On
Afghan Death of Louis Maxwell As UN Edits Board's Report, 11 Questions
Pending
By
Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, April 19, updated --
As the scandal grows about not only the
presumptive
execution of UN staffer Louis Maxwell by Afghan National
forces in October 2009, but also the UN's cover-up, Inner City
Press
on April 19 delved into the particulars of the UN's supposed "high
level Board of Inquiry" into the death of Mr. Maxwell, a U.S.
citizen.
After
having
dodged Inner City Press' questions at the UN noon briefings of April
14 and April 15 by handing out answers to another media, on April 19
the UN took a series of questions and answered some of them by 6 pm.
Inner City Press submitted follow up questions which, because of the
history here, are set forth below. First, from the April
19
transcript:
Inner
City Press: On Afghanistan, in continuing questioning on this death
of Louis Maxwell and the other UN staff -- the guest house, you said
last week that there was a high-level Board of Inquiry. I wanted to
know what, and I had asked, somehow I didn’t… by high level,
what’s meant? Are there any outsiders, an independent body? I’ve
heard that it’s actually just DFS [Department of Field Support]
employees, all of whom report to Susana Malcorra. Can you, if that’s
not true, I would like to know. But, what does high-level mean, and
will its report be made public or what will happen with its report?
Under what mandate was it set up? I searched through various GA
[General Assembly] and other documents, and there seems to be three
kinds of boards of inquiry, none of which this one falls under. So I
just, I guess I wanted to know…
Spokesperson
Nesirky: What are the three?
Inner
City Press: I have them written down here. Do you…
Spokesperson:
We don’t have to go into it right now, but there are three
different types…
Inner
City Press: I’ll send these to you, but it wasn’t, you said, I
think last week, you’d said that you know these are set up. So, I
have to admit, maybe to my detriment, I don’t know actually know
how they’re set up. But on this one, I would like to know whether
it’s all DFS employees and whether it will be made public when it
concludes its investigation.
Spokesperson:
Three things: one is that the Board of Inquiry’s draft report has
been completed, the draft. But that does not mean that it is
finalized to go the Secretary-General. That’s the second point. The
step after it is finalized would be for it to go the
Secretary-General. Whether it’s subsequently made public is
something that I can’t answer here and now. I would need to find
out. I don’t know the answer to that right now. Clearly, there is
a lot of public interest in this, and I’m sure that that would be
taken into account. And as for the make-up of the board, who is on
the board, I can’t give you names and numbers. What I can tell you
is that, my understanding is that it is not exclusively in-house.
This
is what I can tell you now -- to my understanding, as far as I know,
this is not exclusively a board with in-house members. But the most
important thing here is that regardless of the Constitution, the way
that it is set up, it has the very clear aim of trying to understand
precisely what happened. These are very tragic circumstances, and
this was aimed to do an extremely thorough job to find out exactly
what happened.
Inner
City Press: When this first came up last week, it was said that there
is a Board of Inquiry and that it will be done in due course. When
was this draft completed, and what are the steps between where it
stands now -- the draft? Was it completed over the weekend, or had
it already been completed before these questions arose last week, and
what steps between now and the Secretary-General getting it?
Spokesperson:
When a draft report is completed, then it is clear that it is
reviewed. And, then, before it is submitted to the
Secretary-General, it is reviewed. That’s a normal, if you like,
checks-and-balance kind of procedure that you would have with any
report. Other people look at it and then it is finalized to go to
the Secretary-General.
Inner
City Press: [inaudible] because, like when you say reviewed, I had
asked, by who, just because last week we had the experience of the
[Heraldo] Muñoz Bhutto panel; they did their report; they didn’t
show it to anyone until they gave it to the Secretary-General. So,
it was an outside report…
Spokesperson:
That’s right.
Inner
City Press: In this case, is it Susana Malcorra reviewing it? Is it
UNAMA [United Nations Assistance Mission for Afghanistan]? Is it the
Afghan national forces? Who reviews it?
Spokesperson:
I cannot give details to you on that right now. I am sure I will be
able to. I need to establish exactly what hoops I jump through.
The UN
later added
to its transcript this "note" --
[The
Spokesperson later added that it is standard procedure to convene a
board of inquiry in cases such as this. This particular board was
convened under the authority of the Under-Secretary-General of the
Department of Field Support and was comprised of external and
internal senior personnel with relevant backgrounds and Afghanistan
expertise (security; investigations; agencies, funds and programmes).
It was led by a former senior Australian Federal Police Officer.
The
procedure for the conclusion of the board of inquiry is as follows: the
board finishes and submits the draft report for legal comment. The
report is then given back to the board for further action (as
required) and/or sign-off. Once the report is signed off on by board
members it is considered finalized and it is presented to the
convening authority, in this case the Under-Secretary-General for
Field Support, for further action as warranted. The actual boards of
inquiry are not made public in order to protect the confidentiality
of the investigation.]
Receiving
this,
Inner City Press submitted follow up questions, which are printing
here because last week, when Inner City Press asked questions on the
record in the noon briefing, Nesirky's Office and his Associate
Farhan Haq chose to give the answers to another media.
UN's Ban, Malcorra and Nambiar, Louis Maxwell file
not shown
Here are the
new questions, we'll see to whom if anyone the UN Office gives
answers:
Hello.
Regarding the UN's answers, below, please answer these follow up
questions, providing answers as they become available--
1.
What is your reference when you say "standard procedure"? Can you
please provide the citation for DFS BOIs which examine the
death of a UN Security Officer?
2.
In the event that the BOI finds the Host Government (Afghanistan) or
an agent thereof responsible for the death of Mr Maxwell, will your
office make this fact known to the UN Press Corps? Or would the UN
consider this "confidential" as well?
3.
Prior to Ms Malcorra "convening" the BOI, was the
Secretary-General aware of her intention to do so, and did he approve
the composition and mandate of this particular BOI?
4.
Did this BOI include any staff member or nominee from any department
other then DPKO and/or DFS?
5.
You say below that the report has been "returned to BOI
members." When will the report been/be provided to the
Secretary-General?
6.
Has or will the report been/be provided to the Host Government
(Afghanistan)?
7.
Has or will the report been/be provided to the US FBI?
8.
News reports indicate that the video was provided to Stern "by
the United Nations." Can you confirm or deny this assertion.
9.
Did the BOI consider the wider issue of whether or not the initial
attack was actually perpetrated by the Taliban, as originally
reported by the UN, as opposed to having been perpetrated by another
entity?
10.
Has or will the report been/be provided to the family of Mr Maxwell.
11.
Did the Government of Afghanistan cooperate fully with the BOI?
While
as of press
time no answers were provided by the UN, Ms. Malcorra herself may
have an excuse, auto responding that
"I
will be out of the office starting 17/04/2010 and will not return
until 27/04/2010."
Note
that the head
of DPKO Alain Leroy is, one
assumes, still on the ten day leave the UN said began on April 9. Others say they saw Leroy squiring Kofi
Annan around on April 19. Welcome back, Kofi? Watch this site.
* * *
By
Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive
UNITED
NATIONS, April 15 -- The UN covered up
information that Afghan
national forces
killed
its staff member Louis Maxwell, and then
when
asked by Inner City Press, belatedly disclosed an FBI investigation
and said that "the
preliminary conclusions of the mission's investigation raised the
disturbing possibility that a specific UN staff member may have died
due to “friendly fire”, caused directly by responding Afghan
security personnel" -- to another
media, not the one which
asked.
Management
of information is one thing, but cover up and lies
are another.
On
April 14, based on a tip from a UN source in Afghanistan,
Inner City Press asked about the death of UN staff member Louis
Maxwell, a U.S. citizen, outside the UN's Kabul guesthouse on October
28, 2009. Given time to response, the UN send Inner City Press an
email that the case was
subject to a Board of Inquiry and FBI
investigation, and that therefore there would be no more comment.
On
April 15, Inner City Press asked again, including when the
Board of Inquiry began, and why the UN had not retracted Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon 2009 statements that the Taliban were responsible
for Louis Maxwell's murder. UN Spokesman Martin Nesirky told Inner
City Press to "be careful" what words it used, and later
said only that the Board of Inquiry began in January.
Nesirky's
Associate Farhan Haq, however, issued a quote to
another media -- which had not asked any questions at the UN's noon
briefing -- that
"The preliminary
conclusions of
the mission's investigation raised the disturbing possibility that a
specific UN staff member may have died due to 'friendly fire,' caused
directly by responding Afghan security personnel. Once the BOI is
finalized, we will share our findings with the Government of
Afghanistan and if warranted we will ask for a thorough investigation
surrounding the death of this UN employee and the circumstances of
the deaths of the other UN employees."
One
questions why
the UN didn't disclose this "disturbing possibility" when
it became aware of it, and then refused to disclosed it to accredited
media which asked about it in open UN noon briefing sessions. This UN
goes lower and lower every day.
UN Photo of coffins of UN staff killed in Kabul,
disclosure not shown
Meanwhile,
Inner
City Press asked the US Mission to the UN
This
is a request for comment on newly emerged information about the death
in Afghanistan on October 28, 2009 of U.S. citizen Louis Maxwell.
At
the time, Ambassador Rice said
I
condemn in the strongest terms the brutal and cowardly attack in
Kabul today on United Nations workers and members of the Afghan
National Security Forces. An American citizen was among those who
lost their lives. My heartfelt condolences and sympathies go out to
the families and friends of all of the victims.
The
United Nations has been doing vital work for the Afghan people for
more than fifty years. The United States strongly supports the
leadership and staff of the United Nations Assistance Mission in
Afghanistan as they work bravely each day under incredibly difficult
circumstances, and we are grateful to the Afghan National Security
Forces for their commitment and sacrifice.
The
international community stands together in its commitment to defeat
those extremists seeking to halt democratic progress in Afghanistan.
The United States stands firmly with the people of Afghanistan as
they prepare for the November 7 presidential runoff elections.
http://usun.state.gov/briefing/statements/2009/131010.htm
Yesterday,
after I asked a question at the noon briefing, the UN Spokesperson's
office sent me this
From:
UN Spokesperson - Do Not Reply
Date:
Wed, Apr 14, 2010 at 1:00 PM
Subject:
Your questions on Louis Maxwell
To:
Inner City Press
(further
response on Louis Maxwell)
The
United Nations has followed due process in investigating the death of
staff in Afghanistan last October by instituting a Board of Inquiry
after an initial fact-finding by staff in Kabul and New York. The
United Nations has been in contact with the responsible Afghan
authorities in the course of its inquiries. The Board will submit its
report in due course. Further actions by the United Nations will
depend on its findings. The specific circumstances in which Louis
Maxwell died are currently being investigated and it would be
premature to comment further at this stage.
The
United Nations is also cooperating with the Federal Bureau of
Investigation in its inquiries into the incident. The United Nations
has briefed the Maxwell family on the progress of its initial
inquiries and is determined to support the family.
Questions:
when did the US State Dept and, separately, Amb. Rice become aware of
a credible alternative factual explanation of the attack and death,
and of the US FBI's involvement in investigating this alternative
explanation?
Why
was Amb Rice's statement not amended at that time?
Is
the statement going to be amended or supplemented now?
While
the US
Mission to the UN declined to respond in writing, as part of a
telephone conversation the Spokesman of the US Mission, Mark
Kornblau, provide this on the record response:
"As
the UN Spokesman noted yesterday, there are ongoing investigations by
the UN and FBI. It would be premature for us to comment at this
time."
Some
note that
given the political situation between the Obama Administration and
Hamid Karzai, the disclosure of a the murder of a U.S. citizen by
Afghan national forces under Karzai's command would be inconvenient,
to say the least. Asked about this concern, the US Mission to the UN
had no on the record comment. Watch this site.
Footnote:
the UN and US State Department might want to start changing their
close to the chest communications strategy on this -- Inner City
Press' Kabul sources say that ABC News has a crew on the ground now
investigating Louis Maxwell's murder.
From
the April
15 UN transcript:
Inner
City Press: After yesterday’s noon briefing, your office issued a
statement about the situation in Afghanistan -- the deaths of the UN
staff, including Louis Maxwell -- saying, among other things, that
“the United Nations is cooperating with the Federal Bureau of
Investigations (FBI) in its inquiries into this incident”. Because
at times there have been some issues around UN cooperation with
United States law enforcement, including in this building -- whether
they have jurisdiction to come into the building, whether evidence is
shared -- can you say when this cooperation began, of what it
consisted, and ultimately isn’t it the UN’s responsibility? Who
is leading the charge to find out who, in fact, killed these four UN
staff members?
Spokesperson
Nesirky: There is a Board of Inquiry, as I think you know. The
United Nations instituted this Board of Inquiry after initial
fact-finding by staff in Kabul and New York. The United Nations has
been in contact with the responsible Afghan authorities in the course
of its inquiries. The Board will submit its report in due course. Any
further actions by the United Nations will depend on the
findings, and it would be premature at this point to comment further.
Inner
City Press: Like you had said, “as you were aware”, but I was
not aware until yesterday afternoon that there was a Board of
Inquiry.
Spokesperson:
That is why you were aware, because you were told yesterday
afternoon.
Inner
City Press: Sure. Mr. Ban said clearly at the stakeout that this
was an attack by the Taliban that had done it. Once the UN became
enough aware that they created this Board of Inquiry, was there any
thought given to saying “things are not as we first presented
them”? And secondarily, on these boards of inquiry, how many of
them are there? Are there just UN staff on it? Is it an outside
Board of Inquiry? How many, I mean…
Spokesperson:
There is a standard way to institute a board of inquiry, and I am
sure that you are familiar with that. You have been here far longer
than I have. The UN takes extremely seriously any incident which
results in the loss of life in whatever circumstances of a UN staff
member, and will investigate it thoroughly. And clearly the UN, as I
mentioned, has been cooperating with the Federal Bureau of
Investigation in its inquiries into the incident. As we have also
mentioned -- and I think you need to take that into account, too --
the United Nations has been briefing the family of Mr. Maxwell on its
initial inquiries and will continue to support the family.
Inner
City Press: Thanks for saying that, but this Board of Inquiry, you
are saying, whenever staff are killed, the UN moves to this. Was
this Board of Inquiry set up at the time that these five staff
members were murdered? Or was it created at some later date, and
what triggered its creation?
Spokesperson:
Matthew, I should be very careful in the words that you are using.
There is a Board of Inquiry and there is an investigation going on
that involves the FBI. And the Afghan authorities are also
investigating this, and it is part of -- as I mentioned earlier in a
different context -- due process when you are investigating. Be very
careful what words you are using.
Inner
City Press: Is there any question… it is a question of who did the
murder?
Spokesperson:
There is an investigation going on.
Inner
City Press: Right. Is it a new investigation? This took place in
October and we are now in April. Has it been going on since October? I
will just leave it at that. When was the date that this Board of
Inquiry was instituted, since it is such a well known procedure how
these things are done? When was it done? When was this created?
Spokesperson:
I will let you know.
[The
Spokesperson later added that, in January, the United Nations
established a high-level Board of Inquiry to establish the facts and
look for lessons learned.]
"Lessons learned," indeed. Watch this site.
* * *
, 
