UN
Inaction in
Goma Blamed On
Force
Commander,
Buckpass
by Stonewall
Ladsous
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
November 20 --
After Goma
fell to the
M23 mutineers
without
the UN's
MONUSCO
mission doing
anything,
Inner City
Press asked
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
spokesman
Martin Nesirky
to explain
the inaction
of the UN
Peacekeepers
under his or
France's
chief,
Herve Ladsous.
Nesirky
was
in Israel with
Ban Ki-moon;
he said he
deferred the
question to
his Deputy
Eduardo Del
Buey whom he
said had been
briefed by
Ladsous'
Department of
Peacekeeping
Operations. Video
here, from
Minute 4:45.
So
Inner City
Press asked
Del Buey, who
made the
decision for
MONUSCO to
not fight, and
when? Video
here, from
Minute 15:38.
Del
Buey replied,
"the Force
Commander on
the ground
decides what
is
best for
safety of
civilians, if
to risk a
firefight or
hold fire"
or "make sure
you are
observing and
keeping
records."
Given
the billions
of dollars
spent on
MONUSCO and
MONUC before
it, one
should be able
to expect more
than "record
keeping."
To
many it is not
credible that
this decision,
this glaring
failure of
the UN, was
left up to the
force
commander on
the ground.
M23 had
been advancing
on Goma, this
time, since at
latest
November 15.
It
pulled back
and gave an
additional 24
hours.
So
where was UN
Peacekeeping
chief Ladsous?
Where is he?
Since he won't
answer Press
questions, why
not a video
briefing by
Ban's DRC
envoy Roger
Meece or
the force
commander Del
Buey was
referring to?
The UN put
Meece on a
video
teleconference,
belatedly,
after UN
inaction on
the mass rape
in Walikale.
Why not now?
On
Saturday when
his native
France called
an emergency
Security
Council
meeting to
issue a press
statement
telling M23 to
not take Goma,
Ladsous
outright
refused to
answer Press
questions,
including "Who
broke the
ceasefire?"
Ladsous
directed
his spokesman
to tell UN
staff to keep
the microphone
away
from Inner
City Press,
which has
asked and
written about
Ladsous'
role in the
Great Lakes as
France's
Deputy
Permanent
Representative
at the UN
during the
Rwanda
genocide in
1994. Rather
than
accountability
or follow
through,
Ladsous calls
this
"insulting
innuendo."
In
a reverse
citation to
real military
leader
Stonewall
Jackson, some
now refer to
General
Stonewall
Ladsous.
His
DPKO has given
Ban Ki-moon's
spokesperson's
office
statements to
read,
including that
MONUSCO is
still
conducting
"rapid"
patrols of
Goma.
Since
on Saturday
Ladsous,
before
refusing
questions, had
said there
were
1500
peacekeepers
in Goma and
some 6000 in
the Kivus,
Inner City
Press on
Tuesday asked
Del Buey why
the
peacekeeper
count in Goma
after three
days and M23
advance and 24
hour notice
was still
1500.
Del
Buey replied
that there are
problems and
instability
elsewhere in
the
Congo. But
Ladsous
refused to
answer why his
MONUSCO was
not
protecting
Pinga, for
example, from
the non M23
Mai Mai
militia.
On Tuesday,
France moved
up the
timeline on
its draft
resolution, to
which "Innocent"
Kaina
& Baudoin
Ngaruye are
added, calling
for a vote at
5:30 pm. But
paper is not
cutting it.
On
Tuesday, Inner
City Press
asked Del Buey
about protests
in Kisangani
and Bunia; he
said he had no
information.
Sources say
the protests
in
Bunia are
directed at
MONUSCO and
the UN, and
similar
protests are
being prepared
in Bukavu.
Inner
City Press
asked Del Buey
how many UN
Peacekeepers
are now in
Bukavu. Video
here, from
Minute 17:35.
Del Buey
said he
didn't know
and would have
to check.
Yesterday, he
did not
revert with
any updated
information
about the
withdrawal of
helicopters.
Watch this
site.
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