After
Gambia's
Jammeh Rejects
Results, UNSC
Speaks, Then
Finally Ban,
Here
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
December 10 –
As in The
Gambia Yahya
Jammeh moved
on December 1
to shut off
the Internet
(and Viber,
etc) for the /
his election,
there was
again a
deafening
silence from
the UN of Ban
Ki-moon and
his
“communications”
chief Cristina
Gallach.
This
was true
of Ban during
earlier
crackdowns in
Gambia, here.
Now
that Jammeh
has reversed
himself and
denounced the
results,
Senegal has
called for an
urgent
Security
Council
meeting, and
the ECOWAS
chairperson's
plane was
denied entry
to The Gambia
Ban
Ki-moon was
still silent,
entirely
focused on his
own ambitions
in South Korea. (The US issued this,
and the
African Union
this,
with a strange
comic font in
the headline.)
Then
the UN
Security
Council has
issued this
Press
Statement:
"The
members of the
Security
Council
commended the
people of the
Islamic
Republic of
The Gambia for
the peaceful
and
transparent
holding of
elections on 1
December 2016.
In this regard
the members of
the Security
Council
strongly
condemned the
statement by
the outgoing
President of
the Islamic
Republic of
The Gambia Mr.
Yahya Jammeh
on 9 December
rejecting the
December 1
official
election
results
proclaimed by
the
Independent
Electoral
Commission and
calling for
new elections.
They called on
him to respect
the choice of
the sovereign
People of The
Gambia, as he
did on 2
December 2016,
and to
transfer,
without
condition and
undue delay,
power to the
President-elect,
Mr. Adama
Barrow.
The Members of
the Security
Council urged
the outgoing
President to
carry out a
peaceful and
orderly
transition
process and
they requested
that the
security of
the president
-elect Adama
Barrow, and
that of all
Gambian
citizen be
fully ensured.
The members of
the Security
Council called
on outgoing
President
Jammeh to
respect the
Economic
Community of
West African
States
(ECOWAS)
protocol on
democracy and
good
governance and
the African
Charter on
Democracy,
Elections and
Governance,
notably the
rejection of
unconstitutional
changes of
Government,
and recalled
the relevant
provisions of
Article 23 (4)
of the AU
Charter on
Democracy,
Elections and
Governance.
The members of
the Security
Council urged
all parties to
exercise
maximum
restraint,
refrain from
violence and
remain calm.
The members of
the Security
Council called
on the support
by the United
Nations Office
for West
Africa
(UNOWAS) and
international
partners,
especially
ECOWAS, to
preserve
stability in
The Gambia and
work towards
the
installation
of a
democratically
elected
Government in
the country.
They further
expressed
their
commitment to
continue to
follow closely
the evolution
of the
situation in
The Gambia. "
Where
*was* Ban
Ki-moon, after
so many hours?
Access to him
on
December 16 is
being sold for
$1,200.
Hours
later, Ban
issued this
- even as his
promoted son
in law gushed
online
about the impeachment
of Park in South
Korea - could
he work for
the government
there? Or
simply still
have a
protector?
Watch this
site.
Senegal
has been
relatively
quiet as a
Security
Council
member. But
for them, this
is too close
to home. We'll
have more on
this.
On
December 1,
Inner City
Press asked
Ban's
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric, UN
transcript
here:
Inner
City
Press:
today's
election day
in Gambia, and
it has been
widely
reported the
internet has
been turned
off, and no
international
calls are
being
allowed.
I know that
the DPA
[Department of
Political
Affairs] had
some
involvement
previously or
tried to have
some
involvement in
Gambia.
What is the
position on
the UN? On the
election
generally, the
President has
said he'll
stay in until
Allah says
differently,
but also on
the turning
off of the
internet to an
entire
country…
Spokesman:
Well, I think
it's… we would
like to see,
as we would
like to see
anywhere,
freedom of
access to
information,
including
freedom of
access through
the
internet.
We're
obviously
watching the
developments
in the Gambia
very closely,
and then we'll
have probably
a bit more to
say later on.
ICP
Question:
How are you
watching it if
the internet's
turned off?
Spokesman:
We do have a
country office
that's there.
ICP
Question:
A related as
to internet
question, in
Qatar, access
to something
called Doha
News, which
reports about
Qatar, has
been blocked
in the
country.
And I wanted
to know… you
might say just
the same
thing, but do
you see this
also --
Spokesman:
Let me check
on those
reports.
Six
hours later,
nothing.
Meanwhile
Gallach has
most recently
complained
about the
“difficult”
role of social
media in the
November 8
U.S. election
-- as she has
evicted
Inner City
Press, given
its office to
an Egyptian
state media
which never
comes in, and
restricts
Inner City
Press to
minders.
Even
so-restricted
on November
30, Inner City
Press
followed, if
only from the
small “focus
booth” to
which it's
been reduced
by Gallach's
and Ban's
censorship, a
debate
elsewhere in
the UN in
which Access
Now - click
here for their
joint letter
on Gambia
- cited
investigative
journalism and
UN Special
Rapporteur of
Freedom of
Expression
David Kaye.
Kaye and his
colleague on
human rights
defenders
Michel Forst wrote
to Gallach
about her no
due process
eviction of
Inner City
Press. Her response
implied there
was a physical
fight, of
which there
was none, only
Inner City
Press stated
it would leave
a widely
attended event
in the UN
Press Briefing
Room once it
was shown it
was Closed or
if UN Security
said to.
Ban's
and Gallach's
UN is one of
censorship,
and for now
they are
silent on
Gambia. Others
aren't - watch
this site.
Back
in July as
Jammeh locked
up the
opposition,
the UN
Secretariat
which has
previously
dabbled in the
issue with no
follow through
said nothing
on May 10 (nor
on May 11 or
12). This
despite the
emergence of
what's said to
be audio
of Gambia's
Deputy
Permanent
Representative
to the UN Sam
Sarr saying he
would shoot
the
protesters.
On
July 21, Inner
City Press
asked Ban
K-moon's
deputy
spokesman
Farhan Haq, UN transcript
here:
Inner
City Press: in
Gambia, the
opposition
leader, Mr.
[Ousainou]
Darboe, has
been sentenced
to three years
for
participating
in a
demonstration,
and I wanted
to know, I
know
previously the
UN and the UN
Office of West
Africa and Mr.
[Jeffrey]
Feltman had
been trying to
engage with
Gambia; what
has been done
since and do
you have any
comment on
this prison
sentence?
Deputy
Spokesman:
Well, we need
to look into
what the
process is and
make sure that
due process
has been
followed in
this
particular
case.
But I'll also
check up and
see whether
there is any
other reaction
about this.
Eight
hours later
and counting,
nothing.
On
May 11, Inner
City Press
asked UN
Spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric about
the crackdown,
and audio. Vine here, UN
transcript
here and
below.
From
May 11:
Inner
City Press:
There’ve been
reports of
kind of a
crackdown in
Gambia in the
last few days
of opposition
people locked
up, and I know
that the UN
had previously
worked on it
through DPA
(Department of
Political
Affairs).
So do they
have any
comment?
One of the
reports
involves an
audio clip of
the Deputy
Permanent
Representative
to the UN here
in New York
saying, if I
were in
charge, I’d
shoot all the
protesters…
[inaudible]
Spokesman:
I don’t have
anything on
Gambia for you
today.
Nothing?
(The
audio
includes the
F-bomb, in
vogue this
year in the UN
Press Briefing
Room, on
January 29
when Spokesman
Dujarric and
his Deputy
Farhan Haq
threw Inner
City Press out
of the room
where it was
pursuing the
UN corruption
scandal story,
and since,
deriding a
question
concerning the
Department of
Public
Information
which ousted
and then
evicted Inner
City Press, video here.)
So where is
the UN's
Department of
Public Affairs
on this? Ban
Ki-moon has
been on
another tour
gather
honorary
degrees and
talking about
the
Sustainable
Development
Goals, while
his Spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric
refuses to
answer Inner
City Press
twice asked
question about
Ban's and his
UN's
engagement
with the
“Global
Governance for
the UN
Sustainable
Development
Goals” group,
and its links
with the
ongoing Ng Lap
Seng UN
bribery
scandal. Inner
City Press is
now under
restrictions,
including
minders, not
imposed on
other more
UN-friendly
media. To this
has the UN
descended.
Watch this
site.
Back on April
17 after
Gambia killed
three
opposition
figures in
jail after
locking up
many more
during an
April 14
protest, the
US and Ban
Ki-moon UN
both issued
statements.
Tellingly,
while the US
statement
cited the
"United
Nations
International
Covenant on
Civil and
Political
Rights," Ban
Ki-moon's did
not. This is
because Ban's
UN is lawless,
as shown on
Haiti cholera
and, right at
Headquarters,
on April 16
when Ban had
evicted the
investigative
Press without
any process, video here.
Ban's UN
pretended to
care about
Gambia in late
2014 and early
2015, but
never followed
through.
Back
in late
December 2014,
the UN has
said the coup
attempt in
Gambia was
important to
it, even as it
was
mis-reported.
On February 4,
the UN told
Inner City
Press its
official
Jeffrey
Feltman was
going to the
country.
On
the morning of
February 10,
Inner City
Press learned
that the visit
had not taken
place, that by
some accounts
President
Yahya Jammeh
had canceled
it, after
publication of
an article
online.
Inner
City Press
looked online
and found
an article
that might
have triggered
this,
calling the
previous visit
of the UN's
Mohammed
Chambas a
failure, and
saying "This
time the UN is
dispatching
United Nations
Under-Secretary-General
for Political
Affairs
Jeffrey
Feltman to
visit Banjul
on 4 February
2015 for an
audience with
the country’s
leader Yahya
Jammeh,
according to a
press
statement from
the UNDP."
So Inner City
Press went to
the website
of the UN
"country team"
in Gambia,
run by UNDP,
but when one
clicks "news"
it leads to a
message of
"404."
Failure.
At
the February
10 noon
briefing,
Inner City
Press asked UN
deputy
spokesperson
Farhan Haq
about all
this. Video
here.
Back on
February 4,
having seen
mention in the
African press,
Inner City
Press asked UN
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
spokesman
Stephane
Dujaric:
Inner
City Press:
Can you
confirm that
Mr. [Jeffrey]
Feltman is
going to
Gambia on a
follow-up to
Mr. [Mohammed
ibn] Chambas'
visit?
Spokesman
Dujarric:
I do believe
he is in
Gambia, and we
will get more
details.
Inner City
Press:
And is there
some reason
that his
schedule is
not public? I
mean, this was
reported in
the press
there.
It seems when
he goes
places, he's
representing
the
Secretary-General.
Spokesman:
I think we try
to share his
schedules.
Sometimes
things fall
through the
cracks.
But, we try to
be as open and
transparent as
we can
Inner City
Press / FUNCA:
Can you ask
[the
Department of
Political
Affairs] to
put it online?
Spokesman:
Thousands of
[Department of
Political
Affairs]
staffers are
probably
watching this
briefing.
Inner
City
Press:
I’m sure.
Not only are
Feltman's
schedules not
made public,
as now
formally
requested by
the Free UN
Coalition for
Access - just
after this
exchange, Ban
Ki-moon held a
lunch with
scribes the
Q&A of
which has not
been released.
Click here for
that.
The
Gambia coup
attempt was
discussed for
a second time
in the UN
Security
Council on
January 8, but
discrepancies
emerged.
On
December 31,
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon said
that he
“encourages
the
establishment
of a
transparent
investigation
into the
events of 30
December, in
compliance
with due
process and
respect for
the rule of
law.”
The call for a
transparent
investigation
was missing
from the
January 8
briefing by UN
official
Chambas, who
told the
Security
Council
“I am planning
to visit
Banjul on
14-15 January
and meet with
President
Jammeh. I will
reiterate our
firm
condemnation
of any attempt
to seize power
by
unconstitutional
means, and
encourage the
Gambian
authorities to
work with the
support of
international
partners, to
ensure the
credibility of
judicial
procedures and
the respect of
human rights.”
Afterward
Inner City
Press asked
Chambas about
the different,
and on behalf
of the Free UN
Coalition for
Access about
radio station
Taranga FM,
shut down
during the
coup bid and
now told to
play only
music.
Chambas told
Inner City
Press he had
not heard of
the station --
Inner City
Press in the
hallway urged
him to tune it
in while he is
in Bangui, to
see if it is
only music --
and spoke of
trying to
liberalize
West Africa.
We'll see.
Before 10 am
on December
31, Ban
Ki-moon issued
a 123 word
statement
calling for
restraint and
an
investigation
of the attempt
in the The
Gambia, albeit
not mentioning
the name of
the target of
the coup,
Yahya Jammeh.
After the
Security
Council's
45-minute
meeting, Inner
City Press
asked the
Council's
president who
is supposed to
do the
investigation
Ban had called
for before the
meeting. He
responded that
UN official
Chambas will
go to Banjul;
Inner City
Press later
learned and
published that
this will take
place on
January 2.
Reuters
however reported
that
"Following
brief talks at
the U.N.
Security
Council,
Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon
called for a
transparent
investigation
into the
events and
also urged
restraint."
This
is false.
Ban's
statement was
at 9:37 am;
the Security
Council
meeting didn't
start until 10
am, and didn't
end until
10:45 am. (At
that time,
Inner City
Press asked
Ban's Under
Secretary
General for
Political
Affairs
Jeffrey
Feltman for
more detail;
he replied
that since Ban
had issued a
statement, he
had nothing to
add -- all too
common at the
UN, as pointed
out and
opposed by the
Free
UN Coalition
for Access.)
Reuters was
not present at
the UN
Security
Council
stakeout
before, during
or after the
meeting on
Gambia (Tweeted
photo here),
and apparently
not in the UN
building
either. The crediting
on the above
quoted story is
"Reporting by
David Lewis
and Diadie Ba
in Dakar,
Lesley
Wroughton in
Washington, Louis
Charbonneau
in New York;
Writing by
David Lewis
and Matthew
Mpoke Bigg;
Editing by
Giles Elgood."
Six
journalists
listed; one
outright
falsehood.
What does
Reuters do in
these cases?
We've asked
management
including
Stephen J.
Adler before,
amid censorship,
with no
real answer.
#ReutersFail.
Since then,
African Union
commission
chief
Nkosazana
Dlamini-Zuma
has expressed
"preoccupation"
and rurged
deepening
"democracy and
the respect
for human
rights."
By the time of
Ban's 9:37 am
December 31
statement,
later
misrepresented
by Reuters,
the US had
already issued
a statement:
“The United
States is
aware of
reports of a
coup attempt
on December 30
in The Gambia.
We strongly
condemn any
attempt to
seize power
through
extra-constitutional
means. We
regret the
loss of life
and call on
all parties to
refrain from
further
violence.”
Thirteen hours
later when Ban
Ki-moon issued
his statement,
he went a bit
further and
cited calm and
called for an
investigation,
apparently by
Jammeh's
government
itself:
“The
Secretary-General
is following
closely
developments
in The Gambia.
He reiterates
the United
Nations
principled
condemnation
of all
attempts to
seize power
through
unconstitutional
means.
Referring to
reports that
indicate that
the situation
in Banjul is
calm, he calls
for all
parties to
exercise
restraint and
to refrain
from further
violence.
“Noting
the
seriousness of
any attempt to
overthrow
governments by
force, the
Secretary-General
encourages the
establishment
of a
transparent
investigation
into the
events of 30
December, in
compliance
with due
process and
respect for
the rule of
law. In that
regard, he
urges the
Government of
The Gambia,
and its
security and
defense forces
to act in full
respect for
human rights.
The United
Nations will
continue to
closely
monitor the
situation.”
When the UN
Security
Council
meeting on the
topic began at
10:10 am on
December 31,
there were
tumbleweeds at
the stakeout
in front. Some
may denounce
The Gambia,
but at the UN
or at least in
its press
corp, there is
not apparently
much interest.
When the
meeting ended,
in less than
45 minutes,
Inner City
Press asked
Feltman about
it. He said
since the SG
had issued a
statement, he
had nothing to
add. In 2015,
the Free
UN Coalition
for Access
will be
pressing for
all UN Under
Secretaries
General to
answer
questions.
Finally, the
Security
Council's
president for
December, from
Chad, came and
summarized the
meeting,
saying that UN
official
Chambas,
previously the
head of UNAMID
in Darfur,
will file a
report. There
have been
problems with
UNAMID's
reporting.
(Again
in terms of
micro-news,
Inner City
Press is
exclusively
told by
sources that
Chambas will
go to Gambia
on Friday,
January 2.
Since the UNSC
President was
asked on
camera when
Chambas would
go and only
said "soon,"
call it a coup
scooplet.)
Inner City
Press asked
the outgoing
Security
Council
president
about the
December 30
closed door
meeting about
Sudan throwing
out two UN
officials,
Yvonne Helle
and Ali
Al-Za'tari. He
said he
couldn't
speak, nothing
had been
agreed to.
Which is why
the UN
Secretariat
should have
spoken and
taken
questions, as
FUNCA
requested
and will
continue to
request in
2015. Watch
this site.