By Matthew Russell Lee, Follow Up To Exclusive
UNITED NATIONS, June 23 -- The UN of Ban Ki-moon and Herve Ladsous plans to accept 800 more soldiers from Burundi for "service" in the Central African Republic, Inner City Press was exclusively informed and got the UN to confirm on June 23. But why?
When the Burundi UN Peacebuilding Configuration met on June 20, Pierre Nkurunziza's Ambassador Albert Shingiro said his government will not talk with “putschist and their allies.” It was unclear how this applies to human rights defenders such as Pierre-Claver Mbonimpa. Shingiro's claims about press freedom, too, rang false.
On DRC, Shingiro quoted UN experts that the “M23” in DRC are trying to overthrow Nkurunziza. He did not reply to a quote from his party's Imbonerakure youth wing, “We will rape and impregnate our enemy's women and girls” to create more Imbonerakure. This phrase hung in the air of Conference Room 7, unresponded to.
Shingiro, it now appears, has been living at least a double life online. On June 21 his photograph with UN official Mogens Lykketoft and Under Secretary General for Public Information Cristina Gallach was tweeted, not from @AShingiro but rather from @jabaga70, one which many in Burundi have long associated with hate speech. See below.
So it was fitting that Shingiro was told by the UN's Herve Ladsous, with his own history, here, that unlike the Burundi Police being repatriated from CAR as first reported by Inner City Press and confirmed by UN Police's Stefan Feller, Ladsous plans to take 800 soldiers from Burundi to replace those leaving in September.
Given how contradictory this is - repatriation of police but not soldiers - Inner City Press on June 23 asked Ban Ki-moon's deputy spokesman Farhan Haq to confirm it. Yes, he said, the soldiers are staying. This is the UN of Ban and Ladsous. We'll have more on this.
At the June 22 noon briefing, Inner City Press asked Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's deputy spokesman Farhan Haq what the UN will do about an ambassador found to be moonlighting in hate speech. Video here, UN Transcript here:
