Inner City Press -- Investigative Reporting From the Inner City to Wall Street to the United Nations

At UN, S. Sudan Wants Deadline for Abyei Withdrawal, Copters, Ladsous Won't Speak*

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, October 6, updated below* -- Six day after Sudan violated its agreement for troops to leave the contested Abyei area, South Sudan's Acting Permanent Representative David Buom Choat told the Press that the Council should set a hard deadline, "immediately," for the Sudanese Armed Forces to leave. He said SAF's continued presence was hindering the return of civilians who fled the violence earlier this year.

Inner City Press asked Ambassador Choat why the UNISFA peacekeepers from Ethiopia had yet to reach even 50% of their deployment. Choat replied that they should be using helicopters rather than relying on roads washed out by rain.

Asked if there is not a shortage of helicopters, Choat said there are regular flights from Kadugli in Southern Kordofan to Abyei. (Earlier this year, the UN twice flew Ahmed Haroun, indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court, from Kadugli to Abyei in UN helicopters.)

Inner City Press asked Choat about the incident in which four Ethiopian peacekeepers bled out while waiting for a medevac helicopter. Choat said that to be flown either to Kadugli or Wau in South Sudan, permission from Khartoum was needed and was delayed. (He said the Ethiopians wanted to go to the clinic in the Kadugli.)

Choat emphasized, including in handwriting on his business card, that he is the "ACTING" Permanent Representative. He said the South Sudan Mission to the UN will open around November 1, with eight or so diplomats. Inner City Press asked him to confirm what it reported the day South Sudan's flag was raised, that its mission will be in Uganda House. He smiled and said yes. Watch this site.

Ladsous and Ban Ki-moon: why not deploy UNISFA by copter?

Footnote: While UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations chief Herve Ladsous, named as the fourth Frenchman in a row to the post on September 2, walked in and briefed the Council Thursday morning and was asked to talk to the press, the answer was no. It's only his fourth day, since a month passed between being named and beginning work, during this Abyei and other crises. DPKO says Ladsous will speak next week -- but why not today on Abyei, given the issues raised?

Update of 8:30 pm -- eight hours after this story was published, Ladsous' spokesman wrote to Inner City Press and stated that Ladsous had, in fact, spoken with select press when he emerged from the Security Council. Not only has no transcript been provided: DPKO said as the meeting began that Ladsous would not speak that day, only at a press conference next week.
 
  So the article was published at noon, as above. Why say Ladsous is not going to speak, then complain when that's reported?  Maybe we'll find out next week. Duly noted. In fact, we publish this:

From: Kieran Dwyer @un.org>
Date: Thu, Oct 6, 2011 at 7:54 PM
Subject: Correction to your Abyei story - At UN, S. Sudan Wants Deadline for Abyei Withdrawal, Copters, Ladsous Won't Speak
To: Matthew Lee [at] innercitypress.com

Dear Matthew, I seek a correction from Inner City Press in the article below, specifically the headline ("Ladsous Won't Speak") and the Footnote in which ICP states that the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping, Mr Herve Ladsous, refused to speak with the press today in connection with the Security Council meeting on Abyei. Mr Ladsous did in fact speak to press who were gathered outside the Security Council at the close of the session today. He answered questions put to him on the situation in Abyei. I was with him. I noted that Inner City Press was not present in the press area at this time.

Regards, Kieran d.

  We have asked who was there, and why - after DPKO said Ladsous wouldn't speak. The headline was accurate and remains, though in this update it's "DPKO Says Ladsous Won't Speak."

  We also note that DPKO refused to say when Ladsous stopped working for the French foreign ministry, why he delayed a month after being named to show up for work -- and other questions that will continue to be pursued next week.  Watch this site.