Inner City Press -- Investigative Reporting From the Inner City to Wall Street to the United Nations

At UN, It's "All Hail" to US in Haiti, While Elsewhere France and Brazil Are Critical

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, January 18 -- As the UN Security Council emptied out Monday at noon, sources told Inner City Press that in closed consultations, the U.S. said that to strengthen the mandate of the UN Mission in Haiti, MINUSTAH, would "send the wrong message... that the Haitian government is weak."

  Deputy Ambassador Alejandro Wolff, who represented the U.S. in the meeting and spoke afterwards to the Press, said that the U.S. is supporting UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's request for a vote authorizing 2000 more troops and 1500 more police for MINUSTAH.

  Inner City Press asked Ambassador Wolff if it is true that the U.S. thinking strengthening the mandate would send some wrong message. Wolff replied that the UN, including chief Peacekeeper Alain Leroy, has not identified any deficiency in the mandate.

  As Brazil's Ambassador left the Council, Inner City Press asked her about public quotes from Brazil that MINUSTAH's mandate should, in fact, be bolstered. She, however, called the mandate "sufficient."

  When asked about any difficulties Brazilian NGOs have had getting into Haiti through the airport, now run by the U.S., she said there have been "no such problems."

  French Ambassador Gerard Araud, too, was over the top in his praise of the U.S., telling the Press that "we are living in the US after all." Inner City Press asked if, as reported, France supported Medecins Sans Frontieres complaints about having planes blocked by the Americans from the Port au Prince airport.

French Ambassador Araud, ministers' critiques of U.S. not shown

  Araud quickly answered (video here) that the Americans are doing a good job, that the airport is small by international standards, and that "we are living in the US after all."

  In fact, French Cooperation Minister Alain Joyandet made a complaint about the blocking of MSF's plane. And Araud's boss Bernard Kouchner has said the airport has become an "annex or Washington," according to France's Ambassador to Haiti Didier Le Bret.

   So what is France's position -- these two statements, or Araud's?

From the French Mission's transcription, of question dubious, of answer less so:

Inner City Press: Médecins sans frontières complained that its planes couldn’t get in to the airport and blamed the Americans. Does France confirm that?

Amb. Araud: Of course, no. I think we are extremely grateful and personally I said it in the Council, extremely grateful for what the US government is doing, and especially managing the airport. You know, frustrations are understandable. You have a small airport, in international terms, which was devastated by the earthquake and you have hundred of planes which want to land. So it’s totally normal that there are delays, but I think that the situation has dramatically improved. Yesterday, you know, it was possible to have sixty planes landing and today it will be one hundred planes landing. But the most important will be to work on the port. We have to rehabilitate the port where we can bring most of the aid.

Once again, we are living in the US after all, and we want to express our gratitude for the mobilization of the US administration and the US people.

  From the US Mission's transcript:

Inner City Press: Someone said on this idea of strengthening the mandate that the U.S. had a concern that this would send a message somehow that the Government of Haiti was too weak. I just want to know whether you think there is a danger in that type of message being sent. And also whether the U.S. will be participating in the UN's Flash Appeal that was announced on Friday, whether the $100 million announced by President Obama in any way is related to that or should be counted towards that.

Ambassador Wolff: I'll get back to you on the later question, I want to make sure I have the right information for you, exactly how that $100 million fits into that, into the Flash Appeal.  As to the mandate issue, there is no indication, indeed neither the Secretary-General nor Undersecretary-General Le Roy mentioned any deficiency in the current mandate. And so, if the UN is satisfied and the troop contributors are satisfied and the force commander is satisfied then we should focus on what we need to do under the current mandate. Of course, as you indicate, we will need to look and evaluate over the longer term, as we assess the long term impact of this tragedy on the country and on the UN's ability to function, and whether the requirements for the UN have to be adapted in any way.  That is something that we do with any mandate and we will obviously do it with particular attention in this case.

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Footnote: Since the Security Council has other matters on its agenda, Inner City Press tried to ask this month's Council president, Chinese Ambassador Zhang Yesui, if and when he expects the Council to address Afghanistan. But having been asked if the Chinese search and rescue team stopped after finding the Chinese delegation who'd met with Hedi Annabi, Zhang Yesui just walked away. Who will replace him as China's Ambassador is not yet known.

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