In
Cote
d'Ivoire, UN Vague on Coulibaly Fighting in Abobo & If It Will Hit
Heavy Weapons, Bangladesh's Tale
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
April 21 -- With Laurent
Gbabgo spirited off to Korogho in
northern Cote Ivory Coast, it is unclear how the UN Mission in Cote
d'Ivoire is performing it mandate, including targeting the forces of
IB Coulibaly still using heavy weapons in Abidjan.
Part
of the lack of
clarity is attributable to the UN, and appears intentional. On April
21, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's acting deputy spokesman Farhan
Haq read out an announcement that
“The
UN mission in Cote d’Ivoire, UNOCI, has deplored the ongoing
fighting in the Yopougon and Abobo neighbourhoods of Abidjan. The
mission says that these clashes could threaten efforts to bring back
peace. UNOCI says it is holding discussions with the parties to
resolve the situation. The Mission has also reinforced its presence
in Yopougon. Yesterday, UNOCI started joint patrols with the
Republican Forces of Côte d’Ivoire to restore law and order in
Abidjan.”
Since
the UN didn't
say who the fighting was between, Inner City Press asked:
Inner
City
Press: When you said this renewed fighting, can you, I guess,
confirm that this is not supporters of [Laurent] Gbagbo? These are
two forces who all supported [Alassane] Ouattara — the army and the
IB [Ibrahim] Coulibaly forces? Is that the fighting you are
referring to?
Acting
Deputy
Spokesperson Haq: We’re referring exactly to the fighting
among two different armed factions that took place in those two
neighbourhoods — in Yopougon and Abobo. There is a press release
with some more details for you.
Why
won't the UN
just say who is responsible for the fighting in Abobo that they say
they are so
concerned about, and whether UNOCI will again be using attack
helicopters to “take out” the heavy weapons being used? Or was
that only a pretext?
Later
on April 21,
Inner City Press interviewed the Permanent Representative of
Bangladesh, a country contributing many of the UN peacekeepers in
Cote d'Ivoire. He gave a detailed account of the run up weeks ago to
the use of
attack helicopters, telling Inner City Press that two Bangladeshi
police guarding the Golf Hotel were hit, killing one, he got calls
from Dhaka.
He
in turn called
Atul Khare, the number two official in the Department of Peacekeeping
Operations. Khare told him he was already awake, and that something
would be done.
Later
Khare called
him back and said, the operation is about to start. Ban Ki-moon also
called him, to express the same.
In
his telling, the
UN and France starting blasting Gbagbo's forces and even residence in
defense of Bangladeshi peacekeepers. Again, or was that only a
pretext?
When
Inner City
Press asked
if Gbagbo's doctor Christophe Ble has been killed, Ban's
envoy Choi Young-jin said he didn't know. Later, deputy spokesman
Farhan Haq told Inner City Press that UNOCI has no knowledge. We'll
see.
* * *
On
Cote
d'Ivoire,
As DRC Complains, Choi Young-jin Speaks of Impartiality &
Undershirts, The Death of Desire Tagro
By
Matthew
Russell
Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
April
19 -- On Cote d'Ivoire, two Press interviews outside
the Security Council on April 19 cast light on the state of play. The
Permanent Representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
stopped and complained to Inner City Press about the UN's actions in
Abidjan.
He
disagreed
that things are “over,” citing the charges
against Ouattara and Soro and their forces in Duekoue.
“In DRC we have
a vice president,” he said, “who is in jail in The Hague for
things they say his soldiers did. And so who was responsible for
Duekoue?”
Inner
City
Press
also stopped and spoke with Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's envoy to
Cote d'Ivoire, Choi Young-jin, asking him specifically about the
reported death of Gbagbo's doctor Christophe Ble, about the photos of
Gbagbo in his undershirt and the UN not saying where Gbagbo is.
Choi
said
he did
not know about Christophe Ble, but “One people I am sure who died
was Tagro. We transported him by helicopter to the hospital, next day
we informed he died.”
There
are
videos
circulating about the death of Tagro,
of
which Inner City Press is
completing a review.
When
Inner
City
Press asked again about Christophe Ble, Choi said that “Cote
d'Ivoire is a country with incredible rumors.”
The
UN has refused
to confirm where it is that they are providing protection to Gbagbo.
Inner City Press asked Choi, “Korogho” and he nodded, calling it
“the most peaceful town during the crisis... the best place to keep
him.”
But
why not say
where he is? Choi said there is “a slight nuance - we contribute
to the protection. That is why we can't tell. They are doing the
internal protection. It's [Ouattara's] job. We are assisting him.”
Choi
said,
“when
Gbagbo came to, was brought to, Golf Hotel, I went to se him next
day. I told him we would contribue to his protection and that...
he'll be treated with dignity.”
Inner
City
Press
asked about the photos of Gbagbo in his undershirt. Choi said, “I
think that was when they tried to put the flack jacket, he could be
killed easily during transport.”
Gbagbo et fils displayed on
Ouattara TV, Choi says flak jacket
On
Inner City
Press' other questions about treatment, Choi said he couldn't answer,
“We were not there, because of military impartiality.”
But
the
Democratic Republic of the Congo Permanent Representative is not the
only one questioning the UN's impartiality. Ban Ki-moon is headed to
Russia, where he will presumably discuss this and other Russian
complaints. Ban gambled -- will it pay off for him? Watch this site.
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