On
Burundi, After
April 3 Cable
on Youth-Wing
Armed, Ladsous
Stonewalled
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, April
9, updated
twice, more here
-- From
Burundi on
April 3, UN
envoy Parfait
Onanga-Anyanga
sent three UN
officials a confidential
cable on
"alleged
distribution
of weapons to
the
Imbonerakura,"
the
CNDD-youth
wing.
Inner
City Press has
reliably
confirmed the
receipt of the
cable and
put it
online here,
while awaiting
from the UN's
top two
spokespeople
Stephane
Dujarric and
Farhan Haq an
answer to
these
questions:
"this
is a request
that your
Office confirm
to Inner City
Press as
quickly
as possible
the receipt by
USG Ladsous of
an April 3
cable from
Parfait
Onanga-Anyanga
at BNUB in
Burundi
concerning the
alleged
distribution
of weapons to
the
Imbonerakure.
Given the
stakes, as
well as the
echo of
Rwanda, please
respond as
quickly as
possible,
and also state
what if
anything USG
Ladsous has
done about
it."
The
question were
put formally
because
Ladsous, who
received the
cable as
the chief of
UN
Peacekeeping,
refused to
answer Inner
City Press'
question about
the Hutu
militia FDLR
on April 7, video here, and a separate
question about
allegations of
gang rape by
his
peacekeepers
on April
9, video
forthcoming.
In
the interim
another
recipient,
Jeffrey
Feltman of the
UN Department
of Political
Affairs,
briefed the UN
Security
Council behind
closed
doors on April
8. When
Council
president for
April Joy Ogwu
of
Nigeria came
out to take
questions
afterward,
only two media
were
there,
including
Inner City
Press.
Mary
Robinson, the
third of the
recipients,
wrote a piece
for CNN online
on April 8 --
not about
Burundi and
the cable
she'd received
as the
UN's
Dublin-based
Great Lakes
envoy, but on
Irish
President
Michael
D. Higgins'
dinner with
Queen
Elizabeth.
So
how seriously
does the UN
take such
allegations,
even as its
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon in
Kigali on
April 7
offered
apologies
for the UN not
having done
more in 1994?
We'll see.
Watch this
site.
Update:
Later
on April 9, UK
Mission to the
UN
spokesperson
Iona Thomas
told
Inner City
Press, "I can
confirm that
Feltman raised
this issue
in the Council
discussion on
Burundi
yesterday and
members of the
Council
expressed
their concern
at the
reports." But
only behind
closed doors?
With no UN
Security
Council
action? We'll
have more on
this.
Update
II: at 6 pm UN
spokesperson
replied, but
did not answer
whether
addressee
Herve Ladsous
got the cable,
nor what if
anything he
did
about it:
Subject:
Re:
Press Qs: Pls
confirm
Burundi April
3 cable (on
alleged arming
of
Imbonerakure)
to USG Ladsous
received, what
done?
From: Stephane
Dujarric [at]
un.org
Date: Wed, Apr
9, 2014 at
6:03 PM
To:
Matthew
Russell Lee
[at]
InnerCityPress.com
Cc: FUNCA [at]
funca.info
Matthew,
the
UN is closely
monitoring the
situation in
Burundi. As
you know,
and would have
seen, the
Secretary-General
raised this
issue just a
few days in
ago when he
met with the
Vice President
of Burundi in
Kigali. The
readout is
here.
best
Stephane
Dujarric
(Mr.)
Spokesman for
the
Secretary-General
United
Nations
Headquarters |
Room: S-233
New York, NY,
10017
But what about
answering if
USG Ladsous
got it, and
what if
anything he
did? Watch
this site.
, 
