In
DRC,
Tshisekedi
Asks for
Protection, UN
Tells Him
Kabila Is
In Change
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
January 4 --
Amid reports
of anomalies
in the voting
and
vote-counting
in the
Democratic
Republic of
the Congo, and
incumbent
Joseph Kabila
cutting off
text message
service and
directing the
tear
gassing of
supporters of
his opponent
Etienne
Tshisekedi,
the $1
billion UN
Mission in the
Congo,
MONUSCO, has
been
criticized for
remaining
quiet.
Tshisekedi's
spokesman
Albert Moleka,
the cabinet
director of
the Union for
Democracy and
Social
Progress
party, said
"We found out
that all
these election
figures were
all made up
with the
complicity of
the
MONUSCO
because it was
part of the
commission
that validated
the
results. It’s
a serious
matter because
MONUSCO
was supposed
to [bolster]
security for
the Congolese
people and
also
to help us
through the
electoral
process."
The
UDPS party
wrote to the
UN asking for
protection of
Tshisekedi,
and
"regretting"
MONUSCO's
failure to
respond. Inner
City Press on
Wednesday
asked
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
spokesman
Martin Nesirky:
Inner
City
Press:
...reports of
a letter from
the UDPS, the
opposition
party in the
Congo, to the
UN asking that
MONUSCO
[United
Nations
Organization
Stabilization
Mission in the
Democratic
Republic of
the
Congo] provide
protection to
Mr. Tshisekedi
and
expressing, I
guess,
some regret
that there has
been a lack of
response by
MONUSCO. Can
you confirm
such a letter
and is MONUSCO
going to
protect him?
Spokesperson
Nesirky:
There is
certainly a
letter that
has been
received, and
it
is being
looked into.
That’s what I
can tell you
at the moment.
MONUSCO has
certainly
received a
letter, and
they are
looking into
it. And the
same goes here
with DPKO;
with our
colleagues in
the
Peacekeeping
Department
here.
Inner
City
Press: Okay,
but if they
have a
protection of
civilians
mandate
it would
extend to
opposition
figures?
Spokesperson
Nesirky:
As I say,
Matthew, the
letter has
been received
and they
are looking
into it. Yes?
Last question.
Later
on January
4, Ban's
spokesperson's
office
provided this
response:
Subject:
Your
question on
the DRC
From: UN
Spokesperson -
Do Not Reply
[at]
un.org
Date: Wed, Jan
4, 2012 at
5:09 PM
To:
Matthew.Lee
[at]
innercitypress.com
Concerning
your
question at
today's Noon
Briefing, the
Department of
Peacekeeping
Operations
informs us of
the below:
The
provision
of security
for prominent
political
figures is the
responsibility
of the
Congolese
authorities.
(c) UN Photo
Tshisekedi
in Ban's
office,
protection
back in DRC
not shown
It
is MONUSCO's
understanding
that the
Congolese
authorities
and UDPS are
in direct
discussions
regarding the
provision of
appropriate
security for
Mr.
Tshisekedi,
including at
his residence
in Kinshasa.
In
cases
where the
national
authorities
lack the
capacity to
provide
security to
major
political
stakeholders,
the Security
Council has
given our
peacekeeping
missions the
specific
mandate and
the
essential
specialized
capabilities
to perform
that task, in
cooperation
with the
national
authorities.
In
accordance
with its
mandate,
MONUSCO will
do what it can
with
existing
capabilities
and within the
Mission’s
areas of
deployment
to protect
civilians who
are under
imminent
threat of
violence, as
needed.
Often
in the
history of UN
Missions in
the Congo,
including
under
MONUSCO's
predecessor
MONUC under
Alan Doss and
UN
Peacekeeping
chiefs
Jean-Marie
Guehenno and
Alain Le Roy,
failure to
protect by the
UN
was defended
based on the
size of the
country, the
lack of
notice,
the lack of
road.
Here,
a figure
earlier
received in
New York by
Ban Ki-moon
(how ever much
Ban may
now regret it)
is asking
Doss'
successor
Roger Meece
and Le Roy's
successor
Herve Ladsous
for
protection,
after
authorities
tear gassed
his supporters
and, he says,
put him under
house arrest
-- and he is
told that "the
provision of
security for
prominent
political
figures is the
responsibility
of the
Congolese
authorities."
Does
the UN do
more these
days to
protect
civilians, or
less? The
answer seems
clear. Watch
this site.
, 
