On
Sudan,
UN Can't or
Won't Confirm
Bombs, Was
Silent on
Journalist's
Arrest
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
May 25 --
Between Sudan
and South
Sudan the UN
has three
peacekeeping
missions and
one additional
envoy, Haile
Menkerios, who
has been urged
to move to the
region to
better mediate
between the
two Sudans,
and to save
the UN money.
But the UN in
New York has
no
answers.
All
week Inner
City Press has
asked
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
spokespeople
about reported
bombings and
even an
overflight of
Juba, about
the
arrest of a
journalist in
South Sudan,
and the
recommendation
that
Menkerios move
to the region.
After
days of
saying "we'll
get back to
you," on
Friday the UN
did,
thusly:
Subject:
Your
questions on
Sudan
From: UN
Spokesperson -
Do Not Reply
[at]
un.org
Date: Fri, May
25, 2012
To:
Matthew.Lee@innercitypress.com
1)
Regarding
your question
about the
reported
aerial bombing
of
Bahr-e-Ghazal,
UNMISS is in
the process of
verifying the
reported
bombings.
2)
Regarding
your question
about the
ACABQ’s
recommendations
concerning
Haile
Menkerios, the
fifth
committee
& budget
discussions
are still
ongoing. At
this stage we
cannot comment
on
ongoing
discussions
between the
General
Assembly and
the
Secretariat
- especially
as decisions
have not yet
been made.
3)
As
for whether
UNMISS is
commenting on
the arrest of
a journalist a
few days ago,
UNMISS is
aware of the
arrest and has
alerted the
authorities.
The mission is
closely
monitoring
this case to
ensure
that freedom
of expression
and human
rights
principles are
respected.
On
the first, it
is
amazing that a
UN mission as
expensive as
UNMISS cannot
confirm or
deny such
bombing, even
four days
later. Inner
City Press'
question
about a white
Antonov
reportedly
flying over
Juba is not
included in,
or answered
by, the
response.
UNMISS silence
is pervasive:
despite
assurances
from its chief
Hilde Johnson,
it has still
not released
its estimate
of the number
of people
killed in
Pibor at the
cusp of the
year. Inner
City Press
asked again,
and DPKO
spokesman
Kieran Dwyer
replied
"On
South Sudan
and the report
on Pibor, the
mission will
release the
comprehensive
report on this
matter when
the full
process is
completed. We
will not be
releasing
information in
a piecemeal
manner before
then."
The
deaths were
months ago.
On the
recommendation
by the UN's
own Advisory
Committee on
Administrative
and Budgetary
Questions that
Menkerios move
to the region,
one would
expect Ban's
Secretariat to
have something
to say on why
he has not.
(A
separate
answer
confirming
Inner City
Press' exclusive
story that
Darfur envoy
Ibrahim
Gambari spent
over $600,000
on a house in
El Fasher for
himself and
four guards
said that the
information
was given to
ACABQ
in April -
but it not in
ACABQ's April
report,
inquiries are
being
made.)
On
the case of
journalist
Ayak Dhieu
Apar of Radio
Rumbek FM 98,
arrested on
May 14,
UNMISS and
envoy Hilde
Johnson said
nothing
publicly in
defense of
the
journalist.
Meanwhile
at UN
headquarters four
days after
Reuters stole
an exclusive
report by
Inner City
Press that US
official
Jeffrey
Feltman would
replace Lynn
Pascoe as the
head of the UN
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
Department of
Political
Affairs,
Inner City
Press asked
Ban's
spokesman
Martin Nesirky
about its due
process rights
in the face of
a spurious
complaint by
Reuters' UN
reporter Louis
Charbonneau. See
Charbonneau's
complaint to
the UN's Media
Accreditation
& Liaison
Unit, here.
Nesirky replied
that this
should be
"dealt with
off camera."
Inner City
Press followed
up asking if
journalists at
the UN have
the right to
see such
complaints or
files
maintained
about them by
Ban's Media
Accreditation
Unit.
Nesirky
responded that
there are
"rules and
procedures,"
but wouldn't
say what these
rules are. For
the record,
Nesirky
proudly lists
that he used
to work for
Reuters. He
said he was
"fully aware"
of the
situation and
that "we'll
deal
with it
separately."
Who's the
"we"?
Watch this
site.
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