR Congo to Rome -- to meet with UN envoy Mary Robinson.
Of course, Robinson could have met the FDLR leader without him breaking the travel ban. But in a UN trend, Robinson has been allowed to remained based in Ireland, just as Romano Prodi was allowed to remain based in Italy and to (over) charge the UN for his travel inside Italy.
Earlier this year, Ladsous refused to answer Inner City Press' simple question on when UN Peacekeeping under his watch might belatedly go after or “neutralize” the FDLR, video here.
Ladsous (and see Inner City Press video below, Creative Commons)
Under Ladsous, UN Peacekeeping is involved in other scandals, for example not enforcing Ban Ki-moon's stated “Human Rights Due Diligence Policy” with respect to the 41st and 391st Battalions of the Congolese Army after only two convictions for 130 rapes in Minova in November 2012.
The UNAMID mission in Darfur, Sudan, not reporting the killing of civilians has also occurred on Ladsous' watch, but he refuses to answer questions.
We will have yet more on this.
On June 26 Inner City Press, copying the Free UN Coalition for Access, has asked UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric:
This is a formal request for the UN's response to allegations, including but not limited to in the letter(s) from the Rwandan government, about a travel ban waiver for FDLR's Gaston Iyamuremye / Rumuli Michel and the involvement of USG Ladsous.
Last Friday Inner City Press' written request and question about legal papers about cholera in Haiti was never answered while it was answered, by email, to other media. That should not be repeated. Please confirm receipt of this request.
