In
DRC, Will UNSC
Visit
Opposition
Like
Tshisekedi or
Bunagana, or
"Pull a
Ripert"?
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
October 4 --
As the UN
Security
Council moves
from its
European
meeting to
Joseph Kabila,
his foreign
minister
Raymond
Tshibanda and
others in
Kinshasa, the
question
arises: will
they meet
with
opposition
figures like Etienne
Tshisekedi of
the UDPS?
As
Inner City
Press filmed
and covered
at the UN,
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon met
with
Tshisekedi
when it served
him (meaning
Ban).
Last Saturday,
Ban
met with
Saudi-sponsored
Syria rebel
boss
Ahmad al
Jarba, who
has never won
a vote inside
Syria. On the
democratic
legitimacy
scale, the countries
which met with
Jarba a
week ago
have no basis
to avoid Tshisekedi.
But
the point of
this trip, to
accompany and
cover which
France was
allowed to
pick and ban
particular
media, seems
different. Is
it
really a fact
finding trip?
Would the
Council visit
-- would
Kabila
permit them to
visit -- M23
territory in
Bunagana and
elsewhere?
Inner
City Press has
asked and is
informed that
"the program
is still
in flux." But
when and where
will the
Council's
program be
made
public?
On
a previous
Security
Council trip
to Eastern
Congo, which
Inner City
Press
accompanied
after France's
attempt to
block was
opposed by
then-UNSC
member South
Africa, the
Council
visited an IDP
camp
outside Goma.
Inner
City Press
took and sent
out photos of
then French
Ambassador
Jean-Maurice
Ripert
preening in
front of
France 24
while a
restive
crowd of camp
residents
complained.
Finally the
Congolese
security
forces beat up
an elderly
lady; no one
did anything.
And this time?
Watch this
site.
Ban
Ki-moon's
Spokesperson
Martin Nesirky
on camera
admitted that
the
decision on
which media
would be
allowed to go
on and cover
the
UNSC's Africa
trip was made
"in
consultation"
with the lead
mission for
the trip:
France. Inner
City Press
YouTube
channel
video
here: http://youtu.be/N_nn8lToeUU
This
was sent to
Inner City
Press:
From:
Jerome
Bernard [at]
un.org
Date: Fri, Sep
20, 2013 at
6:46
PM
Subject: Re:
Security
Council trip
to Africa
To: Matthew
Russell Lee
[at]
InnerCityPress
[dot] com
Cc: Free UN
Coalition
for Access
@FUNCA_info
Hi
Matthew,
I
am sorry but
because of the
very limited
number of
seats in the
UN
plane it won't
be possible
for you to
travel with
the Security
Council for
this trip to
the Great
Lakes Region
of Africa.
I
am sure there
will be other
opportunities
for travel in
the future.
Best
regards,
Jerome
Bernard
Office of the
Spokesperson
for the
Secretary-General
Inner
City Press was
told that
Bernard would
be providing
information
from
the trip.
We're still
waiting. Watch
this site.
, 
