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At UN, Dutch Pol Verhagen Explains Aid Cut to
Rwanda but not to Congo, Trusts Kabila or Structure
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of
Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED NATIONS,
December 18 -- Following the
Netherlands' cut-off of aid to Rwanda in response to a UN report
of Rwanda's
government supporting the rebels of Tutsi general Laurent Nkunda in
the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Inner City Press on Thursday asked
the Dutch
Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxime Verhagen if his country was cutting
aid to
the DRC as well. The UN report also says that the Congolese Army
supports the
FDLR Hutu rebels.
Verhagen
told Inner City Press, "I don't think we give much support to Congo,"
and looked at the aides surrounding him in the hallway outside the UN
Security
Council. "We didn't suspend all development aid for Rwanda," he
continued, only that for budget support. "In Congo we don't do that.
With
other assistance aid we can see where the money is spent."
Under the
direct budget support model, developing countries are given cash to put
into
their budget and use as they see fit. Verhagen and his government
appear to be implying
that the Rwandan government of Paul Kagame would use such aid to
support
Nkunda, whereas they can better monitor aid to the Congolese government
of
Joseph Kabila.
Inner City
Press asked, if the Netherlands was giving budget support to the Congo,
would
this be cut off in light of the UN report? Verhagen said, "That's a
hypothetical question," and laughed.
And then he was gone.
Verhagen: reaching out to take back
budget support to Rwanda, DRC grab not shown
Verhagen
had appeared, along with France's Rama Yade, to discuss their statement
at the
UN calling for the decriminalization of homosexuality.
Inner City Press asked Rama Yade to comment
on a text read out by Syria, opposing that of France, and to the legal
challenge to France's violation of human rights announced this week by
Sikhs
who say that they requiring them to remove their turbans, their
religious
rights are being infringed. Rama Yade did not answer the latter. Video here,
from Minute 8:58. Minutes later, Verhagen also dodged a question, but
with a laugh, calling it hypothetical.
Click here from Inner City Press'
December 12 debate on UN double standards
Click here for Inner
City Press' November 25 debate on Somalia, politics
Click here for Inner City
Press Nov. 7 debate on the war in Congo
Watch this site, and this Oct. 2 debate, on
UN, bailout, MDGs
and this October 17 debate, on
Security Council and Obama and the UN.
* * *
These
reports are
usually also available through Google
News and on Lexis-Nexis.
Click
here
for a Reuters
AlertNet piece by this correspondent
about Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army. Click
here
for an earlier Reuters AlertNet piece about the Somali
National
Reconciliation Congress, and the UN's $200,000 contribution from an
undefined trust fund. Video
Analysis here
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