By
Matthew
Russell Lee,
Follow up on
Exclusive
UNITED
NATIONS,
June 27 --
Rwanda has
complained to
the UN
Security Council
that UN
Peacekeeping
chief Herve
Ladsous
requested and
carried out a
travel ban waiver
for FDLR
leader Gaston
Iyamuremye /
Rumuli Michel.
Inner City
Press has
obtained the
complaint
letter, on
which it first
reported
yesterday, and
puts
it online here.
The letter
recounts
irregularities
in Ladsous'
last-minute
request,
including that
his MONUSCO
mission under
Martin Kobler
effectuated an
airlift to
Goma and then
to Kinshasa on
a MONUSCO
aircraft even
as the request
was denied by
the 1533
sanctions
committee. The
accusation is
of a "hidden
agenda of
sanitizing the
FDLR
genocidaires."
Despite
a request to
UN spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric
yesterday for
the UN's
explanation,
no response
has been
received.
When Herve
Ladsous was
appointed head
of UN
Peacekeeping
by France and
UN
Peacekeeping,
Inner City
Press asked
him to address
his past as
French Deputy
Permanent
Representative
at the UN
during the
Rwanda
genocide,
arguing for
the escape
into Eastern
Congo of the genocidaires
who would
become the
FDLR.
Ladsous
refused
to answer, and
then adopted
the policy
of trying to
block Inner
City Press
questions,
going so far
as to have his
spokesman
grab
the UN
Television
microphone to
prevent a
question.
Video here,
compilation
here.
Now --
not
surprisingly
-- a scandal
has arisen,
with Rwandan
officials
exclusively
complaining to
Inner City
Press, citing
letters, about
Ladsous
granting a
travel ban
waiver for
FDLR leader
Iyamuremye /
Rumuli to fly
from the DR
Congo to Rome
-- to meet
with UN envoy
Mary Robinson.
Of course,
Robinson could
have met the
FDLR leader
without him
breaking the
travel ban.
But in a UN
trend, Robinson
has been
allowed to remained
based in
Ireland, just
as Romano
Prodi was
allowed to
remain based
in Italy and
to (over)
charge the UN
for his travel
inside Italy.
Earlier
this
year, Ladsous
refused to
answer Inner
City Press'
simple
question on
when UN
Peacekeeping
under his
watch might
belatedly go
after or
“neutralize”
the FDLR, video here.
Ladsous
(and see Inner
City Press
video below,
Creative
Commons)
Under
Ladsous, UN
Peacekeeping
is involved in
other
scandals, for
example not
enforcing Ban
Ki-moon's
stated “Human
Rights Due
Diligence
Policy” with
respect to the
41st and
391st
Battalions of
the Congolese
Army after
only two
convictions
for 130 rapes
in Minova in
November 2012.
The UNAMID
mission in
Darfur, Sudan,
not reporting
the killing of
civilians has
also occurred
on Ladsous'
watch, but he
refuses to
answer
questions.
We
will have yet
more on this.
On
June 26 Inner
City Press,
copying the
Free UN
Coalition for
Access, has
asked UN
Spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric:
, 
