UN
Afghan
Envoy Defends
Data, Says
Pushes for
Maxwell
Despite
Ban Apology
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
September 29
-- When the
UN's envoy
to Afghanistan
Staffan
de Mistura
took questions
on Thursday,
Inner City
Press asked
him
about the UN's
versus NATO's,
that is
ISAF's,
violence
figures.
De
Mistura
replied
that NATO's
numbers are
based on a
"purely
military point
of
view." He
said, "if you
are asking me
if there has
been an
increase or
decrease of
civilian
casualties, "
there's been
"a
substantial
and
unfortunate
increase...
the Afghan
people will
tell
you."
After
urging the
press to "ask
the Taliban"
if they are
willing to
seriously
negotiate, de
Mistura
prepared to
leave. Inner
City Press
asked him
for an update
on the case of
Louis Maxwell,
the UN
Security
official
by most
accounts
killed by
Afghan
National
forces,
without
accountability.
Video here,
from Minute
5:07.
Thank
you for
asked me that,
de Mistura
came back to
the microphone
and said. He
pointed out
that it is not
just Maxwell
anymore, "it's
also our
Mazar-i-Sharif
colleagues."
He claimed the
UN is
following up,
pushing for
"final
clarity." He said the same
thing in
July, and
did not seem
to have any
new
information.
De Mistura
takes Maxwell
question, Ban
apology to
Turks not
shown
He
said "Maxwell
died for the
UN, we should
not let it
down, we will
pursue it, we
do
have an idea
is what
direction that
happened."
We'll see.
Some
in the UN have
noted Ban
Ki-moon's
failure to
defend the UN
Security
officers
injured in a
run in with
the guards of
Turkish Prime
Minister
Erdogan on
September 23,
when Ban
quickly
apologized to
Erdogan.
Afghanistan is
less powerful
than Turkey,
but still
there
has been no
accountability.
Watch this
site.
, 
