By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, June 10 -- The UN's envoy in the Congo, Roger Meece, told the Press on Friday that any time he can ask a member state for helicopters for his Mission MONUSCO, he does. But facing the impending loss of the third of three tranches of helicopters, only one aircraft has been secured, from South Africa.
Others talk about offers from Ukraine and even Sri Lanka, which used its craft in the killing of civilians detailed in the UN Panel of Experts' recent report, on which Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has declined to act. Inner City Press asked Meece on June 10 about these offers. Meece said he wouldn't discuss particular states' offers.
Nor, asked for the second time in two days if he will deploy UN peacekeepers to Lord's Restance Army impacted areas like Bas Uele, did Meece make any commitment. He did say that Joseph Kony “to speak frankly should be neutralized one way or another.”
Inner City Press asked him about a critique of his work, that he seeks to ingratiate himself to Joseph Kabila. Meece took issue with the word, and spoke of MONUSCO's integrated human rights reporting function.
The International Peace Institute spokesman said the critique was mostly of Meece's predecessor Alan Doss, who left amid a nepotism scandal in which he urged the UN Development Program to show him “lee way” and give a job to his daughter.
Later on Friday, Inner City Press asked DRC Permanent Representative Atoki Ileki about the same critique. He called it strange, saying “when the war is over you have to change your approach.” He said DRC does not mind the UN stay: “we need the money.”
And so the UN uses the Congo, and the Congolse government uses the UN. But are civilians served? Watch this site.
