On
Burundi, As Mkapa Invitees
Picked By Nkurunziza, UN
Calls Press Obsessive
A*hole
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Exclusive Series
UNITED NATIONS,
February 14 -- When
self-styled Burundi
facilitator William Mkapa drew
up a list
of participants, he allowed
Pierre Nkunrunziza to in
essence choose his
interlocutors, making their
participation contingent on
Nkurunziza granting them
provisional immunity.
Inner City
Press asked the UN's deputy
spokesman Farhan Haq on
February 13 how the UN can
support this. With the answer
UNclear, and just before Haq called Inner City Press an obsessive
a*hole, Inner City Press asked
him, from the UN
transcript:
Inner City
Press: The other thing I
wanted to ask about was on the
Burundi talks is, you'd said
yesterday that the UN is doing
everything possible to make
sure they're inclusive and
that there shouldn't be
preconditions. And I
wanted to get your response
now. The ruling party,
CNDD-FDD, has said, quote, we
are not going to sit with
people who are under arrest
warrants. So this means
that the peop… that… that
exactly what you were saying
yesterday you're opposed to
will take place in these
talks. And I wanted to
know, will Mr. [Jamal] Benomar
nonetheless attend? Will
there still be UN funds to
support a process in which
large parts of the opposition
are not allowed to
participate?
Deputy Spokesman: We'll
check with Mr. Benomar what
his intentions are on that.
From the February
14 UN's
transcript:
Inner City Press:
In Burundi, the talks that are
re-beginning, there's a list
out of the participants, but
it says at the bottom of the
lists that the… the
opposition's attendance is
contingent on discussions with
Pierre Nkurunziza to grant
conditional immunity.
Since the UN is supporting
this process, is it really a
process if one side gets to
choose who from the other side
can attend? What is the
role of the UN in ensuring
inclusivity of the talks?
Deputy Spokesman: We
have stressed and will
continue to stress the need
for all talks to be
inclusive. And we want,
therefore, all people to be
able to participate in a
manner that is not
conditional.
Inner City Press: But,
what is… I mean, conditioned
on immunity. This is a
letter… this is a document
from Mr. [Benjamin] Mkapa, and
he seems to be accepting that
Pierre Nkurunziza can choose
who can attend.
Deputy Spokesman: We're
in touch with the parties, and
we're doing what we can to
ensure that talks will be as
inclusive as possible.
So what is
the UN doing?
On top of
Mkapa's attempt to up his pay
to $1500 a day, and inclusion
in his team
of a person named in a
previous UN sanctions report
for DR Congo, there are more
and more questions about this
facilitation. But the UN,
which "supports" it, won't
even disclose the delay and
blocking of its visas.
Herve
Ladsous, the fourth French
national in a row to run
UN Peacekeeping, overrode
recommendations and continues
to pay the Nkurunziza
government for Burundian
peacekeepers accused of 25
rapes in the Central African
Republic. This is calling out
for action and cuts, and a
re-thinking of how and by
whom UN Peacekeeping
should be run. Watch this
site.
While the UN
claims, even now, that it vets
the peacekeepers it deploys
before it deploys them, it has
already had to repatriate a
number, from Burundi. On
January 24 Inner City Press
asked about another, but the
UN in its transcript didn't
even take down the name. Video
here, UN
transcript here and
below.
On February 8,
Inner City Press asked the
UN's holdover spokesman
Stephane Dujarric about
Burundi. UN transcript here:
Inner City
Press: Can you give,
either now or maybe later
today, the status of Burundi's
actual cooperation with the UN
system? It was said in
Geneva today that there's a
need for more land because
there are more people being
chased out. So my
question to you is, we haven't
heard for a while. Have
the visas been given to the
Special Envoy's office?
Have… has there been any…
Spokesman: I have no
update on progress on those
issues.
And he
closed his office six hours
later with no answer, saying
it may remain closed due to
snow.
On February 6
Inner City Press asked
Dujarric what his new boss,
Antonio Guterres, had on
February 3 told the UN
Security Council about
Burundi. From
the UN transcript:
Inner City Press:
I wanted to ask you about this
report put out about the… by
the Special Rapporteurs about
the closing of… of human
rights NGOs (non-governmental
organizations) in Burundi, by
Representatives Kaye and
Forest and others. And
first I just wanted to know,
is there anything from the
Secretariat kind of reacting
to it? And also, could
you give some either summary
or indication of what
Secretary-General António
Guterres said to the Council
on Friday? There was
sort a readout, sort of on
South Sudan but very little
said on Burundi. What
is… what are his plans going
forward given that his
Security Council resolution
has not been implemented and
now you have…
Spokesman: Well,
obviously, the Security
Council, I think, has a very
important role to play in
resolving the Burundi crisis,
as all of the countries in the
region do. The
Secretary-General, during his
meeting with the Council,
updated them on his
discussions during the… at the
African Union. And on
the report, we have nothing to
add. It's obviously a
very important report, but we
have no specific comment on
it.
On January
25, Inner City Press asked
this same UN spokesman
Stephane Dujarric about
deportations, UN
transcript here:
Inner City Press:
extradition questions, not
South Korea extradition but
from DRC to Burundi.
There’s 150 Burundians that
face extradition or
deportation back to Burundi,
and a number of human rights
groups are saying that there
are human rights implications
to this. And I’m
wondering, given that the UN
is interested in one country
and has a big presence in the
other, what is the UN’s
position on this impending
extradition…
[inaudible]
Spokesman: I’m not aware
of these, of this
report. You could check
with the mission directly, and
obviously, we’d hope that all
these things are done in
accordance with full respect
of international law.
Not aware
- typical, for this Ban
Ki-moon holdover spokesman.
From January 24:
Inner City Press:
the deployments to the CAR
(Central African Republic)
from Burundi. And
there's now a guy called
[inaudible] who was the deputy
commander of the unit who
burned down Radio Publique
Africaine on 12
December. So I wanted to
know, are you aware of
it? And what are the
standards…?
Spokesman Stephane
Dujarric: Are you saying
that he's being deployed?
Question: I'm saying
he's being deployed using a
false name. That's all
over the Burundian…
Spokesman: I've not seen
that report, but I will check.
But
Dujarric's office didn't
include the name in the
transcript, nor ask for it.
It's Budigi. We'll have more
on this.
At
the confirmation hearing for
Nikki Haley, nominee as US
Ambassador to the UN, on
January 18 Haley three times
said that countries whose
peacekeepers abuse should not
keep getting paid.
Inner City
Press asked the UN and UK
about this, with the example
of the UN having chosen to
keep paying Burundi for 800
troops even after the UN's own
inquiry charged 25 rapes by
Burundian soldiers in the
Central African Republic.
UK
Ambassador Matthew Rycroft
signaled agreement, that
sexual abuse by peacekeepers
should be met by repatriation.
Tweeted
video here. But simply
to be replaced by troops from
the same country, to get paid?
(During Rycroft's
answer, there was a smirk at
the mention of Burundi, from
US state media that's had John
Kerry on its Board - perhaps a
flashback
to Liberians, here. We
may have more on this.)
UN deputy
spokesman Farhan Haq called it
a "case by case" decision, tweeted
video here. But who
decided it, and why? Look
to Herve Ladsous, the
fourth Frenchman in a row atop
UN Peacekeeping.
From January 17: Video
here; UN transcript
here:
Inner City Press:
You may have seen that Burundi
has announced it's going to
withdraw 5,400 troops from
AMISOM [African Union Mission
in Somalia]. They're
saying they're not being
paid. The European Union
says that they, in fact… the
soldiers are being paid, just
the Government is not able to
take a cut of it because they
believe the Government is in
violation of various human
rights issues. What has
the UN, which itself has
peacekeepers… what does it
think about the
standoff? Does it
believe that it's legitimate
for a funder of a peacekeeping
operation to say we'll pay the
people directly so that the
Government doesn't get a cut,
particularly in the case of
Burundi where the UN has
decided not to use Burundian
police officers in CAR
[Central African Republic]?
Deputy Spokesman: Well,
regarding the question of how
these troops are to be paid,
that's a matter that needs to
be resolved ultimately with
the European Union, which is
responsible for the payment
issue, and with the African
Union. So, that's not
really something which we
would comment on. Of
course, we believe that all
troops performing such tasks
need to be paid.
Inner City Press: But,
you have… I guess my question
is, in the Central African
Republic, the UN is still
paying the Pierre Nkurunziza
Government for the use of
these 800-some peacekeepers,
and you have another major,
you know, admittedly, not the
UN, but the EU saying this is
a Government that would, you
know, predictably use this
funding to commit human rights
violations. Does the UN
disagree?
Deputy Spokesman: We… if
we were to receive reports of
problems with payments getting
to our peacekeeping troops, we
would act upon that
accordingly. Whenever we
pay Governments, as a general
policy, we do that on the
assurance that those… that
that money will go to the
peacekeeping troops.
Inner City Press: Just
one final question.
What… what's the UN's
understanding of the
percentage that's kept by
governments before they pass
it through to… because it's
not 100 per cent. I
think you know that. So,
what percentage of withholding
is appropriate, according to
the UN?
Deputy Spokesman: That
not something that we
calculate or advise on.
That a decision made by
different Governments.
So there
are no limits at all? Except
if a government takes 100% and
the peacekeepers complain they
got nothing? We'll have more
on this.
As Burundi "facilitator"
William Mkapa reconvened
talks, the attendees list
obtained by Inner City Press
shows not only Ken
Vitisia, of whom we're
previously written, but
also Francis Mnodolwa.
Inner City Press previously on
December 29 asked the UN's
holdover spokesman Stephane
Dujarric to comment on the
inclusion of an individual
listed in the November 2009 DR
Congo sanctions Group of
Experts report, without
answer. (Dujarric answered
only two and a half of the 22
questions Inner City Press
submitted: and those only
to defend Ban Ki-moon and
himself.)
Now, from
Paragraph 74 of that report:
"The Group has
been informed by several
sources, including a source
close to Mr. Ndagundi, that he
has close links to the ruling
Counseil national pour la
défense de la
démocratie-forces pour la
défense de la démocratie
(CNDD-FDD) party in
Burundi.. Mr. Ndagundi.s
Burundian telephone records
also show 27 communications
from April to September 2009
between himself and the number
used by Francis Ndoluwa, the
ambassador of the United
Republic of Tanzania to
Burundi, a former general in
the Tanzanian military. A
source close to Mr. Ndagundi
informed the Group that he
works closely with the
Ambassador."
So there
is yet another of Mkapa's team
that is close to the CNDD-FDD.
On
January 16, Inner City Press
asked the UN's deputy
spokesman Farhaq Haq, video
here, UN
Transcript here:
Inner City Press:
these Burundian talks
facilitated by Mr. Mkapa, I'd
asked this in December, I
guess, in writing to you, but
the… one of the… one of his
team members that's being
deported by the UN is a person
that’s listed in the November
2009 DRC sanctions report as
being a supporter of CNDD-FDD,
and there's actually some
allegations that he was
involved in helping to arm
them.
So I'm just wondering, what is
the relationship between the
UN's support of these talks
and what many are calling a
lack of inclusiveness and the
inclusion of people that are…
are, you know, listed in UN
sanctions reports?
Deputy Spokesman: Well,
obviously, the sanctions are,
remain in place, and it's a
matter for the Security
Council and its relevant
sanctions committees to make
sure that those sanctions are
implemented. We at the
UN, of course, respect those
sanctions. That's a
separate issue from the need
for mediation. Of
course, we need to make sure
that all mediation efforts,
including those under former
President Mkapa, are
supported, and we're
continuing to do so with our
officials in the region.
Inner City Press: But
have you seen the response by
large parts of the Burundian
opposition that this… the most
recent round is the least… the
most one-sided yet and it's
virtually… I mean, they're not
really included. What's
the UN's role in these talks?
Deputy Spokesman: We're
certainly aware of the
objections by the various
sides. We're trying to
make sure that, as the process
continues, it can be as
inclusive as possible.
How?
On January
11, long after the UN Security
Council ostensibly mandated
the deployment to Burundi of
228 UN Police, no progress had
been made. Inner City Press
asked UN Spokesman Stephane
Dujarric, UN
transcript here:
Inner City Press:
Has there been any progress in
deploying the 226 police that
the Security Council also
mandated for Burundi to
Burundi? Do you have any
update on that?
Spokesman: No.
None that I can report.
Go ahead. Last one.
While corpses are found in
Burundi and the government
blocks the deployment of both
the UN Police and UN Conflict
Prevention staff ostensibly
called for by the UN
Secretariat and Security
Council, the government's
supporters try to side with
either UN censors like Under
Secretary General Cristina
Gallach, who evicted and
restricts the Press which
reports on Burundi, or more
generally UN staff.
It is more than a
little ironic. UN staff are
being PNG-ed and having visas
denied from Burundi.
A list of some
recent finds:
On 2 January
2017, two( 2) persons namely
Gilbert Bandika aka Juma and
Nestor Nkeshimana were killed
in Nyamaboko in the District
of Kanyosha;
On 4 January
2017, a dead body of a person
identified as Donatien
Ndereyimana was found at the
edge of Lake Tanganyika;
On 5 January
2017, a teenager was shot dead
and another wounded as police
quarreled with farmers in
Mahwa in the District of
Ryansoro;
On 8 January
2017, a dead body of a 50
year-old Habonimana Cyrille
aka Mujos was found in an
abandoned house in Musaga, 1st
street. Testimonies suggest he
was tortured and several parts
of his body amputated before
his remains were dropped in an
abandoned house.
While the UN says little and
does nothing about this, they
made a point of ordering Inner
City Press to stop
broadcasting on Periscope,
with voice-over, a Town Hall
meeting with new Secretary
General Antonio Guterres,
which was on the UN's public
UN Webcast website. And the
government supporters, saying
Inner City Press entered the
meeting (it didn't) and
picking up on the anti-Press
maze Cristina Gallach of Spain
and DPI has created, piled on.
The UN of Gallach has brought
this on; this is how the UN is
perceived and to this has it
sunk.
There is also a strange
announcement of a 500 Euros
loan being arranged from a
shadowy, seemingly dormant
company “Biz Planners.” We'll
have more on this.
Benjamin
Mkapa as Burundi mediator has
kept his mind on his money,
and his money on his mind,
even as amid assissination of
minister, closing down of
NGOs. Well placed sources
exclusively teold Inner City
Press that Mkapa demanded a
raise -- up to $1500 a day --
and was rejected.
Mkapa then took his demand to
the East African Community
heads of state. Will he get
the payday? By declaring
Pierre Nkurunziza legitimate
because Ambassadors still
present their credential to
him, Mkapa is working for the
money. But $1500 a day?
There are other
of his advisers gunning for up
to $500 a day, including one
who is said to have previously
help arm CNDD-FDD related
groups. Yes, we'll have more
on this.
On January 4, Inner City Press
asked about the Security
Council's (lack of) Follow
through on Burundi, to
Ambassador Delattre of France,
the "penholder" on Burundi. Tweeted
video here.
More
here.
***
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