By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, October 4 -- More than twenty four hours after French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian came to the UN on October 3 and met the UN's Ban Ki-moon and former French diplomat Herve Ladsous, the UN had provided no read-out.
Earlier on October 3 Le Drian had met with US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, and Hagel said they discussed if France will join the US in airstrikes in Syria. Did Le Drian discuss this with Ban and Ladsous as well?
Even France 24 reported what Hagel said. To extrapolate to the UN is not a stretch - except, apparently, for big wigs or grands fromages in the UN press corps. At NPR, Michele Kelemen interviewed Le Drian who said France is very "transparent" about its positions on Syria. So why no read-out?
There emerges a photo of Le Drian and Ladsous, marking some agreement, here. Ostensibly it's for the French troops in Sangaris to cooperate with Ladsous' MINUSCA mission in the Central African Republic. But with reports of French troops killing in CAR, most recently in Bambari, would UN Peacekeeping under former French diplomat Herve Ladsous really look into this? He does not answer Press questions.
As regards Syria, Ladsous most recently ordered peacekeepers from Fiji and the Philippines to surrender to the Jabhat al Nusra rebels, or terrorists, in the Golan Heights.
When Inner City Press tried to asked Ladsous questions on September 26, Ladsous refused to answer. On September 27, as Inner City Press filmed from the entirely legal UN General Assembly stakeout area, Ladsous came over and blocked Inner City Press' camera and demanded, what do you want with this?
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric has been asked twice about what Ladsous did, for the Free UN Coalition for Access, but has yet to respond. Dujarric previously told FUNCA that then French Ambassador Gerard Araud should have accorded a UN correspondent from Lebanon (more) respect rather than telling the correspondents, “You are not a journalist, you are an agent.” But Dujarric declined to instruct the French mission to this effect. Of Araud's replacement Francois Delattre the Press so far knows little but retains an open mind.
We repeat, now also on behalf of FUNCA:
For a meeting like Ban's with Le Drian, there should be a a read-out. Watch this site.
