France
Says Its
Troops in CAR
Have No
Economic
Aspect, Power
Agrees
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
December 5 --
After the UN
Security
Council
adopted the
French-drafted
resolution on
Central
African
Republic 15-0
on
Thursday
morning,
France's
Permanent
Representative
Gerard Araud
came
out and said
the Council
was finally
shouldering
its
responsibility.
In
this, he
ignored that
while other
Council
members said
they'd
expected a
resolution in
August, they
were told that
since France
"has
the pen" on
its former
colony the CAR
and was
largely
on vacation in
August, there
would be no
resolution.
(Araud has
denied this,
but the
sources said
what they
said.)
That
was then, and
this is now,
with France
deploying into
Bangui. Inner
City Press
asked Araud
why this, and
France's
intervention
in Mali,
are somehow
not examples
of the
colonial
FrancAfrique.
Araud
responded that
France has no
economic
interest in
CAR -- as with
Mali, France's
and its
Areva's
interest in
low-tax
uranium from
Niger
was ignored --
and that he is
proud of his
country. He
went on,
"answering a
question you
didn't ask,"
to say that
Mali was
about
organized
terrorists
while CAR is
about thugs
who might just
melt away,
afraid of the
French
deployment.
There
were of course
other
questions:
what of
reports that
Cameroon's
Paul
Biya told
France he does
not want Chad
in the MISCA
force? Why is
France, in the
midst of all
this,
replacing its
ambassador to
Bangui
Serge Mocetti?
But
these
questions
weren't
possible. Even
with the UN
microphone in
front of Inner
City Press and
the question
started, the
French
mission
spokesman
insisted it be
moved to the
far end of the
stakeout
to Reuters, "Monsieur
Charbonneau"
as Araud put
it. (It was
Araud to his
credit and not
the spokesman
who
subsequently
relented
and took Inner
City Press'
question on
protection of
civilians
outside of
Bangui, and
about
FrancAfrique.)
Moments
later
when US
Ambassador
Samantha Power
came out, she
used her
opening
statement to
agree with
Araud on Inner
City Press'
FrancAfrique
question,
saying that
for France
this is only
about
protecting
civilians. But
Inner City
Press was not
called on to
ask
Power any
follow up --
that was again
the Western
go-to Reuters,
and
Al Jazeera
English, not
viewable in
the UN or,
other than
AJAM, in
the US.
Power
insisted it is
not a matter
of the color
of the helmet,
that is, not
a matter of
whether it is
a UN or an
African Union
mission. But a
question left
unanswered
because not
allowed to be
asked: what
does
Power think
the US role
should be in
these
operations, in
light of
her book "A
Problem from
Hell"?
What
has the US
military
presence in
the region,
helping
unsuccessfully
chase down
Joseph Kony of
the Lord's
Resistance
Army, been
doing
during this
carnage in the
CAR? Watch
this site.
Footnote:
it is not
anti-humanitarian
to ask
economic questions.
Yesterday
Inner City
Press reported
on the
competition
for logistic
contracts in
Mali between
the American
firm Pacific
Architects
&
Engineers and
French
companies
Thales, Sodexho,
Geos and
others.
Will Herve
Ladsous,
the fourth
French head of
UN
Peacekeeping
in a row,
play a role in
the decision?
France's
economic
interests are
acknowledged
even by French
diplomats, in
the Financial
Times. But
Human Rights
Watch's UN
lobbyist, formerly
of Le Monde
and France 24,
has churned
out "analysis"
with no
mention of
this interest.
Thursday
morning he was
at the UNSC
stakeout, from
which recently
another
former UN
correspondent
now with an NGO
was ordered to
leave.
This is how
the UN works -
or doesn't.
The Free UN
Coalition for
Access is
asking at
least for some
content-neutral
rules, that apply
to all. Watch
this site.
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