By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, March 19 -- The killing of civilians in Ivory Coast was the centerpiece of Amnesty International's push on the Arms Trade Treaty at the UN on Tuesday.
Inner City Press asked AI's Salil Shetty about Syria, which will be the topic of another story. But it was good to get the assessment of the UN's performance in Cote d'Ivoire from AI's West Africa researcher Salvatore Sagues. Video here.
Since July 2012 killings in the Nahibly internally displaced persons' camp, in which UN Peacekeepers did nothing or even pushed IDPs to the beating death by an anti-Gbagbo mob, Inner City Press has asked the UN about it.
After repeated stonewalling -- UN Peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous said he would not answer any of Inner City Press' questions, on this or Haiti or rapes in the Congo -- in December the UN told Inner City Press that Ladsous' envoy Bert Koenders would investigate.
Well, Sagues on March 19 told Inner City Press he met with Koenders two weeks ago, and Koenders was STILL saying he's going to investigate. When? This is called a cover up, like Ladsous with the 126 rapes in Minova by the Congolese Army, Ladsous's partners.
And that's what the UN does in Cote d'Ivoire as well, identify like Ladsous' native France with the Ouattara government to the extent of not protecting civilians from Ouattara forces. Ladsous is destroying the UN and Peacekeeping - but who dares speak up?
(On March 18, the UN raided Inner City Press' office without notice or consent, then on March 19 demanded that it take the apres-raid video off YouTube. Inner City Press posted another one, click here to view. Click to view Ladsous2013 series, first three episodes.)
AI's Sagues answered Inner City Press: “the UN failed completely in Cote d'Ivoire. During Duekoue people asked for help, the UN had a base 1 kilometer from massacre. The UN said, we can't, we are too few.”
He said AI "met with UNOCI leaders, told them to investigate and learn lessons. But fifteen months later, Nahibly.” UN Peacekeeping had “10 Moroccan [peacekeepers] at the entrance and fifteen Pakistani [peacekeepers] in the camp. This time again the UN soldiers pushed back the people.”
Sagues said, the “UN learned nothing, tomorrow the same thing can happen again.” This is Ladsous' UN.#LADSOUS2013.
