In
Congo, As UN Works with Rapists, Doss Brings Cook as Engineer,
Sources Say
By
Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, October 12, with interim
update -- The UN's envoy to the Congo Alan Doss, during
his last visit to the Security Council, bragged that
he had given
Congolese president Joseph Kabila the names of five military leaders
accused of sexual abuse, and that action was being taken.
On
October
12, when Inner City Press asked U.S.
Senator Barbara Boxer about the
case, she said that only three of the officials have been relieved of
their duties, and two remain in commanding position in the Congolese
army. Video here,
from Minute 10:13.
Inner
City Press
then asked the spokesperson for Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, with
whom Senator Boxer had just met about the topic, if Ban or the UN
could confirm that two of the named abusers are still commanding
FARDC units, and if so why the UN works with them. The spokesperson
said, you have to ask... anyway it's something that concerns the Army
itself, MONUC did not keep those guys on board." Video here,
from Minute 17:55.
But
Alan Doss had
told the Security Council that action was being taken on the five.
Three out of five is quite different. Inner City Press was first to
publish the five names, here they are again:
The
list of five
includes: Brig.-Gen. Jerome
Kakwavu Bukande,
accused of the rape of a 14-year old girl in Ituri, but in March 2008
stationed in Kinshasa. Major Pitchner,
accused of rape (no other details.).
Lt-Col. Bebimobuli Engandela, a dissident Mai-Mai officer accused of
several rapes between 2004 and 2006 and, in March 2008, being held in
detention for insurrection.
Colonel
Mosala,
accused of rape of a 14-year old girl with
violence in May 2005. Colonel Safari (sic)
accused of the rape of a
28-year old woman in May 2006 and persuading three other soldiers to
rape her too.
There
are other
questions left answered by Doss and the Department of Peacekeeping
Operations. Doss declined to comment on the scandal surrounding his
written -- and leaked and published by Inner City Press -- request
that the UN Development Program show him "leeway" and hire
his daughter, an irregularities which led to a rare man bites man
incident in UNDP.
Supposedly
Ban
Ki-moon was expecting a report on l'affaire Doss / nepotism when he
returned from summer vacation, but still hasn't gotten it.
Well
placed
whistleblowers have approached Inner City Press with complaints
against Doss they say are widely known in the Congo. The first
involved his use of MONUC
airplanes to fly his wife around, despite
the fact that Congo is a non family post.
More
recently,
Inner City Press has been informed that when he left the UN in
Liberia to transfer to the Congo, Doss arranged that his cook in
Liberia be given a job in Congo as MONUC engineer. Inner City Press
more than two week ago asked the Department of Peacekeeping
Operations to confirm or deny this, in an email sent to the highest
levels of DPKO. To the same parties, a DPKO spokesperson has
repeatedly asked for more time to answer -- a process that has gone
on for more than two weeks.
UN's Doss and Hillary Clinton, still serving
generals, chef and nepotism not shown
Now,
as Doss comes
to New York to once again brief the Council, we run this report,
adding that sources say the cook / engineer is known as Papa Jacques.
Source after source, in MONUC and DPKO, has said that Doss has abused
his position, not only in pushing for rule breaking to hire his
daughter, but in use of MONUC (and UNMIL) resources. What will
happen? Watch this site.
Interim update
of October 12, 4:20 p.m. -- while even after publication of the
article above, Alan Doss' MONUC still had not provided a response to
the simple question about Doss bringing staff from Liberia, we do
wish to reiterate that on other matter, DPKO provides responses,
sometimes even two:
There
was some sort of occurrence involving a convoy of trucks carrying
ammunition and military equipment – all contingent-owned equipment
for MONUC’s Bangladesh Infantry Battalion - on early Sunday, 13
September, near Kenya's border with Uganda.
However,
MONUC has confirmed that no weapons are missing as a result of the
incident and that Kenyan authorities launched an investigation and
MONUC and the Department of Field Support are assisting them with
this matter. We will keep you posted on any further developments.
Then
"MONUC
reiterates that a full inspection was carried out and no weapons
were missing as a result of the incident. Kenyan authorities have
completed their investigation into the matter with the assistance of
MONUC and DFS. MONUC is following up and actively looking into how
security can be enhanced".
Watch
this site.
* * *
UN
Silent on Morocco's Detentions, Guinea Guards, As Polisario Defector
Deflects Resource Question
By
Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, October 12 -- As the issue of Western Sahara is once again
debated in the basement of the UN in New York, in Morocco
the
government detained seven officials of the Polisario Front upon their
return from Algeria. Polisario's leader Mohammed Abdelaziz called on
the United Nations to intervene on what he called an abduction.
But
when, two days
later, Inner City Press asked UN Spokesperson Michele Montas for the
reaction of Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, or by implication his
envoy Christopher Ross, or even if Mr. Ban is aware of the
detentions, Ms. Montas said "I am not aware of it." Video
here,
from Minute 23:18.
The
discussion of
Western Sahara at the UN gets more and more surreal. On October 8,
correspondents were invited to what was advertised only as a briefing
on the topic. Once there, a representative of Morocco's Mission to
the UN translated, Arabic to English, the statement of one Ahamadou
Souilem of the Oulad Dlim tribe, who said that "being convinced
that the Polisario cause is worthless and its ideology founded on
baseless myth," he "decided to head back to his motherland,
the Kingdom of Morocco, in July 29th, 2009."
Afterwards,
Inner
City Press asked Ahamadou Souilem who has the right to trade away the
fishing rights and other natural resources of Western Sahara.
Ahamadou Souilem's long answer, in Spanish, essentially said to look
to the future, not to the past, that restrictions on the natural
resources of colonies refers to Spanish occupation and not the
present arrangement.
UN's Ban and Morocco's Ambassador, detentions
and resource sale curbs not shown
During
the UN
General Debate, the representative of the military regime in Guinea
spoke in favor of Morocco and its autonomy -- but not independence --
plan. A Polisario representative told Inner City Press that Morocco
provides training and assistance to the personal guards of Guinea's
military leader.
Inner
City Press
asked Morocco's Ambassador to the UN about this on October 8. He
looked taken aback, and said that all matters are "in the Fourth
Committee," and that it is important to be diplomatic. This was
two days before the arrests in Casablanca, and now the UN's silence.
Watch this site.
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