By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, June 24 -- The UN under Secretary General Ban Ki-moon introduced cholera to Haiti, killing thousands of Haitians. On June 23, Inner City Press asked Ban's spokesman:
Inner City Press: I wanted to ask you about the service of papers on the Secretary-General on Friday on the Haiti cholera suit. I e-mailed you on Friday, but still have yet to get an answer from you. Was… what’s your description of the lawyers for the plaintiffs say that the Secretary-General was served, received papers. Farhan Haq is quoted by some media as saying that he slapped them away or that his guard stepped in the way. What is the case? And also, what can you say… it’s good that you’re having Mr. [Nickolay] Mladenov, but there’s been a request, for example, of having Mr. [Pedro] Medrano briefing. What’s… how would you explain what seems to be kind of an evasive approach to the Haiti cholera issue by the Secretary-General?
Spokesman Dujarric: You know, I don’t think it’s a… I don’t agree with your description of evasive. I think the legal position of the United Nations has been clear, has been often stated from this from this podium, by myself and by Martin [Nesirky], so that position is clear and unchanged. The Secretary-General was not served papers on Friday. That’s also clear from anybody who was actually there. But, you know, beyond the legal arguments, the United Nations work in Haiti in providing assistance to the victims of cholera, in taking measures — protective measures on how, for example, how we treat water in peacekeeping missions and continues Mr. Medrano’s works… continues. Unfortunately that effort is underfunded, but we are continuing to work very closely with the Haitian Government. As you know, there’s a joint committee that was set up by… between the UN and Haiti to work on that issue. And that includes both long-term structural issues in Haiti having to do with sanitation as well as more reactive measures such as, you know, the quick reaction teams that can be dispatched when there’s an outbreak of cholera.
Inner City Press: But, in terms of accountability and kind of the rule of law, I guess my question is it sounded from… I mean I’m still waiting for kind of a written answer of what happened to the email that I sent you, but…
Spokesman Dujarric: Well, you could accept the verbal answer.
Inner City Press: Okay, but then why was it provided in some cases and not in others? What I want to know is just the description of a high official trying to avoid the handing of documents. If you have a legal position that you don’t have to go to court, don’t go to court, but it sounds at least from the oral things I’ve seen that Farhan [Haq] said, it feels very much like evasion. So, that’s why I’m wondering — how does the UN accept papers?
Spokesman Dujarric: You know, I don’t think it’s evasion. The Secretary-General’s and the Organization’s immunity is clear. It was granted to the Organization by Member States. And I think anybody here would agree that, you know, if someone approaches the Secretary-General on the street without any prior warning that, you know, his security detail wouldn’t stop and talk to that person.
Inner City Press: Does [the Office of Legal Affairs] accept papers? What I’m wondering is, I’ve heard from the plaintiffs in the other Haiti case… that they couldn’t… [the Office of Legal Affairs] would not accept a piece of paper, even to go and make an argument that there [inaudible] that seems to be the problem.
Spokesman Dujarric: I think the UN’s position vis-à-vis the justice system here is clear, and that’s where I will stop.
Clear? Earlier this year when legal papers for a lawsuit were posted on the door of Ban Ki-moon's UN-provided residence on Sutton Place, his spokespeople repeatedly refused to confirm or deny to Inner City Press that the legal papers had been received. The Free UN Coalition for Access has protested the UN's increased stonewalling.
Now, a new low.
Hearing that Ban had finally been handed legal papers in a second Haiti cholera lawsuit while he went to give a speech about Syria at the Asia Society on Friday morning, Inner City Press e-mailed Ban's top two spokespeople to ask: “Can you please confirm or deny asap that the Secretary General got handed or served with legal papers in one of the Haiti cholera lawsuits, on information and believe this morning near the Asia Society?”
Even as Ban's spokesperson's office murkily distributed a report on Syria which mirrored Ban's speech (review of speech here, of distribution here), neither spokespersonanswered, even to confirm receipt of the question.
Now it emerges that Haq replied to the Miami Herald to the same question, telling “the Herald he was standing behind ban during the alleged encounter and Ban did not take the papers. 'No one at the UN took the papers,' Haq wrote in an email.”
Well, in this context we must point out: this is the same Haq who on camera told Inner City Press that Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir was dead -- and then corrected himself by doctoring the UN's transcript of that day's noon briefing, while never informing Inner City Press that it had been changed.
Nothing was ever done about this.
On Haiti cholera, Haq told Inner City Press that UN Peacekeeping under Herve Ladsous now screens peacekeepers for cholera before deploying them. This turned out not to be true but was never corrected. More Haq on Haiti video here. In other instances, Haq rather than pass along answers to Press questions given by UN Deparments withholds them to the next noon briefing to read out loud.
But when the UN kills people then plays games about even confirming the receipt of legal papers, it has reached bottom. Or has it? We'll have more on this.
