Pulling Copters Out of Central African Republic, France Uses Antonov, Grounded in Nigeria

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, December 8 -- When despite the continuing crisis in the Central African Republic France wanted to pull out its Gazelle helicopters and other equipment, to a base of its in Chad, how did it do it?

  With a Russian cargo plane, it emerges, one that when it landed in Kano was grounded by Nigerian authorities. Eventually they were released, and the pull-out from CAR continued. How did the copters get to CAR in the first place?

  Ironically, France got a contract from the UN to run and got paid for airfield services in northern Mali. Now this.

  Meanwhile, since UN Peacekeeping's Herve Ladsous left unanswered the Press question raised about his reported desire to eavesdrop in Mali, MaliActu picked it up, here.

  Back on October 4, more than twenty four hours after French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian came to the UN on October 3 and met the UN'sBan Ki-moon and former French diplomat Herve Ladsous, the UN had provided no read-out.

  Earlier on October 3 Le Drian had met with (soon outgoing) US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, and Hagel said they discussed if France will join the US in airstrikes in Syria. Did Le Drian discuss this with Ban and Ladsous as well?

 Even France 24 reported what Hagel said. To extrapolate to the UN is not a stretch - except, apparently, for big wigs or grands fromages in the UN press corps. At NPR, Michele Kelemen interviewed Le Drian who said France is very "transparent" about its positions on Syria. So why no read-out?

 There emerges a photo of Le Drian and Ladsous, marking some agreement, here. Ostensibly it's for the French troops in Sangaris to cooperate with Ladsous' MINUSCA mission in the Central African Republic. But with reports of French troops killing in CAR, most recently in Bambari, would UN Peacekeeping under former French diplomat Herve Ladsous really look into this? He does not answer Press questions.

   As regards Syria, Ladsous ordered peacekeepers from Fiji and the Philippines to surrender to the Jabhat al Nusra rebels, or terrorists, in the Golan Heights.

  Now the UN vehicles Nusra took have been used for suicide bombings in Daraa. Inner City Press asked UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric on December 8 when UN Peacekeeping had done to try to get the vehicles back, and how many Nusra had, and has - without receiving any substantive answer.

  When Inner City Press tried to asked Ladsous questions on September 26, Ladsous refused to answer. On September 27, as Inner City Press filmed from the entirely legal UN General Assembly stakeout area, Ladsous came over and blocked Inner City Press' camera and demanded, what do you want with this?

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric has been asked twice about what Ladsous did, for the Free UN Coalition for Access, but has yet to respond substantively.

  We repeat, now also on behalf of FUNCA: For a meeting like Ban's with Le Drian, there should be a a read-out. Watch this site.   
   

Salva Kiir Was Not At UN's "High Level" Meeting on South Sudan, Copter Shootdown UNsolved

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, September 25 -- While South Sudan President Salva Kiir is in New York, he did not attend the UN's “High Level” event about his country on September 25.

A Senior US State Department Official, speaking on background, said that “there was a lot of disappointment expressed in the meeting that Salva Kiir who is here in New York did not attend the meeting. He sent his Minister of Foreign Affairs and some of his ministers to the meeting and several of the attendees made a point of noting that Salva Kiir was not at the meeting.”

Inner City Press asked the Senior State Department Official if the US know who was behind the recent shooting down of a UN helicopter, if it could confirm that forces under the control of Peter Gadet, already under US sanctions, did it.

The US official said “we know that the UN is investigating it, we are waiting for the results of that investigation. Gadet has been put on the sanctions list even before that happened.”

The official called the shoot-down “evidence of how difficult it is to work in South Sudan,” and added that South Sudan's foreign minister had said the government is committed to not blocking NGOs and the UN from providing aid. “We have to hold them to that commitment,” the official concluded, “people are suffering.”

Background: back on May 6, 2014, when the US imposed sanctions on Gadet, Inner City Press asked:

MODERATOR: Great. Thank you. Our next question is from the other Matt Lee, Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press. Go ahead.

QUESTION: Great. Thanks a lot, [Moderator]. I wanted to ask, there was a – it was said that in Security Council consultations at the UN that senior government officials were named in a radio broadcast prior to the attacks in Bor on the UN compound in killing the civilians. I just wonder if you can say are these people – is that the case? Do you know the names of people that sort of called for that attack, and in which case, why aren’t they on this list?

And I also – this might for Senior Administration Official Number Two. Secretary Kerry was talking about a legitimate force to help make peace. And I just wanted to know, is the UN – is the U.S. thinking of that as part of UNMISS mission or as the IGAD force? And if so, would it require a Security Council approval? Thanks.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL ONE: On the first, I mean, we typically do not comment on actors against whom we are – we have not yet – we have not yet acted, a clunky way of saying we don’t comment on those who are not part of our designation. But anyone who is contributing to the violence, whether that’s by directing violence, whether that’s by funding it, fueling it, contributing arms, can be a subject of designation in the future. And I’ll leave it to my State Department colleague to answer the second question.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL TWO: Yeah. On the question about the regional force and on UNMISS, we – it is something that conversations and discussions are ongoing between countries of IGAD, with New York, with ourselves and others on how best to create this additional force presence that we are working very much with UNMISS and see this as part of the same effort. But we do think it’s very important that the regional forces are able to join this effort in larger numbers and appreciate the efforts of, particularly, the governments of Ethiopia and Kenya, who are leading the mediation and who are seeking to work with UNMISS in this regard.

   

On Abyei, Susan Rice Tells ICP to Call "Misseriya the Majority" Is a Joke

By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive

UNITED NATIONS, January 22 -- In Abyei, are the Misseriya or the Dinka in the majority? The question has arisen as Sudan and South Sudan negotiate about the composition of the Abyei Area Council. 

  On January 22, Inner City Press asked the Permanent Representatives of South Sudan and of Sudan, then Susan Rice of the United States, about it.

Susan Rice was most direct. "To call the Misseriya the majority is a joke," Rice exclusively told Inner City Press.

South Sudan's Francis Deng, previously the UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, objected to Sudan asking for fifty - fifty representation.

   Sudan's Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman told Inner City Press this would be more than fair, since "the Dinka are the minority in Abyei." 

  He said there were two times as many Misseriya there as Dinka. This is what Ambassador Rice, after declining the question at the on-camera stakeout because she hadn't heard Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman speak, called "a joke" two hours later to Inner City Press.

  Afterward, another Security Council diplomat whom Inner City Press asked about it offered a compromise: "it depends on the season." 

  Inner City Press also asked both Deng and Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman about South Sudan's shooting down of a Russian helicopter serving UNMISS. Deng said the investigation is underway.

 Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman quoted Russia, unhappy with the delay. Security Council President Masood Khan told Inner City Press that the whole Council wants a prompt investigation.

Footnote: there were rumblings,  about a Southern Kordofan delegation coming to the UN. Watch this site.

In Sudans, UN Blind to Destruction, Holds Black Box Back, No End to Checking

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, January 14 -- The UN has three peacekeeping missions in Sudan and South Sudan, but either can't or won't answer basic questions about what is happening there.

  A week ago Inner City Press asked a simple question: what happened to the UN's "Protection of Civilians" strategy in Sudan? 

  Whistleblowers told Inner City Press that the UNAMID mission showed it to the government in Khartoum in September, and nothing's been heard of it since. Inner City Press asked, did UN Peacekeeping allow Khartoum to veto the PoC strategy? No answer.

   Instead, on January 14 two semi-responses if not answers came in:

From: UN Spokesperson - Do Not Reply [at] un.org
Date: Mon, Jan 14, 2013 at 12:28 PM
Subject: Your questions on Sudan
To: Matthew Russell Lee [at] innercitypress.com

Regarding your questions last Friday and today about the reported destruction of a village in Darfur, the information we have from UNAMID is that the mission is aware of these incidents and is presently investigating.

Regarding your question last week about the downed helicopter in South Sudan: As a matter of policy the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) will not comment on an ongoing investigation. On this particular issue, the mission is working in close consultation with the authorities of South Sudan and Russia.

   So UNAMID, with a budget over $1 billion, cannot confirm or deny in three full days the destruction of a village in its coverage area. 

  And while Russia has openly complained that it has not received the black box from the helicopter in which four of its citizens were killed by South Sudan, the UN says it is in "close consultation."

  Inner City Press understands that while the black box was to have been turned over to Russia on January 14, it has not been.

  Meanwhile, another Russia helicopter from UT Air has been shot at in South Sudan, and Inner City Press' Monday question about the village of Rockero, which the UN first said the Wali of North Darfur said had been taken by rebels, then corrected that to say the Wali didn't know. 

   But why doesn't the UN, spending over $1 billion, know or say more? Watch this site.