With UN's Ban in Laos, Silence on Thai Unrest and Rights, Sri Lanka and Missile

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/ban1asia041109.html

UNITED NATIONS, April 11 -- With the Thai government having been forced by protests to call off today's ASEAN summit in Pattaya, from Laos UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's issued an “urgent” statement that “I deeply regret the postponement of the ASEAN and related summits and the consequent postponement of my attendance to the events. I understand the circumstances that led the Thai Government to take this difficult decision.”

Days earlier in New York, Ban's spokesperson Michele Montas had been asked if she or Ban had any views or comments on the already mounting protests in Thailand. On April 8 at the UN's noon briefing, Inner City Press asked Ms. Montas, video here --

Inner City Press: with the Secretary-General attending the [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] ASEAN trip in Thailand, does he have any comment on the unrest that’s taking place there? Does he have any kind of, I guess either guidance, I mean I know on Moldova he said things should be done peacefully. Why in Moldova and not Thailand? Is there some, is the Thailand street violence less serious or what’s the distinction?

Spokesperson: Well, in the case of Moldova, we had people who were killed, so he’s not going to say anything about what is happening right now in Thailand. As far as we know, everything is set for him for the ASEAN summit and the ASEAN-UN summit. So he is going to go there.

Inner City Press: Is there any chance that… There have been some discussions, including by some UN officials that he might go to Myanmar either before or after the ASEAN summit. Is that now…?

Spokesperson: He is not.

The previous day, Ban had issued a statement that he “strongly believes that any disagreements regarding election results should be resolved by peaceful means and calls on all parties to refrain from violence and maintain calm.” It was directed, not at Thailand, the country he was about to visit, but at Moldova.

Also on April 7, Inner City Press asked Ms. Montas what Ban would raise in the only other stop on his Asian tour, Laos:

Inner City Press: yesterday, you announced that the Secretary-General is going to make an official visit to Lao People’s Democratic Republic on his way to the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting. There are a lot of reports right now about Hmong people being pushed out of Thailand into Laos. Human Rights Watch for example has put out a report saying that this is a violation of human rights. Is this one of the issues he is going to raise in Laos?

Spokesperson: Most probably that issue will be discussed. (Video).

But by all accounts, Ban's visit to Laos was “human rights free.” The lone AP headline was “UN Hopeful on Future of Laos” and reported that Ban “cited improvements in health, education, life spans and infant mortality rates as well as greater integration with the global economy. He said the Laotian government was committed to achieving the millennium goals... He also said Laos would have to focus greater attention on the environment.”

So much for human rights. What about MDGs and the militarized “environment” for the Hmong? With time on his hands, Ban could personally try to have an impact on the “bloodbath” in Sri Lanka, but since he has of late declined to even call for a suspension of fighting, it seems unlikely. While several countries plan to go ahead with meetings in Pattaya about North Korea's missile launch, Ban's announcement said his entire visit to Thailand has been postponed in light of calling off the Pattaya ASEAN meeting, which he "deeply regrets." "deeply. By contrast, he only "regretted" North Korea's missile test...

And see, www.innercitypress.com/ban1asia041109.html

Controversial EDF Dam in Laos Is UNDP's Anti-Corruption Example, Panel at UN Claims

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
www.innercitypress.com/undp1laosedfdam062508.html

UNITED NATIONS, June 25 -- Fighting corruption in the water sector was the title of a laudable-sounding UN Development Program panel discussion on Wednesday. Two of the six speakers were from UNDP, another was listed on the invitation as Jean-Michel Devernay of the "International Hydropower Association." Mr. Devernay spoke mostly about the $1.6 billion Nam Theun 2 dam in Laos, of which his real employer, Electricite de France, owns 35 percent.

The connection between transparency and this for-profit investment in a big dam in Laos, the electricity from which will be sold almost entirely in Thailand was murky. Inner City Press asked Devernay to respond to criticism of the project, that impacted people are not being compensated and that decaying or burned biomass will dirty the water and causes greenhouse gasses. That is a problem, Devernay acknowledged. But, he claimed, there was a lot of public outreach by the Laotian government.

Another audience member, just back from surveying Laos for a water NGO, reported that the lack of public participation in Laos rendered dubious Devernay's claims. Inner City Press asked about people who have yet to receive any compensation. Devernay wrote this off to "timing" issues, and praised the project and EDF for having a "respected" Panel of Experts. This Panel, however, recently reported on quality of life that "a further decline is likely if the dam shuts because the settlers will be unable to cultivate draw-down areas for rice during the rainy season this year. Buffaloes are dying of disease and there are cases of starvation at many villages and a drop in employment opportunities associated with the construction of the project." This is transparency?

Even the sponsorship of the event was murky. While it was promoted with the four panel logo of UNDP, when one tried to register online from UNDP's website, one was whisked to the site of the U.S. Committee for the UNDP, an organization which UNDP disowned connections to (when it was exposed the the military contractor Lockheed Martin has a seat on the UNDP-USA board).

There was muttering as the event ended that UNDP's own standardless engagement with Laos might explain some of the above. We'll see -- we will continue to follow these issues.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/undp1laosedfdam062508.html