As IMF
Stops $240M
DRC Loan for
Opacity, UN
Stonewalls,
Waits
for Drones
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
January 31 --
The UN has
been in the
Democratic
Republic of
Congo for well
over a decade,
back to Dag
Hammarskjold,
in fact. And
what has come
of it?
On
Thursday Inner
City Press
posed Congo
questions to
the UN in New
York, after
the
International
Monetary Fund
in Washington.
During
the IMF's
embargoed
morning
briefing,
Inner City
Press asked
about
the IMF's
freezing of
$240 million
in loans to
the lack of
transparency
in the mining
industry,
which involves
ENRC, Glencore
and, of
course,
Freeport-McMoRan.
An
IMF
spokesperson
responded,
before 11 am,
"Hi Matthew,
On your
DRC question,
the ECF
arrangement
expired on
December 10,
2012... it
was not
extended as
requested by
the
authorities
because
published
information
related to the
transfer of
mineral assets
by a
state-owned
enterprise,
which was
considered
necessary to
complete
the review,
was deemed
insufficient
by the IMF."
Then
at the UN's
noon briefing,
Inner City
Press asked
about the UN's
and
now the DRC's
delayed
investigation
into 126 rapes
in Minova by
the
Congolese Army
in November.
UN deputy
spokesperson
Eduardo Del
Buey
would not
explain by UN
Peacekeeping
chief Ladsous'
statement that
the probe
would be
finished in
January is not
being abided
with. Video
here, from
Minute 6:54.
But from what
spokesman Del
Buey said,
it's again
clear the UN
is relying on
and supporting
Congo's
government, no
matter what.
Inner City
Press asked
about two
new leaked
e-mails from
inside
MONUSCO, about
its patrols on
the Rwanda
border.
Del
Buey said the
UN would not
comment on
documents
"that may or
may
not have been
leaked" to
Inner City
Press --
despite the UN's
MONUSCO
mission just
the day
previous
saying that
the Press
should
check with the
UN about
such
documents.
Video
here at
Minute 13:34.
Transparency,
anyone?
Would
the IMF lend
to its UN
family
(dysfunctional)
sibling UN
Secretariat
and Department
of
Peacekeeping
Operations?
Nor,
five hours
after the
briefing, has
Del Buey
explained why
Ladsous'
supposedly
urgent drone
request will
not be opened
until the
second
part of March.
Inner
City Press put
the same drone
question, and
one about the
failure in
Addis Ababa of
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's DRC
framework, to
outgoing
Security
Council
president
Masood Khan
on Thursday
afternoon.
Video
here, from
Minute 7:27.
He called the
differences in
Addis
"procedural,"
and deferred
on the drone
question. But
at least he
answered, all
month, unlike
Ladsous.
For the six
minute beta #LADSOUS2013 video, click here.
Watch this
site.
, 
