UN
Whitewashes Its Failure in DR
Congo As Civilians Killed and
Raped by Peacekeepers
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Photos,
Periscope
UN GATE, Jan 21 –
Amid righteous fury at the
UN's under-performance under
Antonio Guterres in protecting
civilians in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo, while
his peacekeepers commit rapes
which Guterres covers
up, now on January 21 a
white-wash report by the UN:
"On 9 December
2019, the
Under-Secretary-General for
Peace Operations asked
Lieutenant General Carlos
Alberto Dos Santos Cruz to
lead an independent assessment
of MONUSCO’s response to the
high number of attacks against
civilians allegedly committed
by the Allied Democratic
Forces (ADF) in Beni
territory, North Kivu
Province, and attacks against
the Ebola response in Mambasa
territory in Ituri Province,
in the Democratic Republic of
the Congo (DRC)... The
independent assessment found
that in the months of November
and December alone, over 260
civilians, mainly women and
children, were killed, by
presumed ADF combatants in
brutal attacks, mostly at
night. The high number of
civilian casualties was one of
the main triggers of violent
demonstrations against MONUSCO
in North Kivu, including the
destruction and looting of a
MONUSCO Office in Beni on 25
November. The attacks against
civilians occurred against the
backdrop of a major offensive
that the Congolese Army
launched against the ADF on 30
October 2019. Since
2014, the ADF have
systematically retaliated
against civilians to thwart
the Congolese army’s
operations against
them.
The independent assessment
concluded that protecting
civilians in Beni territory
requires a comprehensive
response, involving all
components of MONUSCO and the
UN Country Team, as well as
external partners. The
team recommended that MONUSCO,
UNHQ and troop-contributing
countries coordinate their
actions to improve the
mindset, capabilities and
mobility of the MONUSCO Force
Intervention Brigade to better
address the unconventional
threat posed by the ADF. The
Department of Peace Operations
is developing an Action Plan
to implement the key
recommendations of the
assessment. "
Which is
to say, no one is being held
accountable. And Guterres and
his spokesman Stephane
Dujarric won't answer Press
questions about their failure,
and Melissa Fleming bans Inner
City Press from entering to
ask. These people are
criminals.
With the UN
Security Council presidency
for November being taken over
by the UK Mission and its
Karen Pierce, she bragged in
his 1 November 2019 press
conference that the UK would
have a lot of meetings about
Africa. Video from presser here.
But none,
it quickly became clear, about
Cameroon, despite Paul Biya's
killings there. This remained
the case on November 13, even
as UN Spokesman Stephane
Dujarric left unanswered this
written questions from Inner
City Press: "November 13-1: On
Cameroon, what are the
comments and actions if any of
SG Guterres on Paul Biya
saying, in Paris for the
"Paris Peace Conference," that
he "tried" to assimilate
residents of SW and NW but
failed (and will presumbly
accelerate his murders in
these regions)? November
13-2: Again, while in Paris,
did Guterres meet Biya? Beyond
Macron, with whom did Guterres
meet? Where are the read outs?
Did Guterres discuss Cameroon,
or Guinea, with Macron? Why no
UN read out even on Cyprus
meeting?"
With no
answers, Guterres is corrupt.
But what about the UK? Deputy
Ambassador Jonathan Allen did
a palsey stakeout about the DR
Congo, on which Guterres also
refuses questions - but it it
is not even on UNTV archive.
It's as if it never happened.
So too Karen Pierce's dodging
apparently off camera evasion
on North Korea later on
November 13.
On
Cameroon as it turns out, just
as Liam Fox bragged about New
Age oil's deal with Biya, now
London-based Tower Resources
is bragging about its "in"
with Biya's ministry: "Tower
Resources said it had hired
Geoquip Marine Operations to
conduct a site survey of a
planned well location at its
Thali block in Cameroon.
The contract provided for
investigator to arrive in
Cameroon between 15 November
and 30 December, subject to
all relevant permits and the
requisite license extension
being received from the
Ministry of Mines, Industry
and Technological
Development... 'We are
looking forward to getting the
site survey underway, which
should be the final
operational step before
commencing drilling operations
at Njonji,' chief executive
Jeremy Asher said. 'We
are still awaiting the formal
extension from the ministry,
but we are confident that this
will be in place in good time
for the survey.'"
The
UK has denied Inner City
Press' FOIA request on its
role in Cameroon, and its
Mission and Pierce did nothing
when UNSG Antonio Guterres had
Inner City Press roughed up
and banned now 485 days amid
its questions about Guterres'
Budget Committee deal with
Biya's Tommo Monthe,
procedural favors for silence.
By Africa
Pierce apparently meant only
those countries where
neo-colonial UK still wants to
have a role, if only by
getting its national appointed
to UN roles, like Somalia and
Libya.
While
there were mostly softball
questions about rugby and,
from Chinese state media, on
the UK's supposed love of
mediation and/or
reconciliation, Pierce
pointedly and repeatedly
demanded to know who one
questioning journalist was,
and his media.
Apparently
Inner City Press which would
have her, as it did Jonathan
Allen, about Cameroon was not
enough - she wanted only
friendly questions. She said
UK diplomacy is alive and
well. That's not the story
that FOIA, and the Mission's
continued support of Guterres'
ban on Inner City Press,
tells.
The UK has
have a debate on Africa on
November 4, and reconciliation
on the 19th. There's Libya on
the 18th, and Somalia no less
than twice (but no Somaliland,
Pierce made clear). November
22 is Yemen, on which Pierce
took a question from a Saudi
media she often pals around
with, Jamal Khashoggi
notwithstanding.
Cyprus, of
course, on November 25 - and
Big Tony's Big Lunch on
November 20. Inner City Press
will cover as many of these as
it can, including from the
Delegates Entrance Gate where
the UK Mission watched and did
nothing, or worse, as
censorship of Press took place
right in front of them. Watch
this site.
***
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