UN
Stonewalls on
Recruiting Mai
Mai, After
Flew Harun,
Silva as
Adviser
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
August 23 --
That the
government of
the Democratic
Republic
of the Congo
might want to
recruit and
further arm
Mai Mai
militia in
North Kivu in
an attempt to
get the upper
hand over the
so-called M23
mutineers is
one thing.
But
reports, not
denied, of the
involvement of
the UN Mission
in the
Congo in both
providing
MONUSCO
helicopter
flights to
such
recruitment
meetings, and
taking part in
them, again
highlight how
the UN has
lost its way
in the Congo.
After
nearly being
thrown out of
the country by
President
Joseph Kabila,
the price for
staying in has
been to
slavishly
support the
government
and its often
undisciplined
army, the
FARDC.
The UN had
carried
ammunition to
FARDC for
action of
dubious
efficacy or
human rights
compliance.
But
at least on
paper the
FARDC is a
governmental
entity of the
type the
UN works with.
How could the
UN get
involved in
recruiting one
militia to
fight another?
At
Thursday's
noon briefing
Inner City
Press asked
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
spokesman
Martin Nesirky
precisely this
question.
Video
here, from
Minute 3:15.
Nesirky
in
replying did
not cite any
UN rule about
working or not
working
with armed
militia; he
said "I think
I would need
to refer you
to DPKO... you
might want to
check with
them."
As
previously
noted, DPKO
chief Herve
Ladsous has
said openly,
twice on
camera, that
he
will not
answer any
Inner City
Press
questions.
Video
here,
at Minute
28:10. And
Ladsous
spokesman
Kieran Dwyer
reiterated
this in
writing,
and on camera.
Video
here,
Minute 6:50.
But
this is a
question that
should be
answer: how
can the UN be
playing a
role in
recruit a
militia that
the UN itself
has been
highly
critical
of?
In
Sudan, the UN provided
free
helicopter
flights to
Ahmed Harun,
indicted by
the
International
Criminal Court
for war
crimes, click
here for
one of Inner
City Press'
exposes on
this.
This
year, Ban
Ki-moon and
Ladsous
accepted as a
Senior Adviser
on
Peacekeeping
Operations the
Sri Lankan
general
Shavendra
Silva,
whose
battalion is
depicted in
Ban's own
Panel of
Experts report
as engaged
in war crimes.
Ladsous
specifically
refused to
answer a
question about
Silva - this
was the first
time Ladsous
said, "I will
not answer
questions"
from Inner
City Press. Video
here,
at Minute
28:10
But
in the Congo,
the UN is
going "hands
on,"
reportedly
flying
to set up and
participate in
meetings to
recruit what
are, in
essence, war
criminals. How
much lower can
DPKO go, under
Ladsous?
How much more
unaccountable
can this UN
become? Watch
this site.
, 
