In
Darfur,
Gambari Criticizes Nur & Inner City Press on Video,
Transcription Here
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
DARFUR,
October
8 -- Peacekeepers were sent to Darfur after reports of a
brutal campaign by the government of Omar al Bashir against opponents
of his regime and civilians perceived as supporting them.
Now
top peacekeeper
Ibrahim Gambari, as shown by documents
leaked to and published by
Inner City Press, is near to turning over five supporters of rebel
Abdel Wahid Nur to that same Bashir regime, in exchange for a promise
by Bashir to commute any death sentence his courts impose.
Several
members of
the UN Security Council, which ostensibly oversees Gambari's actions
along with the African Union, expressed surprise to Inner City Press
once they saw the leaked documents, consisting of a draft letter and
“Additional Terms” from Gambari to Bashir's foreign minister Ali
Karti.
On
the UN plane
Thursday to El Fasher from South Sudan, US Ambassador Susan Rice told
Inner City Press that she intends to inquire into Gambari's offers
about the Kalma Camp Five while in Darfur. This echoed a statement of
intention previously issued by another Permanent Member of the
Council.
After
a closed door
meeting with the visiting Security Council members, Gambari
and two
of his military officials, in uniform, came to see the Press.
Gambari
called Inner City Press' publication of his draft documents
“reprehensible” and told Inner City Press to “be careful...
lives are at stake.” Transcription below.
Yeah, a witness to
Gambari's statements later said, the
lives of the Kalma Camp Five are
at risk if the UN turns them over to a strongman already
indicted for
genocide and war crimes. “Is this what the UN should be doing?”
Gambari, Lyall Grant, Susan Rice, Churkin- oversight
not seen? (c) MRLee
Gambari's
statements
to Inner City Press were caught on video and will soon be
published online as such. For now, here is a transcription, prepared
late Thursday night at a guest house in El Fasher outside of
Gambari's UNAMID compound:
Inner
City
Press asked Ibrahim Gambari, “What's happen with the Kalma
Camp Five that you are considering turning over to the government...
or that documents indicate you are considering turning over?”
Gambari
answered:
“Here is the situation. We have these five sheikhs who
have been accused of some very serious offenses. We have no means as
UNAMID to try them... Down the line if ever there was a death
sentence, the President has the prerogative of mercy. All has been
discussed confidentially. I want to say how reprehensible it was
that somebody leaked the confidential communication of the government
of Sudan...endangering the lives of those in the camps. The recipient
of such a leak I think should also think twice about what they do
considering that they are endangering the lives.. We've lost 27
peacekeepers between UNAMID and UNMIS, I mean AMIS.”
Inner
City
Press asked about Abdel Wahid Nur saying that if the Five are
turned over, it will make UNAMID complicit in genocide, and that his
group would not cooperate with the UN any more.
Gambari
responded,
“you quote words Abdel Wahid was supposed to have
said... I met Khalil Ibrahim yesterday, asked how about how someone
said JEM wants Gambari to resign for Tarabat Market. [He
said he] ever said that, never authorized this... I want to hear from
Abdel Wahid. I've been to Paris twice, I went to Tripoli...What
happened in New York I condemn it. Matthew I have known you a long
time, you should be careful... You are a recipient of a leaked
document... Journalism also is a responsibility. I regard you as a
friend, I used to, I regard you as a friend, I am admitting that.”
Of
Abdel Wahid Nur, Gambari said: “He wants all issues resolved almost
before he comes.”
“Matthew, I'm very
angry with you , what are we supposed to do, keep people
indefinitely?”
Inner
City
Press said, “Several Security Council members, when they saw
the leaked documents, said they were not aware that you or UNAMID
were in such discussions, and some expressed worry. How much is this
Mission overseen by the Security Council?”
Gambari
said
“Ask them. Ask the S-G. I am responsible to two masters. You
have the AU and you have the UN. The unity of the international
community is key to finding a solution.”
Inner
City
Press said, as Gambari backed out the door toward his vehicle,
“Transparency you can always say is dangerous, but I think it's
probably a good thing.”
“No,”
Gambari said. “Believe me, lives are at stake.”
Or
maybe jobs,
a witness to Gambari's statements later said, adding that the lives
of the Kalma Camp Five are at risk if the UN turns them over to a
strongman already indicted for genocide and war crimes. Among other
lives put at risk, without oversight, transparency or explanation.
“Is this what the UN should be doing?”
Watch
this site.
Footnote:
it's
worth noting that even before Inner City Press obtained and
published Gambari's draft letter to Sudan's Ali Karti, Gambari had
already expressed anger at Inner City Press' publication
of other
leaked documents concerning his time as UN envoy to Myanmar.
That time, before
the UN's September 24 high level meeting on Sudan, Gambari didn't
argue about lives being at risk. He claimed the documents were “old”
(2009) and not newsworthy. “Just leave me alone,” he said, having
in the past declined to respond to questions sentto his UN e-mail
address by Inner City Press. Now, the claim that lives are put at
risk. Is it just opposition to transparency?
* * *
In
Darfur,
Gambari
Attacks Publication of His Kalma Turn Over Documents,
Says Press Puts At Risk
By
Matthew
Russell
Lee
DARFUR,
October
7
-- Hours after the UN Security Council and accompanying
media including Inner City Press arrived Thursday at the joint
African Union - UN Mission in Darfur, the Joint Special
Representative Ibrahim Gambari came to visit the Press. Inner City
Press asked Gambari about the turnover
of five supporters of Abdel
Wahid Nur documents obtained and published by Inner City Press show
he is considering.
Gambari
responded
angrily that the leaking and then publication of the documents puts
people at risk. Inner City Press responded that others believe that
the turnover would put people at risk, not only the five individual's
turned over, who even as to execution would be relying on a promise
by Omar al Bashir, already indicted for genocide - but also for
UNAMID's own peacekeepers.
As
quoted by Radio
Dabanga, Abdel
Wahid Nur has said that if the turnover occurs, he and
his movement will view UNAMID as complicit with the genocide Bashir
has been indicted for.
Inner
City Press
asked Gambari about what Abdel Wahid Nur told Radio Dabanga. Gambari
responded that he does not believe quotes he reads -- Dabanga is, of
course, a radio -- and gave as his example a recent talk with Khalil
Ibrahim of JEM in which, Gambari said, Ibrahim said JEM had never
called for Gambari to resign. Self-serving?
Gambari
said he
was criticizing the Press “as a friend.” But to attack a
publication for publishing a leak about the possible turnover of five
people to one accused of genocide and war crimes seems strange.
As
Inner City Press said while Gambari left, several Security Council
members had no idea Gambari was engaged in such negotiations. One
Permanent Representative of a Permanent Five Council member told
Inner City Press that, after checking with “the capital,” the
issue would be raised on this trip. Susan Rice of the US said it
would be looked into during the visit.
“I
have two
masters,” he said, the African Union as well as the UN and its
Security Council. So does Gambari confer with neither? Or with the
African Union more than the UN?
In the
room in
which Gambari meet with the Council Ambassadors, two hagiographic
photographs are hung on the wall: the UN's Ban Ki-moon, and the AU's
Jean Ping.
By
having two
masters, does Gambari answer only to himself?
Or as
some say,
to a resident of Khartoum, which Gambari reaches by Lear Jet?
* * *
, 
