By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, July 18 -- A day after Inner City Press asked UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson about the UN mission MONUSCO letting the Congolese Army use its position to conduct offensive operations, Ban has just
issued a statement that "MONUSCO has not been involved in the hostilities.”
issued a statement that "MONUSCO has not been involved in the hostilities.”
But Rwanda's Ministry of Defense says, “two bombs were shelled on Rwanda territory from BM 21 located at Carriere, in Mugunga 12 kms from Goma. The BM 21 is manned by gunners of 41 Commando Bn of Col Didier, Commando Bde commanded by Col Mamadou Ndala. The Commando Bde is collocated with MONUSCO.”
"Collocated” means “located with” -- just what Inner City Press asked about on July 17. If true, how can this be consistent with not being “involved in the hostilities”?
Rwanda is a member of the Security Council, and posed questions to UN Peacekeeping chief during the last closed door consultations on MONUSCO, as exclusively reported by Inner City Press.
Ladsous has not answered; he has also dodged the Press, most recently slipping out of a session on Cote d'Ivoire where he lavished praise on that country, consist as always with the position of France, which he represented on the Security Council as Deputy Permanent Representative during the Rwanda genocide in 1994. He has refused to answer questions about that, as well.
Ladsous' MONUSCO's denial are not reserved for Rwanda - it has also gone on the offensive, so to speak, with the aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres, dismissing its claims about a lack of impartiality.
In that case as in this, what Ban Ki-moon says in New York in not consonant with what MONUSCO is saying. Who stands in between? Ladsous. When will he answer questions?
Beyond also refusing for 19 days now to state which FARDC units he supports, Ladsous is involved in at least two more clusters of current controversies on which he is refusing questions.
In Sudan, who killed the seven UN peacekeepers in Darfur and why did Ladsous brag about keeping the body of a slain assailant, in seeming contravention of the Geneva Conventions Ladsous won't answer about.
In Sudan, who killed the seven UN peacekeepers in Darfur and why did Ladsous brag about keeping the body of a slain assailant, in seeming contravention of the Geneva Conventions Ladsous won't answer about.
In South Sudan, why did his peacekeepers do nothing as a column of fighters passed in Jonglei, and is their provision of gasoline subject to Ban's supposed Human Rights Due Diligence Policy? Watch this site.
