On
Golan,
UN
Peacekeeping
UNtransparent,
Mali
Procurement
Answers
Promised?
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
December 5 --
Who authorized
the UN to be
so
UNtransparent?
In the Golan a
week ago,
Irish soldiers
serving in UN
Peacekeeping's
UNDOF mission
were shot at,
and shot back.
As in most
things under
Herve Ladsous,
UN
Peacekeeping
said little
about it.
Now
Irish Defence
Forces chief
of staff Lieut
Gen Conor
O’Boyle says
that while he
cannot be
certain the
Irish did not
wound or kill
any
militia when
they opened
fire, his
feeling is
there had been
"no
casualties
during the
incident last
Thursday.
'There would
have been
evidence of a
medical
evacuation or
other signs,'
he said. An
investigation
into a fire
fight
involving
Irish troops
in Syria last
week has found
the troops
were
deliberately
ambushed by
armed
elements."
But
WHICH
elements?
Previously,
when UN
peacekeepers
were kidnapped
by
Yarmouk
Brigades
rebels, with
reported
involvement
from Qatar,
Ladsous
refused to
investigate or
report on it.
Thursday
Inner
City Press
asked UN
spokesperson
Martin Nesirky
directly about
what the Irish
say. Nesirky
replied,
what's your
other
question? So
Inner City
Press asked
about Israel's
defense
minister Moshe
Ya’alon
saying the
UNDOF
"mediates"
Israel aid
delivery into
Syria.
Nesirky
read
a prepared
statement that
seemed worded
in order NOT
to directly
address what
Israel said.
Inner City
Press asked
again, and
Nesirky
refused to
take the
question. This
could be
compared to
repeated
follow ups at
other
briefings,
such as at the
US State
Department.
How can the UN
get away with
this?
Next
Inner City
Press asked
about reports
of French
companies
lining up
for logistics
contracts for
the "UN"
mission in
Mali,
MINUSMA.
Nesirky archly
insisted that
procurement is
transparent.
But
what then is
the role of
"France
International
Expertise"?
We will have
more on this,
even as we
await the UN
written answer
that should be
forthcoming,
and soon,
after
Thursday's
noon briefing
answers. Watch
this site.
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