By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, October 2, more here -- Fifty five days after bodyguards of Democratic Republic of the Congo president Joseph Kabila beat up protesters in Washington but were not charged, only told to leave the country, on September 29 shots were fired in the compound of Ethiopia's Embassy in Washington, video here and embedded below.
In the video, the man shooting the gun retreats into the embassy, while protesters remain outside, taking down the flag. So is the incident covered by diplomatic immunity? A request to waive immunity was declined, and the individual has left the US, the State Department said on October 2.
The question first arose at the US State Department's briefing on September 30, two hours after US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power had told reporters about US meetings at the highest level with Ethiopia. What impact would those relations have?
Inner City Press on September 30 also reported on the US' court filing supporting immunity or impunity for the United Nations for having brought cholera to Haiti, click here for that.
On October 2, US State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said of the Ethiopian mission "incident" that
"In this case we requested a waiver of immunity to permit prosecution of the individual engaged in the incident. The request was denied, and the individual has left the country.”
She indicated that those who leave in this circumstances “typically” can't come back except to face the charges. But in at least one case Inner City Press has reported on, that does not appear to have been complied with. We continue to await answers or explanation.
These questions of immunity keep arising. Back in August, an assault with a chair reportedly occurred at the residence of the Ambassador of Equatorial Guinea in the Arlington suburb of Washington.
Due to diplomatic immunity, no arrest was made. ARLnow.comreports that
Police were called to the home of Ambassador Ruben Maye Nsue Mangue after a female 911 caller reported that “there’s someone going crazy at her house” and a man “hit her in the head with a chair,” according to scanner traffic.
“I’ve been there before,” said a responding officer. “There have been previous calls from this address.” The female victim was struck “several times,” police said. Paramedics transported her to Virginia Hospital Center with a head wound, but no arrests were made.
“The subject has full diplomatic immunity and was not arrested,” Arlington County Police said in a crime report today. Police said the assault was “domestic” in nature but declined to reveal the identity of the suspect. “We won’t go in to those details at this time,” ACPD spokesman Dustin Sternbeck told ARLnow.com. “The State Department was notified by our officers and it’s in their hands at this point.”
While outrageous, this also strikes some as contrary for example to how India's diplomat Devyani Khobragade was treated, compared with others. We'll have more on this.
On the DRC, US State Department deputy spokesperson Marie Harf on August 8 said:
"We are troubled by the attacks against several protesters by members of the official delegation from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was Wednesday evening. Take the right to freedom of expression very seriously, and violence against peaceful protesters is totally unacceptable. We communicated our concern to the delegation in the strongest possible terms. We requested waivers of immunity to permit those involved to face prosecution, and if such waivers were not issued, we required that the immediate departure from the country of the individuals involved. They did not waive immunity and the individuals involved left the country on Thursday."
So amid the speeches in the Security Council on Thursday, August 7, officials from the DRC were leaving the US after attacking protesters and refusing to waive immunity.
So amid the speeches in the Security Council on Thursday, August 7, officials from the DRC were leaving the US after attacking protesters and refusing to waive immunity.
On August 7 in New York, 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.
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.
On July 16, Inner City Press asked Rwanda's Deputy Permanent Representative what has been Ladsous' Department of Peacekeeping Operations' response.
There has BEEN no response - in more than three weeks. Video here, and embedded below.
Little more than an hour later, Ladsous floated into the Security Council to talk about Central African Republic -- without having answered a written complaint from a Security Council member in more than three weeks. We call this: unaccountable.
Dujarric on June 27, and in the subsequent times Inner City Press asked, insisted that not only Mary Robinson (who today 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 underHerve 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.
