On
Burundi, ICP
Asks UN of
Attacks on
Press, Overlap
Between
Crackdown
&
Peacekeeping
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, May
27 -- Two
weeks after
the UN
Security
Council, the United States
and the UN
Peacebuilding
Configuration
on Burundi on
May 15 issued
statements
urging calm in
the country
given the
return of
Pierre
Nkurunziza to
presumably run
for a third
term, on May
27 the UN
Security
Council got a
closed-door
briefing from
envoy Said
Djinnit.
An
hour before
they did,
Inner City
Press asked UN
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric,
transcript
here, video here:
Inner
City Press: On
Burundi, I'd
wanted to ask
you
this.
The… in
today's debate
in the
Council, a
number of the
Council
members
brought up the
crackdown on
media in
Burundi
alongside the,
obviously,
attacks on
opposition and
protesters,
including the
closing of
three radio
stations, the
seeming
shooting of a
radio station
reporter along
with the
opposition
leader that
was
killed.
I wanted to
know, is the
UN doing…
given all
that's being
said in the
Security
Council
chamber today,
is the UN and
its existing
missions in
Burundi doing
anything to
actually try
to protect
journalists in
Burundi?
Spokesman:
Obviously, the
question of
protection of
journalists is
one that's
high on the
agenda and
you… as
explained by
the Deputy
Secretary-General
himself this
morning.
It is critical
for Burundi to
move
forward.
A critical
part of
Burundi moving
forward in a
peaceful way
and political
dialogue is a
free press and
that a free
press be
allowed to
operate.
So, it's
clearly part
of the overall
discussions
that are going
on.
Inner City
Press: But in
the
Secretary-General's
statement on
the attack on
the opposition
leader, was he
or DPA
[Department of
Political
Affairs] or
whoever wrote
it unaware
there was a
journalist
also gravely
wounded at the
same time?
Spokesman:
We may not
have been
aware of the
full details,
but obviously,
attacks on
journalists
are condemned.
Inner City
Press: And
just one other
question on
Burundi.
There's a lot
of discussion
there, there's
a picture, in
fact, of a
police
individual
shooting a
submachine gun
and also a
picture of him
in a
peacekeeper
uniform.
So, I wanted
to know, is
there… is DPKO
[Department of
Peacekeeping
Operations]
doing anything
to see whether
people
previously
deployed or
prospectively
deployed…
there's
another
individual
named Donat
[a/k/a
Rukonangwe] as
possibly
deploying… are
involved in a
picture of
shooting in a
crowd?
Spokesman:
I think… I
haven't
personally
seen that
picture.
If it turns
out to be
true, as we've
seen in other
cases, you
know, troop
contributors
are not
permitted to
use UN
insignia,
symbols,
emblems on
uniforms or
planes outside
of UN
peacekeeping
operation, so,
obviously, if
this turned
out to be
true, it
would… it
would be in
violation of
those
understandings.
Obviously, the
vetting
process of
peacekeepers
from all
countries goes
through… is
cooperation
between DPKO
and the Office
of the High
Commissioner
for Human
Rights
(OHCHR).
I think
there's a
special focus
if troops
would be
coming in
recently from
Burundi; at
this point,
Burundian
soldiers are
continuing to
serve in UN
peacekeeping
troops, and
obviously, we…
the UN has no
operational or
any control
over the
troops that
have returned
to the
country.
Note: the
first asked
about is
Alfred
Innocent
Museremu...
On the way
into the UNSC
for the 1:15
pm meeting, a
Permanent
member's
deputy
ambassador
told Inner
City Press
there would
probably be no
outcome from
the meeting.
And so it was
-- after an
hour and a
half, when the
Ambassador of
the Council's
"penholder" on
Burundi
Francois
Delattre
emerged, he
declined to
speak on the
UNTV camera.
He did however
to his credit
answer
questions on
the stairs
leaving the
stakeout.
Inner City
Press asked
him about the
timing of the
presidential
election; he
said the
conditions are
not met.
But why not
put that in a
Security
Council
statement? To
make it a
Council
position?
Inner City
Press asked
Delattre about
attacks on
journalists,
the Security
Council's
topic before
and after the
Burundi
consultation.
He genially
said it might
be a good idea
for the
Council to
speak on that.
We'll see -- cell phone video here, in the
spirit of
Freedom of the
Press, by the
Free
UN Coalition
for Access,
along with
this rough
transcript:
Inner
City Press:
What about the
timing of the
presidential
election?
A: There’s a
wide unity
around the
table,
conditions are
not met. A
wide unity,
everybody says
that
conditions for
election are
not met.
That’s what we
should work
on. Raising
these
conditions.
Inner City
Press: what
about attacks
on
journalists?
A:
That’s a
really good
point, because
you have these
consultations
on Burundi,
and you have
this debate on
protection of
journalists.
That’s
something that
I stressed to
my colleagues.
Protection of
journalists is
everywhere and
also in
Burundi.
Inner City
Press: Will
there be a
statement on
it?
A: You
had a
statement
already on
Sunday, you
cannot have a
statement
every day.
These are real
concerns.
, 
