By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, May 16 -- After two weeks in which UN peacekeepers were killed in Abyei and the Congo, and twice kidnapped in the Golan Heights, on Thursday the Deputy Permanent Representative of a Troop Contribution Country told Inner City Press "Ladsous is a loser."
Ladsous is Herve Ladsous, the fourth Frenchman in a row to head UN Peacekeeping. Ever since Inner City Press raised the issue of Ladsous' record during the Rwanda genocide, as France's Deputy Permanent Representative who argued for and enabled the escape of genocidaires into Eastern Congo, Ladsous has refused to answer Press questions. Video here.
Later on Thursday, when stories and tweets appeared showing that Ladsous had run to friendly scribes about the most recently kidnapping of peacekeepers, rather even that having the UN send out an e-mail to all correspondents, Inner City Press wrote to Ladsous' three - yes, three - spokespeople, as well as to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's top three spokespeople, and the Free UN Coalition for Access:
"This is a formal request for all information DPKO or the UN has providing about new detention of UN peacekeepers in the Golan, and for an explanation of how this information was disseminated on such a limited basis, including in light of DPKO spokesperson Dwyer's statements at UN World Press Freedom Day event. On deadline."
From Ladsous' main spokesman, Kieran Dwyer, came this:
"I am out of the office until 22/05/2013. I will be travelling on official business, and only intermittently checking emails. In my absence please contact Ms Anayansi Lopez, officer-in-charge of the Public Affairs Section of DPKO-DFS: mobile [REDACTED] landline 917-367-9050; lopez12 [at] un.org. For media inquiries please contact Ms Josephine Guerrero, mobile
[REDACTED]
landline +1-212-963-1964; guerreroj [at] un.org; or Mr Andre-Michel Essoungou, mobile
[REDACTED],
landline: +1-917-9400-685; essoungou [at] un.org"
But from the other five spokespeople written to on deadline, there was no response except one of Ban Ki-moon's spokespeople referring it back to the above-referenced Josephine Guerrero, or "Jo" -
"Jo: This one is yours!"
But nothing came from Jo -- who, a nice person, was forced by Ladsous to scurry at a stakeout to find another reporter, any other reporter, to ask about Abyei. She couldn't find one, and Ladsous was left pretending that Inner City Press wasn't asking a question.
The other, Andre-Michel Essoungou, was debased into seizing the UN Television microphone on December 18, 2012, to try to protect Ladsous from a Press question about then 126 (now 135) rapes by Ladsous' partners in the Congolese Army in Minova.
Ladsous has debased DPKO, and now the wider UN. As a major TCC has put it, he's "a loser." So when is he leaving? Watch this site.
