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At UN on Cote d'Ivoire, Buzz of Martyrdom, Arms Embargo Violations, Duekoue Fog

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, April 7 -- The talk at the UN about Cote d'Ivoire on Thursday was confused, ranging from predictions of Laurent Gbagbo's impending martyrdom to a few belated hopes, of continued support from Angola and even a Permanent Five member of the Security Council, dissatisfaction by South Africa which was said to be sending 100 special forces troops.

  At a Russian Mission to the UN space event Thursday afternoon, Inner City Press spoke with a dozen Ambassadors about Cote d'Ivoire. Some were most concerned with their own diplomats still trapped in Abidjan. Others spoke of reports of arms shipments to Gbagbo to airports outside of Abidjan.

  At the day's noon briefing, Inner City Press asked Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesman Martin Nesirky for the UN's response to the Canard Enchaine article reporting that France armed Ouattara's forces, who were allowed to sell gold and buy weapons in violation of the embargo.

  The article also describes helicopters of the UN or Force Licorne blowing up a supermarket in Cocody.

  Nesirky refused to answer about violations of the arms embargo, and of Cocody said that the UN was defending itself and taking out heavy weapons. But who gave Ouattara his brand new heavy weapons?

  Inner City Press asked top UN humanitarian Valerie Amos, fresh back from Duekoue, to respond to criticism of the UN peacekeepers for not moving to protect civilians there, and to Ouattara envoy Yousoufou Bamba's characterization of the NGO Caritas as “pro-Gbagbo” for alleging 1000 dead.

  Strikingly, Amos told Inner City Press to ask Caritas about its numbers. But what about the attack on this NGO as being biased pro-Gbagbo? Amos would only say that the UN works with Caritas - she would not criticize, apparently, anything on the Ouattara side, including broadsides against humanitarian NGOs.

  Previously, Amos had told Inner City Press she hadn't heard about the lack of medicine in Abidjan due to the EU sanctions that led to no ships in the port.

  While she spoke Thursday about the independence of humanitarian work, for the UN right now, at least in Cote d'Ivoire, it all seems to move in lockstep. The unanswered questions is not if but now badly this will impact the UN's credibility going forward. Watch this site.

  From the UN's April 7 transcript:

Inner City Press: On Côte d'Ivoire, there was obviously, there is this incident of the French freeing the Japanese ambassador; I am wondering if you have, if the UN played any role in that.  And also that the Canard Enchaîné has come out with a report saying, among other things, that the helicopter attacks — it doesn’t say whether it was UN or French — blew up a supermarket in Cocody and that, essentially implying that France has been arming the [Alassane] Ouattara forces in violation of the arms embargo for some years.  And I wanted to know what the UN’s response is to that pretty detailed article.

Spokesperson Nesirky:  On the first, the operations that have been going on to help evacuate diplomats and other civilians are obviously coordinated.  As I mentioned to you, UN Mission staff peacekeepers went to the Novotel hotel, where journalists have staying and they had requested assistance.  So, obviously it is coordinated; and either Licorne — the French forces — or UN peacekeepers are carrying out missions; it depends on the location and a number other factors.  On the reports that you referred to, I would simply say that the operation that has been carried out was specifically aimed at preventing the use of heavy weapons and that’s what took place.  So, what’s your next question?

Inner City Press: I have just one follow-up on that.  Does the UN have any knowledge of France providing weapons to the pro-Ouattara forces?

Spokesperson Nesirky:  I have said what I have to say, Matthew