In
Burundi,
Police Use
Live Fire
While UN Has
No Comment
When ICP Asks
of Spying
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, March
27 -- After
Burundi's
Minister of
External
Relations
Alain Aime
Nyamitwe and
the country's
Permanent
Representative
to the UN
Albert Singiro
met with UN
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon on
March 22, the
Burundian
delegation
emerged onto
the UN's
second floor
with Ban's
Special
Adviser on
Conflict
Prevention,
Jamal Benomar,
video
here.
This is
an area where
diplomats are
routinely
filmed and
taped. But due
to censorship
and threats by
the UN
Department of
Public
Information
under Cristina
Gallach --
stripping
Inner City
Press'
resident
correspondent's
accreditation
on February 19
on pretextual
grounds and
threatening
total
expulsion for
any
"violation" --
Inner City
Press has
published the
video without
its sound,
adding instead
a voice-over.
Readers and
viewers can
draw their own
conclusion.
On this,
too: on March
24 Inner City
Press asked UN
Spokesperson
Farhan Haq
about moves
toward
surveillance
in Burundi and
Haq had no
comment at
all, not even
the generic
blather of
concern the UN
so often
serves up. From the UN
transcript:
Inner City
Press: on
Burundi, I
wanted to know
if you have a
comment or 'if
asked' on this
new law in the
country that
people cannot
have more than
one SIM card
for their
phone and that
the SIM card
has to be
registered to
them.
Many people
see this as an
attempt to cut
down on
civilian
peaceful
protests of
the third
term.
Deputy
Spokesman
Haq: No,
we don't have
a comment.
Correspondent:
Okay.
Also --
Deputy
Spokesman
Haq:
Hold on.
Inner
City Press had
other
questions, but
Haq cut in,
after no
commenting on
the first one
(and engaging
in long
colloquies
with other
scribes, on
topics Haq and
the UN like
better).
Meanwhile in
Burundi,
Police / UN
"Peacekeepers"
used live
fire. Composite
video here.
From
Inner City
Press'
sources:
"heavy armed
police
surrounded the
main Jail
Mpimba in
Musaga,
Bujumbura
while forcibly
trying to
search for
arms among
inmates
according to
local media.
The forced
searching
action was
followed by
inmates
protests who
claimed the
return of some
of their
inmates
friends who
were
transferred in
Rumonge
jail.
Inmates
protested
while asking
the return of
their friends,
but the police
reported that
they were
searching for
arms in order
to cover this
protest."
On March 25,
Inner City
Press' sources
reported to it
that "Around 4
am today,
heavily armed
police
surrounded the
zone of
Musaga,
searched homes
without
warrants,
arrested
around five
young men and
killed an old
man by
shooting him
purposeful on
First Avenue
Musaga. Among
the arrested
young men, two
are related as
a sister and a
brother -- the
shocking story
behind these
two is that
the old
brother Arnaud
was shot and
killed by the
police during
the
demonstration."
Meanwhile to
cut off
further
protests, the
government is
regulating SIM
cards - and,
some say, the
French firm
SG2 may be
engaged in
wire tapping
in
Burundi:
"several
technicians of
local
companies have
confided that:
'We were
obliged to
provide SG2
with some 200
free numbers
and to
authorize
their
technicians to
access our
networks. They
connected
their own
systems. We
are sure that
they have the
technology to
carry out
phone-tapping.'
Since the
introduction
of this
system,
international
calls to
Burundi have
become very
expensive, and
Burundians in
the diaspora
now choose to
use Skype or
other calling
systems
(Viber,
WhatsApp,
etc). Soon
people will do
this for local
calls as well,
to avoid being
tapped."
Inner City
Press: In
Burundi, there
was a meeting,
obviously,
this morning
between the
Foreign
Minister and
the
Secretary-General
and Mr.
[Jamal]
Benomar and
Mr.
Mulet. I
don't know if
they had yet
known, but I
wanted to know
if there was
any response,
you know, from
the UN.
A general
that's a
supporter of
Pierre
Nkurunziza has
been killed in
the… in
military
headquarters,
Darius
Ikurakure.
And people are
saying now
that much of
Bujumbura is
under
lockdown.
There's an
attempt to
result in
crackdown on
people.
Was this
discussed in
the
meeting?
When we will
get a readout
of the
meeting?
And even if it
wasn't
discussed,
what is the
UN's response
to both the
killing and
the response
by the
Government in
Bujumbura
today?
Deputy
Spokesman:
What I can say
on this is the
Secretary-General
condemns the
reported
assassination
of Lieutenant
Colonel Darius
Ikurakure.
Such acts of
violence risk
exacerbating
the current
crisis in
Burundi.
The
Secretary-General
reiterates his
appeal for
Burundians to
resolve their
differences
peacefully and
to engage
immediately in
an inclusive
and
transparent
political
dialogue.
Inner City
Press:
I'm wondering
if that was a
prepared
statement, why
was it done in
this
format?
If the
question had
never been
asked, would
the statement
be
issued?
Was it to be
issued
later?
I'm just
wondering.
Deputy
Spokesman:
You know how
"if asked"
guidance
works;
right?
All of the
things that
are "if asked"
guidance are
read once
they're asked.
Inner City
Press:
Right.
But who
decides what
goes under "if
asked" and
what gets
announced?
Like, you
didn't do
Brussels as an
"if asked".
Deputy
Spokesman:
There are
people who, in
fact, do
decide these
things, yes.
When Burundi
was belatedly
discussed at
the UN Human
Rights Council
in Geneva on
March 22, the
UN Special
Rapporteur on
extrajudicial,
summary or
arbitrary
executions
Christof Heyns
urged the
government of
Pierre
Nkurunziza
against
reprisals on
those who talk
with the UN
Panel of
Experts. But
how will that
be enforced?
Heyns
said he hopes
the African
Union
observers will
be deployed in
March. It is,
of course,
already March
22.
On March
22, Inner City
Press was
entirely
unnecessarily
restricted
from reaching
the UN
Security
Council
stakeout to
cover a
meeting on
Western
Sahara, Periscope
on YouTube
here. What
will the US
Mission do?
In
Geneva, Heyns
had to leave;
Rwanda and
South Africa
were added to
the speakers'
list, but only
for the
afternoon
session. Watch
this site.
A week ago
Inner City
Press asked UN
Spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric,
about UN (in)
action in
Burundi. UN
transcript
here:
Inner City
Press: On
Burundi, there
are these IDP
[internally
displaced
person] camps
inside the
country, one
of which is
called Mutaho,
there are
published
reports, Radio
Republique
Africaine and
elsewhere,
that people in
the camps are
being accused
of being
supporters of
the
anti-Pierre
Nkurunziza
movement.
They're being
searched for
weapons.
Some have now
fled these
camps. I
wanted to
know, does the
UN have any
role, does the
UN system, IOM
[International
Organization
for Migration]
or UNHCR have
any role?
Spokesman
Dujarric:
I will check
with UNHCR.
A week
later from
Dujarric, who
threw Inner
City Press out
of the UN
Press Briefing
Room, here has
been no
answer, as on
so many Press
questions to
Ban Ki-moon's
UN on Burundi.
So on March
21, Inner City
Press asked
Dujarric's
deputy Farhan
Haq, UN
transcript
here:
Inner City
Press: On
Burundi, I
asked Staffan
ten days ago
about the IDP
camp called
Mutaho and
people were
saying that
people who
have been
living there
since '93 have
now been
getting
harassed by
the police and
told they are
part of the
anti-third-term
movement.
I'm still
waiting for an
answer, but
now there is a
report over
the weekend
from Burundi
that there are
two others
camps that are
facing the
same
thing.
One is
[inaudible],
one is
[inaudible],
and he said he
was going to
check with
UNHCR, but
what is the
UN's role with
these camps
which now
Burundian
civil society
are saying are
essentially
being targeted
by the
Government for
usually
unjustly for
having been
part of the
opposition?
Deputy
Spokesman:
Well, we would
be concerned
at any efforts
to target
civilians who
are in camps,
so that would
be a matter of
concern
regardless of
which of the
camps that
is.
Regarding
details, you
would need to
check with UN
refugee agency
what role it
has in any of
these camps,
yes.
As Burundi's
Pierre
Nkurunziza
government
stepped up the
killing and
censorship of
opponents, its
lobbyists in
the U.S.
capital,
Scribe
Strategies,
were paid
$60,000 to
among other
things set up
interviews
with
US-government
broadcaster
Voice of
America and
the French
government's
France 24.
Nkurunziza's
party the
CNDD-FDD paid
Scribe
Strategies
$59,980 on
November 10,
2015. Scribes
has this month
disclosed, for
the six month
period ending
January 31,
2016, that in
exchange for
this money it
arranged for
example for
Nkurunziza's
adviser to be
"interviewed"
on Voice of
America and
France 24.
Scribe
Strategies
also, during
the reporting
period, was
paid to
arrange for
Sam Kutesa, a
former
President of
the General
Assembly who
was involved
with many of
the same
donors named
in the
corruption
case against
his
predecessor
John Ashe, to
be
"interviewed"
by Voice of
America about
his tenure as
PGA, during
which he was
as now foreign
minister of
Uganda.
On
February 19,
Inner City
Press was
thrown out of
the UN on two
hours notice.
Audio
and petition
here. On
February 22
Inner City
Press was told
it was Banned
from all UN
premises.
After three
days reporting
on the UN from
the park in
front of it,
and stories in
BuzzFeed
and Business
Insider,
Inner City
Press
re-entered the
UN on a more
limited
"non-resident
correspondent"
pass, under
which on March
10 UN Security
ordered it to
leave the UN
as it worked
in the UN
lobby at 8 pm.
Video
here; UN
Spokesman Stephane Dujarric's March 11
justification
here.
The
underlying UN
rule only says
that
non-resident
correspondents
can only come
into the UN up
until 7 pm.
But the UN's
goal, it
seems, is to
prevent or
hinder
coverage of UN
corruption,
which usually
doesn't take
place in the
UN Press
Briefing Room.
(January
29, 2016
and September
8, 2011 --
Frank Lorenzo,
UNdisclosed
-- are notably
exceptions.)
Lobbying the
deciding UN
official,
Under
Secretary
General for
Public
Information
Cristina
Gallach, were
the honchos of
the UN
Correspondents
Association,
including
France 24 and,
as in 2012,
Voice of
America.
Scribes
Strategies'
disclosures do
not (have to)
mention the
Nkurunziza
government's
lobbying in
and around the
UN. We'll have
more on this.
Back on
March 9 when
the Burundi
configuration
of the UN
Peacebuilding
Commission
met, the
conference
room was too
small and the
meeting was
not televised,
at least not
to the outside
world (see
below). There
was talk of
Burundi's
Pierre
Nkurunziza
have allowed
two of four
closed radio
stations to
re-open.
But Special
Adviser Jamal
Benomar said
these two
stations were
not critical
of the
government;
beyond that,
it has emerged
that the
stations'
directors had
to sign a
commitment
about their
future
coverage. Some
in the UN, it
is clear,
would like to
do just this -
in fact,
that's why
Inner City
Press could
not watch the
meeting on UN
in-house TV in
its shared
office the UN
has seized,
and so came to
the meeting.
In
Conference
Room 8, the
Permanent
Representatives
of Tanzania,
Belgium,
Burundi,
Norway, The
Netherlands,
and others,
and Deputies
from France,
Rwanda and
others. France
was given the
floor first in
the debate;
its Deputy
Alex Lamek
after a bland
speech left
the meeting,
his seat taken
by another
French mission
staffer.
Belgium called
for a
re-opening of
all media
without
restriction.
There
were other
speeches, but
Inner City
Press had to
go upstairs,
with its its
currently
reduced access
pass, and ask
the UN's
Deputy
Spokesperson
why Ban had
praised the
re-opening,
with
restrictions,
of only two of
the four radio
stations
closed. Vine
here; UN transcript
here
Deputy
Spokesman
Haq:
Ultimately,
what we want
is for the
media to be
free to do
their work
unconditionally.
On
December 16
Inner City
Press was
banned from
questions to
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon, but
learned from
the mission
MINUSCA that
Baratuza was
already in
Entebbe. Inner
City Press
asked several
Security
Council
members, then
Ban's
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric on
December17.
Dujarric told
Inner City
Press
Baratuza's
deployment is
suspended and
he is being
repatriated:
"based on the
information
we've received
regarding the
Lieutenant
Colonel, his
deployment has
been
suspended, and
he will be
repatriated
back to
Burundi." Video here. Dujarric told Inner
City Press
this shows the
UN system
working - on a
day when a
report on
rapes was
issued showing
UN
Peacekeeping
under Herve
Ladsous not
sufficiently
vetting for
human rights.
We'll have
more on this.
Amid the
escalating
killings in
Burundi,
summary
executions in
neighborhoods
opposed to
Pierre
Nkurunziza's
third term
stand out. But
Burundi Army
spokesman
Gaspard
Baratuza was
quoted on
December 12
blaming all of
the deaths on
attempts to
steal weapons
to free
prisoners.
Inner City
Press heard
that Mr.
Baratuza was
already in the
process of
being deployed
to the UN
Peacekeeping
mission in the
Central
African
Republic
(MINUSCA) even
when he was
giving these
quotes,
issuing
statements and
speaking to
state-owned
radio, and so
asked
MINUSCA's
acting
spokesperson,
“Is Gaspard
Baratuza of
Burundi's army
getting a
MINUSCA job?”
Ultimately,
after the
questioning,
he didn't.
But the UN
should have to
say more.
Inner City
Press has
repeatedly
asked the UN
how its
Department of
Peacekeeping
Operations
under Herve
Ladsous vets
those who
deploy to UN
missions;
Inner City
Press exclusively
reported
on an October
1, 2015
meeting in
which Ladsous
told Burundi's
Vice President
Joseph Butare
that he is
“pragmatic” on
human rights.
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