By Matthew Russell Lee, Follow up on Exclusive
UNITED NATIONS, December 25, more here -- Amid charges that the UN in Sudan, including Herve Ladsous' UN Peacekeeping in Darfur, has colluded with the authorities in Khartoum to cover up rapes and killing, now the UN's Resident Coordinator Ali Al Za'tari has been ordered to leave Sudan by January 2, Inner City Press first reported earlier today. Inner City Press similarly exclusively reported, and asked the UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric about, Sudan's ouster of UNDP Country Director Yvonne Heller on December 24. After another inquiry by Inner City Press to Dujarric and UNDP on December 25, Dujarric sent this:
From: Stephane Dujarric [at] un.org
Date: Thu, Dec 25, 2014 at 1:31 PM
Subject: Re: Press request on Sudan PNG-ing Yvonne Helle (asked Dec 24) & now Dec 25 Ali Al-Za'tari
To: Matthew Lee [at] InnerCityPress.org
Cc: UNDP, funca [at] FUNCA.info
Matthew, The UN has filed a protest with the government of Sudan following their decision to request the departure of two senior UN officials from the country.
So the UN has filed a protest. But what about the UNFPA case in April, and this one, in Darfur, which Inner City Press exclusively reported on earlier today?
Date: Thu, Dec 25, 2014 at 1:31 PM
Subject: Re: Press request on Sudan PNG-ing Yvonne Helle (asked Dec 24) & now Dec 25 Ali Al-Za'tari
To: Matthew Lee [at] InnerCityPress.org
Cc: UNDP, funca [at] FUNCA.info
Matthew, The UN has filed a protest with the government of Sudan following their decision to request the departure of two senior UN officials from the country.
So the UN has filed a protest. But what about the UNFPA case in April, and this one, in Darfur, which Inner City Press exclusively reported on earlier today?
Later at 7:20 pm the UN sent this out, a statement:
"The Secretary-General condemns the Government of Sudan's decision to expel the United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator and the Country Director of the United Nations Development Program. The sanctioning of United Nations personnel sent to Sudan to carry out their duties in accordance with the United Nations Charter is unacceptable. The Secretary-General calls on the Government of Sudan to reverse its decision immediately and urges it to cooperate fully with all United Nations entities present in Sudan."
It's worth noting that Za'tari was fine with Sudan throwing out Yvonne Helle on December 24. It now appears he was trying to saving himself, as Sudan had been complaining about an interview he gave with a Norwegian newspaper, referring to Omar al Bashir as being indicted with the International Criminal Court. We'll have more on this.
Earlier this Fall, Sudan's security agency NISS ordered a UN humanitarian staffer to leave El Fasher in North Darfur, Inner City Press is exclusively informed.
She left, to Khartoum -- where NISS "harassed" her, ordering her to return to El Fasher and "apologize" to a NISS official there.
Ultimately she left Sudan. Nothing was said, as with an earlier case in April (on which we'll have more; questions are pending to spokespeople who cite the holiday). This is today's UN, under Ban Ki-moon and Herve Ladsous, Helen Clark and, until now, Ali Al-Za'tari.
On December 24, Inner City Press similarly exclusively reported and then asked the UN Spokesman about UNDP Country Director Yvonne Helle being ordered out of Sudan, citing her and Al-Za'tari's e-mails. Video here.
A full day after that, Reuters reported on Helle's ouster -- typically, for Reuters, with no credit to the Press' prior exclusive story. (Reuters' UN bureau chief has said he has a policy of not crediting Inner City Press' exclusive, and has gone to far as to censor, Sudan-style, his "for the record" anti-Press complains to the UN, click here for that, via EFF's ChillingEffect.org).
On December 24, Inner City Press asked UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesman Stephane Dujarric about Sudan having just similarly "PNG-ed" or declared persona non-grata the Sudan Country Director of the UN Development Program Yvonne Helle, with Za'tari barely pushing back against the government.
Dujarric said that host countries' ordered to PNG a UN staff member are treated seriously and should be sent to, and considered and acted on by, Ban's Secretariat in New York. But Dujarric in the 18 hours after Inner City Press asked about Helle has not returned with any information or answer. Then Reuters published its story, with no credit.
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