In
S.
Sudan, Russian
Pilots Refused
to Fly After
US Blocked
Press
Statement
By
Matthew
Russell Lee,
Exclusive
UNITED
NATIONS,
January 12 --
When a group
of 6000
fighters
marched on
Pibor
in South Sudan
earlier this
month, the UN
Mission UNMISS
was unable to
quickly
respond
because
Russian
helicopter
pilots based
in Juba has
been refusing
to fly for
more than a
month, as
Inner City
Press on
January
11 exclusively
reported.
On
January 12,
Inner City
Press asked
the UN to
provide the
its
explanation of
why it
neglected to
replace the
Russian
helicopters
during that
time, leading
up to the
slowly-responded
to bloodbath
in
Pibor. By
deadline seven
hours later,
no such
explanation
has been
provided.
Russia
stopped
flying after
its pilots
were shot at,
brought down
and detained,
for
example in
Louro and
Chukudum in
Eastern
Equatoria
State. In
November
in the
Security
Council,
Russia's
request for a
Council
Statement on
the issue was
blocked,
sources told
Inner City
Press, by
the United
States.
Requests to
the US Mission
at midday and
then more
formally at
deadline for
comment were
not responded
to.
In
the
consultations
in the last
week leading
to a Pibor
press
statement by
the Council,
US Ambassador
Susan Rice is
said to have
opined that
the Russians,
even if not
under UN
contract,
could and
should have
flown to
Pibor.
But, other
Council
members beyond
Russia point
out, it was
the US which
blocked
a simple
statement
defending the
Russian pilots
back in
November, as
reported at
that time by
Inner City
Press
In
the post-Pibor
press
statement that
the US did
agree to, the
issue appears
in
disguised or
compromised
form: "The
members of the
Security
Council
expressed
concern with
UNMISS'
shortfall of
operational
air
transport
assets, which
seriously
impacts its
ability to
carry out
its mandate,
and urged the
Secretary-General
to continue
efforts to
address this
problem."
Claims
are made
by one that
one source
about the
Secretary
General's
efforts, and
those of his
head of the
Department of
Field Support
Susana
Malcorra.
Regardless
of these
efforts -- and
Inner City
Press is eager
to be told
about them --
the
fact remains
that the UN
knew that it
was leaving
much of South
Sudan
unprotected
from mid
November, and
at latest from
December 1
when
Malcorra was
at a meeting
in Juba with
Hilde Johnson
at which the
refusal of the
Russians to
fly was
discussed.
In Juba
on Dec 1
knowing no
Russian
copters:
Malcorra,
Johnson
No
one is saying
that these UN
officials wanted
the bloodshed
to occur, much
less
profited from
it. But when
$1 billion a
year are spent
to protect
civilians, and
an
Organization
knowingly
proceeds
without
helicopters
willing to fly
for more than
a month, the
resulting
inability to
protect
civilians can
be blamed on
negligence, on
the current
public
record. And
what happens
next? Watch
this site.
From
the UN's
January
12, 2012
transcript:
Inner
City
Press: I
wanted to ask
you about
South Sudan; I
learned
yesterday that
in this
incident of
Pibor County,
that one of
the
explanations
given and
discussed
behind closed
doors in the
Security
Council is
that Russian
helicopters
stationed in
Juba declined
to fly
to Pibor. And
they say, the
Russians say,
that it is
because they
don’t have a
letter of
assist in
place and that
UNMISS and DFS
were
well aware of
this. I guess
what I wanted
to ask is
this: is it
the
case that the
letter of
assist, the
contract
between Russia
and these
helicopters
expired on 1
December; that
a draft wasn’t
provided to
them until 15
December and
has not yet to
be signed, and
that DFS
knew that
these ‘copters
were not going
to be
available,
and,
therefore,
there were no
helicopters
available and,
therefore, the
UN
arrived on a
delayed basis
in Pibor?
Spokesperson:
Well, first of
all, we don’t
comment on
negotiations
taking place
between the
Secretariat
and Member
States and the
use of their
military
assets. But
just to
correct you on
one key point,
factual
point: even
while letters
of assist —
that’s the
term —
letters of
assist are
being
negotiated,
helicopters do
fly. Okay,
other
questions?
Inner
City
Press: I have
some follow-up
because it is
a pretty
serious
matter, and
there are…
Spokesperson:
I agree, it is
a very serious
matter.
Inner
City
Press: Yeah,
sure, so I
wanted to get
to be on just
the letters
of assist; I
wanted to say
what the
Russians say
and I want to
get
your response
to it, because
otherwise I
just have what
they say. They
say when they
agreed to
provide the
helicopters
they’ve never,
we’re going to
have machine
guns on them,
and,
therefore,
that it
is not just a
matter of a
letter of
assist not
being signed,
that
there is a
substantive
change in what
they were
being asked to
do and
they made it
clear to DFS
that until
this was
approved in
Moscow,
they would not
fly. And
therefore,
according to
them, DFS knew
for
since 1
December or at
least the 15th
until this
incident took
place
in January
that they had
no helicopters
and that’s
what, I just,
I
don’t want to
put too fine a
point on it,
but
helicopters
may fly
in other
instances
after a
signature, but
in this case
they were told
it is too big
a change, we
won’t fly. And
I wanted to
know, what
did DFS do
when they knew
that they had
no
helicopters?
Spokesperson:
Well, Matthew,
couple of
things: one is
that, while
negotiations
are going on,
as I have just
said, we don’t
comment on
negotiations
between Member
States and the
Secretariat. I
would simply
say that
there is more
to this, and I
think that you
will be able
to learn
more about
that. I don’t
have more
details at the
moment.
Seven
hours
later and
counting,
nothing had
been provided.
Watch this
site.
, 
