At UN, Nepal Letters Arrive Late in Council, Dodged by Ban, Nepali Police Investigated

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, September 7 -- With Nepal on its agenda, the UN Security Council began closed door consultations on Tuesday morning in New York. As Philip Parham, the Deputy Permanent Representative of the UK, the Council's lead country on Nepal, began to speak, suddenly Nepal's letter to the Council about the future of the UN Mission UNMIN was distributed to members, sources tell Inner City Press.

Parham immediately expressed displeasure at the letter's late arrival, the latest yet in the series of short term roll overs the Council has given to UNMIN. Major player China said it was no longer prepared to set forth its position at the meeting, but would have to study the letter.

Meanwhile another critical letter, this one from former Nepalese Prime Ministers, was directed at Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, picking apart his latest report on Nepal. At Tuesday's noon briefing, Inner City Press asked Ban's acting Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq to confirm receipt of the letter, and for the Secretary General's response.

Haq dodged the question.

He referred Inner City Press to the written testimony of Ban's envoy to Nepal, Karin Landgren, which was written before the ex-Ministers' letter, signed by Ram Sharan Mahat, Nepali Congress Party, KP Sharma Oli, Communist Party of Nepal (UML), Chakra Prasad Bastola, Nepali Congress Party, and Prakash Chandra Lohani, Rastriya Janashakti Party.

Inner City Press has obtained a copy of the former ministers' letter, and places it online here. Watch this site.

Footnote: Nepali members of a UN Formed Police Unit in Haiti are accused of a role in the death in Cap Hatien of 16 year old Haitian Gerard Jean Gilles on August 17. Inner City Press on Tuesday asked the UN about it, and was directed to a MINUSTAH Mission press release confirming that an investigation has begun. But will it be followed through?

Update of 5:29 pm -- It is predicted that the technical roll over will be only for two months, with no change of mandate. "How can we change the mandate without hearing from the Maoists?" one Council diplomat asked Inner City Press. "The Russian," he continued, "said his country appreciates the diplomatic skills of Ms. Landgren -- and she should use them."

UN Silent as Nepal Shields Torturing Peacekeeper Basnet Accused of Murder

By Matthew Russell Lee
www.innercitypress.com/un1basnet011510.html

UNITED NATIONS, January 15 -- After Nepal sent Major Niranjan Basnet, charged with the torture and murder of a 15 year old girl, to the UN Peacekeeping mission in Chad, human rights groups protested. The UN send Basnet back to Nepal, but the Army has refused to turn him over to civilian authorities for trial.

Inner City Press asked the UN about this on December 24, but UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said that "a national Government is responsible for national armed forces."

On January 15, after UN envoy to Nepal Karin Landgren had briefed the UN Security Council, she emerged to a stakeout without any journalists. They and the UN had become, since the January 12 earthquake, all Haiti, all the time.

Inner City Press ran after Ms. Landgren and asked if the UN Mission in Nepal has raised to Nepal's government or army the need to hand Basnet over to civilian authorities for trial.

No, Ms. Landgren said. That is a "matter primary for DPKO and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights."

Inner City Press asked if it didn't have political ramification of the sort that UNMIN is charged to deal with.

"It's a peacekeeping and human rights issue," Ms. Landgren answered.

Later she acknowledged that there is a "link with impunity." When asked, she said that UNMIN raises impunity "in a general way" with the parties. But not about Basnet. Why not? Watch this site.

Footnote: following Ms. Landgren's generous hallway answers, Inner City Press would have asked for further UN clarification at Friday's noon briefing, but UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said that "I'm sticking on Haiti today," and has declined to response to many e-mailed questions. And so the UN Secretariat, DPA's and UNMIN's position appears to be that the the refusal by a government of a major TCC to put on trial an accused torturer and murder is... merely an internal matter.

Basnet and other war criminals must be happy with the UN's post Haiti earthquake desire and communications need to stay "on message," regardless of what happens elsewhere. Watch this site.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/un1basnet011510.html

As India Criticizes UN's Ban on Nepal, Will He Counter-Attack as on Zimbabwe?

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/un1nepal071808.html

UNITED NATIONS, July 18 -- Nepal has been one of the UN's recent success stories, if seen in context, at least for now. But even on this, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has managed to get publicly criticized. Nepal recently requested a six-month extension of the UN Mission in Nepal, UNMIN. Ban responded with a report asking for more clarification from Nepal, and stating that "should this matter remain unresolved by the time the Council considers the present report, I would recommend a one-month extension."

In the July 18 Security Council session about Nepal, the Ambassador of India Nirupam Sen said "it is difficult to accept parts of the Secretary-General's latest report... It seems inappropriate for [Ban] to advise this Council to extend the mandate for one month unless Nepal's request is 'clarified.' In other words, unless Nepal's request is in line with what UNMIN want it to say, the request is not good enough."

Minutes later at the UN's regular noon briefing, Inner City Press asked Ban's Deputy Spokesperson Marie Okabe to respond to India's critique. She noted that Ban's Special Representative Ian Martin had, in his comments that morning to the Council, recommended at six-month rather than one-month extension. But Martin's statement was made before the Indian Ambassador spoke; India went forward and criticized Ban anyway, criticized him for even asking for the clarification.

One week ago, when Zimbabwe's Ambassador said that "the Secretariat" could not be viewed as impartial, because the UN Department of Political Affairs' reports on Zimbabwe only criticized the government and never the opposition, Ban's Spokesperson responded with a statement on Saturday expressing "deep concern" at the "highly inappropriate" comments of the Zimbabwean Ambassador. This stood in contrast to this Spokesperson's declining to criticize or respond to comments by Russia's Ambassador, about law-breaking in connection with Ban's reconfiguration of the UN Mission in Kosovo. The theory was that since Russia is a Permanent Five member of the Security Council, and could veto any second term by Ban, his office did not express concern when criticized by Russia. On July 15, Inner City Press asked Deputy Spokesperson Okabe

Inner City Press: Over the weekend, your Office put out a statement calling a statement by the Zimbabwe Ambassador highly inappropriate and unacceptable, for having said that, in his opinion, DPA reports were one-sided. How are his comments different from ones like those of Russian Ambassador Churkin, who said the Secretariat was breaking the law with EULEX, and then I was told it was just his right to have that opinion? What’s the basis for calling an Ambassador’s commentary highly inappropriate?

Deputy Spokesperson Okabe: It's evident that the Secretary-General felt strongly about the Ambassador's remarks, because, as you know, the Secretary-General has been discussing the situation in Zimbabwe and how to bring a resolution to that situation with parties in the region. He's been talking with SADC, with his partners, all regional parties and this is an area where he’s been working very closely. And, as you know, he had dispatched an envoy to the region and I think that he did not find such comments helpful to the efforts that he was exerting.

Inner City Press: I think that's something people don't understand, like on Kosovo. He's making a lot of efforts, but he’s been subject to criticism. So what's the difference? Is it that Russia’s one of the P-5?

Deputy Spokesperson Okabe: I'm not going to engage in comparing the situations. That's the way he felt about this situation and I gave you the reason why.

But did Ban change his proposal from one month to six months entirely because he was satisfied with Nepal's clarification? Or because India, a country certainly larger than Zimbabwe and that wants a permanent seat on the Security Council, let it be known, even before Friday morning's meeting, of its dissatisfaction with him even asking for clarification?

Why did India go forward with its public critique even after Ian Martin announced Ban's new position? Since the critique is that by demanding the clarification, Ban made Nepal say what he wanted to hear, recommending a six month extension after receiving the requested clarification does not answer the critique. After making his statement, Ambassador Sen said he will only offer further explanation after the Security Council votes on the Nepal mission extension, currently slated for Tuesday, July 22. Ian Martin will speak at that time, as well, hopefully to offer an update on the deadly UNMIN helicopter crash among other topics.

It's worth noting that the same Department of Political Affairs which Zimbabwe's Ambassador criticized oversees Martin's UNMIN mission, and is in this cas being criticized by India.

For now, given Ban's response a week ago to Zimbabwe's criticism, will his Office respond to India's similar critique?

And see, www.innercitypress.com/un1nepal071808.html

In Nepal, Killing in Cantonment Site Called Criminal by UK, Child Soldiers "Put to the Side"

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/un7nepal052208.html

UNITED NATIONS, May 22 -- Protests have shut down Kathmandu following the killing of businessman Ram Hari Shrestha in a Maoist cantonment site in Nepal. These sites are monitored by the UN Mission in Nepal, but UNMIN chief Ian Martin on Thursday said that all the UN is monitoring is the weapons storage facilities, not those who wielded and may wield the weapons. When Inner City Press asked Security Council President John Sawers about the protests and the killing, he said it is not surprising that in Nepal there is "occasional violence, criminal violence." But abduction and killing in a military camp overseen by the UN is not the ordinary crime. Martin says the Maoist are cooperating with the investigation.

Inner City Press asked Martin about the UN's own investigation of the deadly crash of its helicopter earlier this year, and UN personnel's blocking of journalists from filming, and seizure of their film. Martin said this was only to stop the photographing of remains before they were covered, and that the work of the UN Board of Inquiry is still ongoing. He stated that an earlier emergency landing which Inner City Press asked about had been "minor," and had been reported to Nepal's Minister of Civilian Aviation. Video here, from Minute 38:10.

Asked about UN reports of continued failure to release child soldiers, Martin acknowledged that the issue had been "put on one side during the election" in Nepal. But now UNMIN is winding down. Who will follow up? Inner City Press asked Amb. Sawers about child soldiers in Nepal, but this part of the question was no answered. Video here, from Minute 3:45.

Martin said that consideration of Nepal by the UN Peacebuilding Fund will have to await the formation of the new government. Video here, from Minute 42:33. Click here for Inner City Press' coverage of Burundi, and disagreements between Burundian officials and the Un on the need for aid. If Nepal, as Ambassador Sawer said, is to be a UN success story, the funds and proper investigations better be forthcoming.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/un7nepal052208.html

In Nepal, UN "Regrets Altercation" With Media, Seizes Film of Crash Site, Won't Name Contractor

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/un5nepal030708.html

UNITED NATIONS, March 7 -- Four days after a helicopter serving the UN Mission in Nepal went down, killing all of those aboard, the UN in New York was unable or unwilling to even state what company the helicopter came from. Inner City Press has adduced that it is from the Russian firm Vertical T. A local report says that photographs of the crash site were confiscated: "asking the news crew not to shoot images of the crash site, UNMIN staff also took tapes of the crash site already shot by the media persons into their possession."

At Friday's noon briefing at UN headquarters, Inner City Press asked again for confirmation of the name of the contractor, and for a response to the reports of crack-down on journalists. While still refusing any procurement information, the UN spokesperson told Inner City Press by e-mail that "we regret that there was an altercation between members of the UNMIN team and media at the site of the helicopter crash, when members of the UNMIN team were attempting to recover the bodies of colleagues and to cover them before filming."

While the UN's use of this rationale always sounds lofty, the Federation of Nepalese Journalists and the International Press Institute's Nepal chapter both denounced the UN's "manhandling and misbehavior" and the confiscation of the tape of cameraman Bhola Thapa of Nepal TV.

A Russian-language report says the cause may have been a rocket-propelled grenade. Still the UN not said who will investigate the crash. The Nepali Minister of Civil Aviation, on whose web site it is reported that there was at least one previous UNMIN helicopter incident that went uninvestigated, generally makes public copies of its crash reports. Will that happen in this case? The secrecy to date, while par for the UN course, is inappropriate in this case.

Vertical T, sometimes spelled Vertikal T, which has amassed some 127 million in UN contracts, click here for some. Involved in this contracting has been the head of the UN's Field Procurement Section, Dmitry Dovgopoly, who is also central to the UN's award of no-bid contracts to military contractor Lockheed Martin. During the General Assembly's questioning of the $250 million non-competitive contract to Lockheed for Darfur peacekeeping camps, Inner City Press is told by sources that Procurement official Dmitry Dovgopoly had Ukraine's ambassador reach out to other countries' Permanent Representatives, urging them to cool off on inquiries into the Lockheed deal, given Dovgolopy's involvement.

Earlier this week, Inner City Press asked Dovgopoly to comment on another procurement irregularity in which he is involved, the changing of the final Request for Proposals for the follow-on Darfur infrastructure contract after a request from the French mission to the UN. Dovgopoly did not respond. And the UN spokesperson's office, even four days after the crash in Nepal, could or would not provide the name of the helicopter owner.

A Vertical T helicopter was previously shot down by the Taliban in Afghanistan, click here for that. Why would the UN have an interest in downplaying possible hostile fire at one of its helicopters in Nepal? Perhaps, one observer said, the UN can be too committed to a peace process -- or, as now explained, too committed to its version of acceptable journalism -- to the point of confiscating evidence or worse.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/un5nepal030708.html

UN's Deadly Helicopter Crash in Nepal May Have Been Presaged By Another, Local Reports Allege

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/un4nepal030408.html

UNITED NATIONS, March 4 -- In the wake of the deadly crash of a UN Mission in Nepal helicopter, at the UN's noon briefing on March 4, Inner City Press asked the spokesperson to confirm or deny reports of a previous UNMIN helicopter incident. Inserted by the UN into the subsequent transcript was that "the Spokesperson later added that there had been no previous recent incident in Nepal with an UNMIN helicopter."

But on the website of Nepal's Civil Aviation Ministry, a complaint was posted on February 11, 2008 that "recently, one of the Mi-17 helicopters operated by UNMIN was involved in an incident near Okhuldunga, as reported by some dailies. Strangely, despite the fact that the aircraft is on the Russian civil registration, Nepal (State of Occurrence) has not instituted an investigation in this incident, as required by the Annex 13."

Minister Leela Mani Paudyal responded that "I have taken inquiring on the issues including the UNMIN accident and will post response after getting clear recommendation from CAAN which I am waiting. The papers forwarded to the Ministry about that incident were just papers prepared by UNMIN that too was received when I personally asked CAAN to produce me." Did the Nepali minister mis-speak about UNMIN papers about an incident? Or are different (but undisclosed) definitions of incident at play? Watch this site.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/un4nepal030408.html