Amid
Cote d'Ivoire
Clashes, UN
Irrelevant, No
Koenders
Probe, Ladsous
Stonewalls
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
August 26 --
Amid armed
clashed in
Cote d'Ivoire
and calls even
at the UN
in New York
for
investigations
of
peacekeepers'
inaction as a
camp for
internally
displaced
people was
burned down,
has the UN
Mission become
irrelevant?
Now a shootout
has killed
five more
people, but
reports don't
even mention
the UN. The
envoy of
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon, Bert
Koenders,
never followed
through on
investigating
the attack on
the IDP camp;
it is unclear
what he is
doing now.
When
Koenders
came to the UN
back on July
18, his
proposal and
that of the
Department of
Peacekeeping
Operations
under Herve
Ladsous was to
cut costs by
removing a
battalion from
Abidjan.
Then
an attack on a
base there on
the Ivorian
National Day
resulted
in at least
seven soldiers
killed,
while separate
sources
tell Inner
City Press
that the
Beninois UN
Peacekeepers
in the base
did nothing.
Ivorian source
have blamed it
on the mandate.
Inner City
Press asked
the
UN on August 8:
Inner
City Press:
This attack
that took
place in
Abidjan, on an
army base,
killed seven
soldiers. From
what I learned
yesterday,
there seems to
also be a UN
peacekeeping
base inside
that base,
with Beninois
peacekeepers.
A question
arisen of why
didn’t they
take action,
they were
there but they
didn’t act,
and a UN News
Service press
release says
that the
attackers took
ammunition and
weapons from
the base. So
is it possible
to know what
are the terms
of engagement
of UN
peacekeepers
there? Why are
they situated
inside the
Ivorian
military base
and why did
they not act
when the base
was attacked?
Spokesperson
Martin
Nesirky: I
will check
with our
colleagues in
DPKO.
But
more than two
weeks later,
no answers
about the
probe of the
IDP camp burn
down have been
provided. An
answer about
an entirely
different
report was
provided on
August 13:
"Regarding
your question
on the report
concerning
Cote d'Ivoire,
the National
Commission of
Inquiry
established in
July 2011 to
investigate
violations of
human rights
and
international
humanitarian
law during the
post-elections
crisis
completed its
report in July
2012."
Inner
City Press
specified it
was and is
asking about
the probe
described on
July 31,2012.
No response.
DPKO chief
Ladsous is on
record
that he will
not answer
any Inner
City Press questions.
Then
on August
10
French
Ambassador
Gerard Araud
did a stakeout
and took
questions from
those who
knew, Inner
City Press
learned of it
late and ran
there and
asked about
Cote d'Ivoire,
if a battalion
would still be
cut after the
attack in
Abidjan and
the
destruction of
the camp near
Duekoue.
Araud
answered,
although it is
not clear if
he was
referring to
the attack on
the refugee
camp of
presumed
supporters of
Laurent Gbagbo
when he
referred to a
"village" in
the west.
Araud said:
First
I think, the
first attack
was against a
village in the
west of the
country. Mr.
Koender came
afterward, he
told us, it's
not an
isolated
incident, we
know that
there are
people
preparing a
sort of
destabilization
of Cote
d'Ivoire. So
there is, a
change of
posturing,
deploy in a
different
manner.
Araud
continued
that, "We
thought the
threat was out
of Abidjan,
now we have
seen what
happened in
Abidjan. In
coming days
we'll see if
it's possible
to reduce the
force in
Abidjan, or if
it's not
possible."
It
would be good,
now after more
than two
weeks, to get
an answer from
Ladsous'
increasingly
irrelevant
DPKO. Watch
this site.
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