At UN, Inner City Press Asks Akon About His Diamond Mine Purchase, He Replies on Reform, Yumkella Running, Sierra Leone

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, May 20 -- When the UN's “Sustainable Energy For All” endeavor held a public press conference during its nearly four day event on May 20, prominent on the podium was musician and business figure Akon, talking about African villages buying solar power systems from his enterprise, with a $1 billion line of credit, on the payment plan.

  Inner City Press asked Akon about having also bought a diamond mine -- was that also a social enterprise? Akon answered in that direction, saying he bought the mine in order to challenge or clean up the industry, citing blood diamonds. Video here and embedded below.

  The answer is an evolution from what Akon said about the mine, and blood diamonds, back in 2007:

 "I don't even believe in conflict diamonds. That's just a movie. Think about it. Ain't nobody thought about nothing about no conflict diamonds until the movie came out. Where was all that shit before the movie? That's the problem with people - they believe everything they read or see on TV. It's no different from The Blair Witch Project. Everybody thought that was real. That campaign and marketing was incredible. After that, they're getting Oscars. Unless you go to Sierra Leone and see what's going down, don't believe everything you're reading or see on TV. Trust me."

  There was a Sierra Leone connection at the press conference: SE4ALL chief Kandeh Yumkella, whom Inner City Press asked about the organization's involvement in the campaign to end gas flaring by 2030. Yumkella answered excitedly about Shell and Total and ENI and Statoil signing on. 

  To a question on Sierra Leone, IRENA's Adnan Amin said while the question was about President Koroma, there was another Sierra Leonean in the room, but he'd only talk about one president at a time. 

 On March 15 of this year, Yumkella wrote to UN staff:

“A few months ago I informed the Secretary-General that I would like to step down as his Special Representative and CEO of Sustainable Energy for All as of July 2015. He has now graciously accepted my request and the announcement will be made soon.

“It has not been an easy decision to end my 19-year career serving humanity under the auspices of the UN system, including as Director General of UNIDO. But I believe it is now time for me to go home to serve my people in Sierra Leone."

 We'll have more on this. Watch this site.

   

Planes Leaving Central African Republic With Gold Described to Chile In First CAR Sanctions Meeting of UN Security Council

By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive

UNITED NATIONS, February 6 -- Small planes land in the Central African Republic and take out gold and diamonds, CAR's ambassador told the UN Security Council in a closed-door meeting on February 6. He asked, where do these planes come from? Not from the Central African Republic.

  Like the next speaker, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, he was responding to a statement by Security Council member Chile about the exploitation of natural resources. In the Council's most recent CAR resolution, sanctions are imposed on individuals 

"providing support for armed groups or criminal networks through the illicit exploitation of natural resources, including diamonds and wildlife and wildlife products, in the CAR."

  The CAR sanctions committee chairperson, Lithuania's Raimonda Murmokaite, convened this first meeting and invited neighboring countries to speak. This is not the usual practice: Sudan, for example, is usually confined to hanging about outside their sanctions committee meeting hoping to get briefed by an ally.

(One wonder what Lithuania, as a member of the ACT reform group, thinks of this. Inner City Press on February 5 asked Ambassador Murmokaite as Security Council president for February if she thinks the next Sudan sanctions report will get released, or will other's objections be given more weight than were Rwanda's on the DRC report?)

  But of the Council members' interventions, ranging from Australia about long porous borders to a strangely short and less than memorable contribution from France to the US requesting more specifics on how the resolution's arms embargo is being enforced, it was Chile's on natural resources which drew these two responses. Surprise at this was expressed afterward -- raising the stakes or expectations for Chile's turn as president of the Council.

  Ambassador Murmokaite said she would put a press release about the meeting on the Committee's web site, after a brief silence procedure; she will be briefing the full Council on February 20. But by then, what will be happening in the Central African Republic?

  Will there have been any justice for what High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay says was France putting Muslim communities at risk of attacks by anti-Balaka by first disarming the ex Seleka? For the lynching and corpses desecration committee by CAR Army members yesterday, moments after the new president spoke to them? How will or should sanctions apply to each of these? Watch this site.

   

On Protesters Shot by Mali Army in Kidal, France's Araud Urges Probe, Hasn't Read of Ouattara Hit Men in UN Liberia Sanctions Report

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, December 3 -- With France taking over presidency of the UN Security Council for December, its Ambassador Gerard Araud took questions from the press on Tuesday.

   Inner City Press asked him about the Malian Army shooting protesters in Kidal, and about the UN's report of agents of Cote d'Ivoire president and French ally Alassane Ouattara going into Ghana to try to kill or kidnap supporters of former president Laurent Gbagbo.

  On these Cote d'Ivoire aspects of the UN Liberia Sanctions report, Araud replied that he hasn't read the report. In two days, Liberia Sanctions are on the Security Council's agenda.

  On the shooting of protesters in Kidal, on which the UN has confined itself to a press release from the MINUSMA mission which even Reuters deemed unclear, Araud provided a bit more information. He acknowledged that two female demonstrators were left in critical condition.

  Araud alluded to the larger issues of the Tuaregs, saying that some in Bamako and the south view them as accomplices to or complicit with ("complice") the Islamist takeover of the north. 

 But if a solution would be more equitable distribution of resources and more impartiality by the UN, the UN mission siding with the Malian Army as they shoot protesters is hardly condusive to this.

  Araud said the protesters were throwing rocks. But is that a sufficient reason for an army, one the UN and France are providing support to, to open fire? Araud said this requires a Malian judicial and administrative investigation, and also one by MINUSMA. Given UN Peacekeeping's recent history of sitting on or burying reports, it is difficult to have confidence in this.

  Earlier on Tuesday, Araud had been scheduled to speak about Syria at the Security Council stakeout. That got canceled; Araud had to brief non-Council member states.

   Inner City Press on behalf of the new Free UN Coalition for Access thanked Araud (he kept it newsy so we will) and hoped that he will do as many question and answer stakeouts as last month's presidency, China -- nine. 

  In one of Araud's previous presidencies -- he'd said he thought his one fifteen months ago would be his last -- he did a mere three question and answer stakeouts. That might have been related in part to which month it was. December as he said will be busy. Watch this site.

Footnotes: Araud initially made light of a question about the Central African Republic rebels Seleka and the diamond trade, alluding to former French president Valerie Giscard d'Estaing and, it seemed, to the French luxury goods to then "Emperor" Bokasa. Araud returned to the question by reading from the pending resolution, noting the suspension of CAR from the diamond trade Kimberly Process.

  A question on French firm Areva and the Fukushima nuclear disaster, Araud flatly refused, saying it is not on the Security Council's agenda (true) and is "not a threat to international peace and security" (less certain). 

  Inner City Press might ask: what then about Areva and its lobbying against paying taxes in Niger, which at least through the Sahel IS on the Security Council's agenda? Should be an interesting month - we'll have (much) more. Watch this site.