UN
Admits Kadugli Peacekeepers Refused Convoy Escort, France
Downplays It
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
June 16 -- When the UN Security Council met behind closed
doors Thursday about the humanitarian situation in South
Kordofan,
Sudan, much criticism was directed at the UN Department of
Peacekeeping Operations, whose troops in Kadugli reported declined to
leave their base and do their jobs, as recently happened with the
Zambian peacekeepers in Abyei.
After
the meeting,
Inner City Press asked DPKO chief Alain Le Roy about the criticism.
He acknowledged that a UN battalion in Kadugli was “not willing to
escort a convoy... there was heavy shelling.”
Moments
later,
Inner City Press on camera asked French Ambassador Gerard Araud if
the Council discussed if a peacekeeper battalion declined to provide
escort or come out of its base. According to the
French Mission's
transcript, Araud replied that
“a
question was specifically asked whether all the instructions had
[always] been followed. Alain [Le Roy] told us 'yes, they have always
been followed.' The only example - which was an example where the
personnel was requested to evacuate, so it’s not a question of
protection - was when the personnel hesitated for a few hours because
of their own safety on the ground.”
But
Le Roy spoke
about a battalion refusing to escort a convoy, presumably not only of
soldiers. In fact, the UN evacuated -- or relocated, as UN OCHA put
it -- international staff from Kadugli to El Obeid. In any event,
refusing orders to escort a convoy is a “command and control”
problem, as one Council delegation put it.
Some
skeptics
wonder if the French Mission's and Ambassador's speed to speak on
these issues is entirely attributable to a concern for protection of
civilians, or might involve defending the performance of DPKO whose
past, current and seemingly future chiefs as promised by S-G Ban
Ki-moon seeking a second term are all French.
France's Araud & spokesman point finger, DPKO
top post now shown
Inner
City Press
asked Le Roy about the safety of Sudanese UN staff, who were not
evacuated by the UN to El Obaid. Le Roy to his credit said that the
UN was trying to contact all of them by radio, but had not been able
to reach those in “downtown Kadugli because we have no access to
downtown Kadugli.”
Some
question how
UNMIS can be said to be protecting civilians in Kadugli if it has “no
access to downtown Kadugli.” Watch this site.
* * *
As
Sudan
Pulls
US & UK Diplomats from UN Helicopter, Raising of
Stakes?
By
Matthew
Russell
Lee, Exclusive
UNITED
NATIONS,
June
16, updated -- When a UN
Mission in Sudan helicopter landed in
White Nile state, the Sudanese government took a US and a UK diplomat
off the plane.
As
described
to Inner City Press by a spokesman for
the UK Mission to the UN, the Sudanese authorities said they had not
been notified of the flight and therefore questioned its purpose and
passenger list.
Inner
City
Press
asked US Ambassador Susan Rice about a “US diplomat arrested in
Sudan.” She said, “I don't think that's the right word,” and
went into the Security Council for a closed door meeting about
violence involving the Sudanese Armed Forces and militias and tribes
they support.
A UN helicopter in Sudan
Asked
if
this
detention should been as a raising of the stakes by Khartoum, the UK
Spokesman told Inner City Press no. He could not name another time
that Sudanese authorities have similarly questioned the use of UNMIS
facilities by UK diplomats, but
posited that the issue was more that the UNMIS helicopter had not given
notice of its landing in Magennes than the identity of the passengers.
* * *
Sudan
Meeting
of
Security
Council Postponed Amid Addis Ababa Confusion, S. Kordofan
Pull Out UNcommented On
By
Matthew
Russell
Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
June
13
-- The UN Security Council postponed its June 10
meeting about Sudan and Abyei to the afternoon of June 13, in order
to watch the weekend
meetings
in
Addis Ababa between Khartoum's Omar
al Bashir and Juba's Salva Kiir. But then the June 13 meeting was
also postponed.
US
Ambassador
Susan Rice tweeted, “UN Security Council watching closely ongoing
negotiations on Sudan in Addis. We will meet when we can assess the
outcome... SAF must immediately end fighting and abuses in Kadugli
and withdraw unconditionally from Abyei.”
Wire
services
were
already
reporting an agreement on Abyei, for the Sudanese Armed
Forces (SAF) to withdraw and Ethiopian peacekeepers to go in. But
sources in Addis were saying it wasn't really done, that conditions
were being set.
The
stated
purpose of the open Security Council meeting postponed from Monday
was to have each Council member publicly make clear their position.
But what about their positions on the UN's own performance?
Inner
City Press replied to @AmbassadorRice, “The only withdrawing seems
to be by UN from Kadugli. What does the US Mission to the UN think of
UNMIS performance there?” So far there's been no answer.
Susan Rice & French DPR in Rajaf, action on UN
Kadugli pull out not shown
Here
was
the
question
as put to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesman Martin
Nesirky on Monday at noon:
Inner
City
Press:
can
you confirm that UN staff are being pulled out of
South Kordofan? And do you have any response to the allegations by
their top SPLM [Sudan People’s Liberation Movement] official in
South Kordofan, Al-Hilu, and his spokesmen that Egyptian peacekeepers
committed rape in South Sudan and that they turned over people to the
Sudanese Armed Forces who were later killed?
Spokesperson
Nesirky:
Well,
on
that very last point, allegations that UNMIS has
abandoned — there were reports that we’ve seen refer to one
national staff member and allegations about the UN Mission in Sudan
having abandoned a national staff member who was killed, are simply
completely false and baseless. The Mission will continue to provide
all the protection needed to all the staff, regardless of their
ethnic, religious or political affiliations. And just to be clear,
UNMIS is not evacuating its personnel from Kadugli. However, the
Mission started relocating civilian staff as of today to Khartoum,
including nationals, because they can’t operate in the current
circumstances. And an UNMIS convoy under the escort of Egyptian
peacekeepers was able to reach El-Obeid with its nonessential
international staff. And also, I can tell you that the Mission has
extracted the majority of its national staff from town, and they are
now safe in the Mission compound receiving the necessary assistance.
Question:
No,
no,
and thanks for that. I was saying, in this Sudan Tribune,
certainly over the weekend, maybe even as much as 24 hours ago, there
are these
quotes by Al-Hilu, who is the one who ran against Ahmed
Haroun --
Spokesperson:
I
heard
what you said, and what I have responded is the answer that
I have. Okay?
Question:
But
they
seem to be alleging different things?
Spokesperson:
Well,
as
I have said, we sought to have guidance from the UN Mission
in Sudan, and they have given as very clear guidance on what is
actually happening.
Question:
And
one
more thing on Sudan, there is… the SPLM
has
said
that the
territory of South Sudan has been bombed from the air by Khartoum
using Antonov aircraft; Jau in Unity State. Is that something that
UNMIS has been able to verify or deny?
Spokesperson:
Well,
it
wouldn’t be for us to deny, I think. But to try to
verify is another matter. I don’t have anything on that at the
moment, but we’re certainly aware of the reports. If my colleagues
have anything further, I am sure that we would be able to provide
that.
More
than
four
hours
later, no information had been provided. Watch this site.
, 
