On Burundi CAR Repatriations, UN Belatedly Confirms to ICP, Spoonfed AFP & Reuters

By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive series

UNITED NATIONS, February 12 -- Two days after Inner City Press on February 9 reported, documented and publicly asked the UN about the repatriation of Burundian troops from the UN Mission in the Central African Republic, Reuters belatedly "saw" the repatriation and repackaged it as its own. The UN gave Reuters a response which Inner City Press had publicly requested from UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric on February 9.

 Even later, Agence France Presse got on the story, with a spoonfed quote from "Ismini Palla of the UN peacekeeping department," run by its fourth Frenchman in a row, Herve Ladsous (see his linking of rapes to R&R, here, YouTube video.)

  At the February 12 noon briefing, Inner City Press asked Dujarric to belatedly issue the confirmation of repatriation which it had asked from him on February 9 - he did - and then asked him why he had not provided the answer to the media which asked for it, two days before Reuters and three before AFP.  Dujarric claimed he had only just gotten the answer. Video here, UN transcript here:

Inner City Press: I just expected you to have some readout on the repatriation of Burundian peacekeepers from Central African Republic.  On Tuesday, I'd asked you about Jimmy… you know, Jimmy Rusheshe, Pierre Niyonzima, and you said I will try to get an update.  Did you get an update?  And I have a follow-up on that.

Spokesman:  Yes, my understanding is that those three are being repatriated.

Inner City Press:  And I guess my question is, given… this is a pretty high-profile thing.  This is the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights saying that these individuals took part in a crackdown in Burundi.  I've seen other DPKO [Department of Peacekeeping Operations] quoted elsewhere giving this answer out to other media.  And I'm wondering, why didn't your office… did you check… how long have you had that answer?  And what's the policy on actually answering a question that's asked in this room?

Spokesman:  The policy is I don't like to burden myself with content, so as soon as I have an answer, I unburden myself.

Inner City Press:  Right.  So when… you got this as you were standing at the podium?

Spokesman:  I got this earlier today, and it's been in my head since this morning.

Inner City Press:  Can you understand why I'm asking?

Spokesman:  I understand.  Okay.

Inner City Press:  Is it acceptable?

Spokesman:  Yes...

 Really?  In fact, not only had Inner City Press asked Dujarric about these Burundi officers since 2015 - after Inner City Press put the question in writing on January 29 to another Ladsous spokesperson, Nick Birnback, this was received as a response:

"Q: Beyond sexual abuse, what is the status of the deployment (or nor) of the Burundian officials I have asked the Spokesman about, including Niyonzima and Rusheshe?

"A: UN Peacekeeping is looking into the files of these two individual. We will have something to say on this issue in the coming days."

  But despite Inner City Press being the media asking the questions, UN Peacekeeping / Dujarric gave the answer to Reuters and AFP.

  Tellingly, both Reuters and AFP ignored that UN Peacekeeping had previously been deploying yet another human rights abuser from Burundi, Gaspar Baratuza, until civil society alerted the Press and the UN begrudgingly repatriated him.

  UN Peacekeeping's Herve Ladsous has, in fact, gone out of his way to allow Burundians to "serve" in CAR -- while delivering the pay to the Nkurunziza government -- including through an October 1 meeting with the country's vice president on which Inner City Press also reported and asked the UN.

  Inner City Press has in fact been asking UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric, at numerous UN noon briefings, about even these most recent Burundian troops, by name, since 2015. Significantly, while even after Inner City Press published proof of the repatriation on February 9, Dujarric replied at that day's noon briefing he had no information.

  Apparently he either didn't seek or disclose the confirmation, which Herve Ladsous' mission in CAR then belatedly delivered up to Reuters. This is how it works: by analogy, a crime syndicate.

  Reuters UN bureau chief Lou Charbonneau previously wrote to Dujarric seeking to get Inner City Press thrown out of the UN, here. When this was exposed and Charbonneau's request was published, Charbonneau using the name of Reuters cited copyright to Google to get the leaked document removed from Google's search, shown here by the Chilling Effects project / EFF.

   After a hand-off, Reuters correspondent tried the same, and most recently cut into Inner City Press' questions in even the UN briefing room about UN corruption. To this has Reuters at the UN sunk.

Perhaps in light of this history, the February 11 story is bylined not from the UN - but surely Google, to see that the story had already been reported and asked about the "seen" document published, exists elsewhere. The story was dutifully dumped on the Daily Mail, Malaysia's Star Online and, yes, StreetInsider.com. Exposed, itcontinues.