By Matthew Russell Lee, Scoop
UNITED NATIONS, August 26, more here -- A UN Security Council press statement on the Democratic Republic of the Congo and belated "military action" against the FDLR militia has been agreed, Inner City Press learned in the morning of August 26, after several rounds of edits and the "silence procedure" being broken.
The statement, drafted by the French Mission to the UN, had been set to be released on August 25 at 11 am. But silence was broken. Inner City Press inquired and was told that the new version was "under silence" until 4 pm on August 25. But that too passed, and a final draft was put under silence until August 26 at 9 am.
Disputes involved concerns that Troop Contribution Countries have about the "Force Intervention Brigade" which attacked the M23 but then did not do so against the Hutu FDLR militia. There was a dispute about whether to refer to mere military "pressure" against the FDLR if they do not disarm by the end of the end, or military "action" -- the latter is referred to twice in the final agreed version.
Update: after publication of the above, the UN emailed out the statement, which will go online on the UNSC's web site. Then the UK's genial Deputy Permanent Representative Peter Wilson came to take questions. Inner City Press asked about the statement and a perception that the M23 was neutralized but the FDLR still continues afoot, or apace. Wilson insisted they are treated similarly, video here.
Back on August 7, xix weeks after Inner City Press began asking the UN questions about its MONUSCO mission flying the FDLR's sanctioned leader from Eastern Congo to Kinsasha, Inner City Press was able to ask MONUSCO chief Martin Kobler directly. Video here and embedded below.
Kobler said it had been transparent, than when the UN Security Council's sanctions committee denied the waiver requested by Herve Ladsous, the FDLR leader was returned "to the bush."
Inner City Press asked, isn't he subject to an arrest warrant in Rwanda? Kobler said he was unaware of that.
On the mere two convictions for the 130 rapes by the Congolese Army in Minova in November 2012, Kobler said the legal process was OK -- video here -- but that the investigation was not sufficient.
The third Press questions, which Kobler did not answer, concerned the rehabilitation of General Amisi after a failure to investigate the charges against him. We will have more on this.
On back June 27 amid reports that the UN flew a sanctioned militia leader of the FDLR militia on a UN aircraft in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Inner City Press asked UN spokesman Stephane Dujurric about it at the UN noon briefing on June 27:
Inner City Press: why did MONUSCO [United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo] fly him to Goma to Kisangani and then to Kinshasa when, in fact, I think there’s an arrest warrant for him?
Spokesman Dujarric: I’m not aware of any other services provided to him by MONUSCO.
But it turns out that UN Peacekeeping under Herve Ladsous flew the sanctioned FDLR leader from Eastern Congo to Kinshasa. Rwanda complained about this, in writing, on June 26.
Dujarric on June 27, and in the subsequent times Inner City Press asked, insisted that not only Mary Robinson (who left her post as the UN's Great Lakes envoy) but also US envoy Russ Feingold requested the waiver, and that the FDLR leader Gaston Iyamuremye a/k/a Rumuli had not traveled to Rome, arguing that only that was important.
Inner City Press disagrees -- why would UN Peacekeeping under Herve Ladsous given his history on Rwanda, representing France in the Security Council in 1994 arguing for the escape of the genocidaires into Eastern Congo, fly a sanctioned FDLR figure linked to the genocide around?
On July 15, Haq said Rumuli was escorted from Kinshasa back to the east. Video here.
Inner City Press asked about MONUSCO escorting Rumuli.
Haq said what he had read did not say MONUSCO did the escorting. So who did? And if not the UN, how does the UN know where Rumuli went? Watch this site.
