By Matthew Russell Lee, Follow Up On Exclusives
UNITES NATIONS, October 3 -- Amid warning in Burundi of the risk of genocide, when UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on September 24 met with the country's foreign minister Alain Aime Nyamitwe, Inner City Press went to cover it as closely as possible.
The meeting went less than twenty minutes, but took nearly three hours for Ban's office to summarize. Inner City Press live-streamed the handshake and book signing on Periscope, as it did Alain Aime Nyamitwe's speech in the General Assembly hall. But when Ban's office issued a read-out, seemingly negotiated with Burundi, it did not mention the deployment of 228 UN Police, much less the UN's risk of genocide report.
Now it seems that Ban Ki-moon's UN doesn't follow Burundi's statements in Geneva, that it will not cooperate with the new independent inquiry, just as Ban has done nothing to deploy the 228 police mandated by the UN Security Council. Inner City Press asked Ban's spokesman Stephane Dujarric on September 30; Dujarric still had nothing on if Nahimana is being deployed by the UN, Vine here.
It seems the UN is deploying another dubious Burundian military figure. Inner City Press on September 28 asked Ban's spokesman Dujarric,Beyond the Vine video here, UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: on Burundi, there's another deployment question. There's a guy called Cla… Claver Nahimana, who was widely described as being involved in the recent arrest and assassination of another military figure, Claude Mangera -[sic - it's Nyongera]. And he's being deployed… to the UN African Union mission in Darfur as a military observer. And it seems like these are pretty high-profile human rights cases in Bujumbura. Is there some kind of… I mean, I'm asking you here, and maybe you can ask them. Is there…
Spokesman: I'll find out. Obviously, I don't have those sort of granular details…
Dujarric as is his wont never returned with any details. So Inner City Press had to ask again, to Dujarric's deputy Farhan Haq, on October 3 - to be told it is on hold. Vine video here; From the October 3 UN transcript:
Inner City Press: on Burundi, in the past, I've had to ask a number of times, so I wanted to ask again about Mr. [Claver] Nahimana, this Burundian figure, have you checked with UNAMID (African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur) whether he's, in fact, as civil society in the country says, being deployed as an observer?
Deputy Spokesman: I've been told that any deployment of Mr. Nahimana is on hold while we evaluate his record.
We'll see - a similar claim was prematurely made regarding Mr. Mayuyu. This is Ban's UN- and it has to end.
On September 26 Inner City Press asked Ban Ki-moon's deputy spokesman Farhan Haq about the bilateral meeting, Vine here, UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: this was a readout that was issued from the meeting of the Foreign Minister of Burundi on Saturday and I read it as closely as I could. I didn't see any reference to the deployment of the police. There's a reference to the UN and the humanitarian partners continuing to scale up their operations to support the populations. Was this… does this mean that the deployment of the police was discussed? And, if so, where does it stand, given that it's been mandated by the Council and DPKO (Department of Peacekeeping Operations) is supposed to be implementing that?
Deputy Spokesman: We do have a Security Council mandate, and we're in the process of trying to carry out that mandate. The readout says what it says, and I don't have anything to add to that.
ICP Question: Was… was Mr. Ladsous in on the meeting? I was up on the 27th floor, but it was… the way it's done there, you can't see who's in the meeting, but I think, since it's… since you can see on 38, it's not a secret. Was DPKO in on the meeting with Burundi?
Deputy Spokesman: I don't have anything to say about the attendance at the meeting. We've provided the readout.
We'll have more on this. Meanwhile in Burundi, a forced rally against the risk of genocide report, here.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's Spokesman Stephane Dujarric told Inner City Press on August 24 that Burundian Lt. Col. Alfred Mayuyu was deployed to the UN Peacekeeping Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) in July but is being repatriated to Burundi effective immediately. Vine I here.
This followed Dujarric's deputy Farhan Haq on August 5 telling Inner City Press that Mayuyu was not on “any roster” of MINUSCA, video here.
That was false - as was Dujarric's August 24 answer to Inner City Press, see below. Meanwhile the threat of genocide, according even to the UN, has continued to escalate.
On September 22, Inner City Press asked the UN about the report - even as the Ambassador to Burundi of Kenya (where Ban made his own son in law the head of the UN system), Ken Vitisia, denigrated the warnings of the UN experts. What kind of Ambassador is this? And what is the Ban Ki-moon connection? From the September 22 UN transcript:
Inner City Press: yesterday, the experts that were assigned by the Human Rights Council to look into Burundi came back with a very damning report that said: risk of genocide in the country. And so I'm wondering… I think I'd asked you this in writing, but has the Secretary-General or DPA [Department of Political Affairs] set up any meetings during this General Assembly on this country that the UN itself says stands at risk of genocide?
Spokesman: Yes, the Secretary-General will have a bilateral meeting with the Foreign Minister of Burundi either tomorrow or Saturday.
That's it?
On September 20 when Francois Hollande the president of France, which “holds the pen” on Burundi in the UN Security Council, came to hold a press conference, Inner City Press went early to ask him about it.
But before the press conference began, one of Hollande's Team not only declared rows of the UN Press Briefing Room “reserved” -- she also announced there would be only four questions, two international, which she pre-selected.
After this staged show, Inner City Press asked, Burundi? What will you do on Burundi, and cited the risk of genocide in the day's UN report. Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault turned and looked -- nothing. Beyond the Vine video, here.
Inner City Press went to formally tell UN Spokesman Dujarric, who has in the past lent out the UN press briefing room to France, and then to others, and got Inner City Press thrown out. Dujarric said curtly, “Thanks.” We'll have more on this.
On September 16, Dujarric told Inner City Press, Vine here, UN transcript here:
"I know, Matthew, you had been asking about Lieutenant Colonel Alfred Mayuyu, and I can tell you that it is my understanding that he was repatriated from MINUSCA (United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic) this morning."
On September 15, Inner City Press asked Dujarric three questions about Burundi, Vine here, UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: In Burundi, yesterday, a former member of the army, ex-FAB named Claude Mangera [sic - it's Nyongera] was killed and the police of the Government have said that he committed suicide with a grenade, which people there are viewing with a lot of suspicion, given how did he get it in there? They basically think he was executed. So I wanted to know and I’ve asked you before, this team on the ground, this vaunted team on the ground, what are they doing as these killings continue? Do you have any update on DPKO (Department of Peacekeeping Operations) trying to get UN Police into the country under the resolution? And do you have any update at all on Mr. [Alfred] Mayuyu? I just want to check again since we’ve had…
Spokesman: Backwards, no, I don’t have an update on the individual you mentioned.
ICP Question: That means he’s still in the country?
Spokesman: I don’t have an update from what I last told you, so I would hope that, if he left the country, I would have been told. On your second part, obviously, we’ve seen the comments by the Government of Burundi not welcoming the deployment of UN police, to put it mildly. I think it is also up to the Security Council to ensure that its resolutions are respected. And on your first part, I have not seen those reports, but I’m happy to look into it.
Seven hours later, nothing.
