Cover
Up of Darfur
Rapes Simplified
by Reuters, UN
Airbrushed Out
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, April
21, more
here --
Who covered up
the mass rape
in Tabit in
Darfur last
November? As
Inner City
Press has
reported in
detail, Sudan
was not alone.
The UNAMID
mission under
Herve Ladsous
accessed Tabit
and issued a
November 9,
2014 press
release saying
no evidence of
rape, and that
the residents
got along well
with Sudanese
security
forces.
The UN has not
retracted that
cover-up press
release; UN
Peacekeeping
chief Herve
Ladsous has
repeated
refused to
answer Press
questions
about it.
But a pliant
Western wire,
breathlessly
passing
through
information,
makes the
situation into
a cartoon.
Khartoum, it
reports, has
blocked P3
Ambassadors
Peter Wilson,
Alex Lamek and
David Pressman.
There is no
mention of the
African Union
process or of
the election;
worse, there
is no mention
of UN Peacekeeping's
role in the
cover up. This
is, at best,
incomplete
coverage -
there is a
pattern of
omitting (or
even censoring)
things.
Many
civil society
groups active
on Darfur
issues
submitted a
petition to
the UN
and Security
Council about
the cover up
by UNAMID and
Ladsous - here
- but the
pliant wire
did not report
on it. This is
a pattern on
which we'll
have more.
Back in December
the UN said it
would fight to
keep its
Resident
Coordinator
Ali Al Za'tari
in the
country.
That was the
UN's response
to Za'tari
being ordered
to leave Sudan
by January 2,
Inner City
Press first
reported.
Inner City
Press
similarly exclusively
reported,
and asked
the UN
Spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric about,
Sudan's ouster
of UNDP
Country
Director
Yvonne Heller
on December
24.
But did the UN
follow through
on its vow to
push-back? No,
the UN
remained quiet
when it ended
up replacing
Za'atari, as
Inner City
Press noticed
and asked
about on March
31, video
here,
transcript
below
Inner
City Press: I
wanted to go
back to Sudan,
because
remember there
was that
standoff about
the Resident
Coordinator
Ali Za’atari,
who has said
that the UN is
standing
behind him and
he won’t be
PNG’d, and I
saw an
announcement
that on March
21st, a new
Resident
Humanitarian
Coordinator
began work in
Khartoum, Mr.
Mustafa Bin Al
Malih.
And so what
happened?
And why didn’t
the UN
announce that
they removed
Mr. Za’atari
as Resident
Coordinator?
Deputy
Spokesman:
We pressed for
them to
continue with
Mr. Ali
Za’atari and
they continued
with their
objections.
Ultimately we
do need to
have somebody
on the ground
to do the
work, although
we do not
accept that
our impartial,
neutral
experts did
not get
permission to
be on the
ground to do
their work.
Inner City
Press: And has
Yvonne Helle
also been
replaced as
the
representative
of UNDP in the
country?
Deputy
Spokesman:
I believe Ms.
Helle left
some time
ago. She
was already
out of the
country when
they took the
decision so I
believe
there’s a
process in
place to make
sure that the
work is done.
Back
on December 25
after another
inquiry by
Inner City
Press to
Dujarric and
UNDP, Dujarric
sent this:
From:
Stephane
Dujarric [at]
un.org
Date: Thu, Dec
25, 2014 at
1:31 PM
Subject: Re:
Press request
on Sudan
PNG-ing Yvonne
Helle (asked
Dec 24) &
now Dec 25 Ali
Al-Za'tari
To: Matthew
Lee [at]
InnerCityPress.org
Cc: UNDP,
funca [at]
FUNCA.info
Matthew, The
UN has filed a
protest with
the government
of Sudan
following
their decision
to request the
departure of
two senior UN
officials from
the country.
So the
UN filed a
protest. But
what about the
UNFPA case in
April, and
aother one, in
Darfur, which
Inner City
Press
exclusively
reported on in
December?
On
March 31,
Inner City
Press also
asked on
Myanmar:
Inner
City Press: I
heard your
statement on
behalf of or
by Mr. Nambiar
praising the
country.
I just wanted
to know:
has he or
anyone else in
the UN system
have anything
to say about
the filing of
criminal
charges
against the
students who
protested the
national
education
law? A
number of…
even some
countries have
[inaudible]
this standoff
in March where
the peaceful
demonstrators
have been
arrested.
Now the
charges have
been filed,
they haven’t
been
released.
Is there any
follow-up by
the UN on
that?
Deputy
Spokesman:
We’ll check
with Mr.
Nambiar what
he has to say
on that.
Six hours
later and
counting,
nothing.
On Sudan back
on December
24, Inner City
Press
similarly exclusively
reported
and then asked
the UN
Spokesman
about UNDP
Country
Director
Yvonne Helle
being ordered
out of Sudan,
citing her and
Al-Za'tari's
e-mails. Video
here.
A full day
after that,
Reuters
reported on
Helle's ouster
-- typically,
for Reuters, with
no credit
to the Press'
prior
exclusive
story.
(Reuters' UN
bureau chief
has said he
has a policy
of not
crediting
Inner City
Press'
exclusive, and
has gone to
far as to
censor,
Sudan-style,
his "for the
record"
anti-Press
complains to
the UN, click
here for that,
via EFF's
ChillingEffect.org).
On December
24, Inner City
Press asked UN
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric about
Sudan
having just
similarly
"PNG-ed"
or declared
persona
non-grata the
Sudan Country
Director of
the UN
Development
Program Yvonne
Helle, with
Za'tari barely
pushing back
against the
government.
Dujarric said
that host
countries'
ordered to PNG
a UN staff
member are
treated
seriously and
should be sent
to, and
considered and
acted on by,
Ban's
Secretariat in
New York. But
Dujarric in
the 18 hours
after Inner
City Press
asked about
Helle has not
returned with
any
information or
answer.
Watch
this site.
, 
