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UN Accused of Inaction As LRA
Kills in Congo, Denies But Without Specifics, No Bosco
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of
Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED
NATIONS, February 4 --
Following the deaths of hundreds of people in Northern Congo, and a
report by
Doctors without Borders (MSF) blaming the UN for failing to protect
civilians
there, the UN on Wednesday denounced the MSF report as "totally
unfounded." UN Peacekeeping officials have admitted to Inner City Press
that they pulled forces out of Northern Congo to focus on another part
of the
Congo, the Kivus. So Inner City Press asked UN Deputy Spokesperson
Marie Okabe
if her categorical denial of the MSF report meant that the UN takes
issue with
MSF's report that UN peacekeepers stayed inside their base near Dungu
during
the attack by Lord's Resistance Army on November 1, 2008. Video here,
at Minute 13:58.
"I don't have
anything specific on that," said Ms. Okabe, who had just denied the
whole
MSF report as "totally unfounded."
Since
the UN has used a figure near 600 for the civilians killed in the area,
Inner
City Press asked if the UN disagrees with MSF's figure of 900. "I don't
have the number killed," Ms. Okabe said.
As part of her scripted denial, she had said that UN
Peacekeepers
support the Congolese army by providing "casualty evacuation." Video here,
from Minute 12.
MSF specifically faults the UN for not taking
injured civilians out of
the area, as the UN does even in Sri Lanka. Inner City Press asked
Okabe about
this. She replied that her statement had said that "casualty
evacuation" is part of the UN Mission's mandate. But are civilians
being
taken out? MSF says no.
UN peacekeepers drive by in Congo
The UN's main news on Congo for Wednesday was to
brag about Hutu rebels
it is repatriating from the Kivus, including the surprising news that
Mai Mai
fighters, some of the most vicious and disorganized, are being
integrated into
the Congolese Army, which the UN has chosen to support.
Not mentioned by the UN was that Bosco
Ntaganda, indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court,
appears
also to be on the verge of integration into the Congolese Army. We'll
have more
on this.
News analysis: since the UN knows
it should be doing more to protect civilians in Northern Congo, why do
its spokespeople call a report to that effect by a respected
humanitarian group "totally unfounded"? Why not admit that more could
be done, and put at least some of the ball and blame back in the court
of the Security Council? But like the worst of corporate Public
Relations, the UN mechanically defends even the indefensible.
Click here for Inner City Press' Jan.
16, 2009 debate about Gaza
Click here for Inner City Press'
review-of-2008 UN Top Ten debate
Click here for Inner
City Press' December 24 debate on UN budget, Niger
Click here from Inner City Press'
December 12 debate on UN double standards
Click here for Inner
City Press' November 25 debate on Somalia, politics
Click here for Inner City
Press Nov. 7 debate on the war in Congo
Watch this site, and this Oct. 2 debate, on
UN, bailout, MDGs
and this October 17 debate, on
Security Council and Obama and the UN.
* * *
These
reports are
usually also available through Google
News and on Lexis-Nexis.
Click
here
for a Reuters
AlertNet piece by this correspondent
about Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army. Click
here
for an earlier Reuters AlertNet piece about the Somali
National
Reconciliation Congress, and the UN's $200,000 contribution from an
undefined trust fund. Video
Analysis here
Feedback: Editorial
[at] innercitypress.com
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