UN
Confirms It
Flew Sudan
Soldiers in
Darfur,
Despite ICC
Indictment
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
November 19 --
For killings
in Darfur,
Sudan's
president and
defense
minister have
been indicted
for war crimes
and genocide.
But
on November
13, the UNAMID
"peacekeeping"
mission under
the
watch of Herve
Ladsous flew a
dozen Sudanese
Armed Forces
troops to
medical
assistance in
El Fasher.
After
a weekend in
which Ladsous
not only
refused to
answer any
Press
question
but even
directed his
spokesman to
have UN staff
made sure
Inner City
Press did
not get the
Security
Council
stakeout
microphone
to ask, at
the UN's
November 19
noon briefing
Inner City
Press asked
the UN about
it.
Secretary
General
Ban Ki-moon's
deputy
spokesman
Eduardo Del
Buey looked
through his
papers, saying
"I have
something
here." Then he
read out: On
medical
assistance by
the Mission,
following the
fighitng
UMAMID
airlifteded
upon request
the injured
combattants
from
its team site
to El Fasher."
He
said this was
"a core
requirement of
international
humanitarian
law, which
falls under
UNAMID's
mandate...
with due
respect to
principles of
neutrality and
impartiality"
Some
might wonder
about the UN
providing such
assistance
after the ICC
genocide
indictment.
Others might
point out that
Ladsous' DPKO
is
hardly
operating
under
principles of
"neutrality
and
impartiality"
-- in the
Democratic
Republic of
the Congo, his
MONUSCO flew
the government
to meet Mai
Mai militia to
recruit them
to fight the
M23 mutineers
-- then said
it didn't know
what the
meeting was
about.
Now
Ladsous
refuses to
answer "Who
broke the
ceasefire." Video
here, from
Minte 3:47 to
3:57. Ladsous'
spokesman
says the
factual
question is "a
distraction."
A
wag of a
particularly
historical
mind-set might
note, and has,
that Ladsous
while French
Deputy
Permanent
Representative
in 1994 had at
best an
ambiguous
position on
the
genocide in
Rwanda by the
government
France
supported. So
is it surprising
that, even
working for
the UN, his
DPKO would
offer
flights to
those accused
of war crimes
and genocide
in Darfur?
Our
position: at
least Ladsous
should (have
to) answer
questions
about it.
Watch
this site.
, 
