Bill
Clinton
Says UN
Peacekeeper
Brought
Cholera to
Haiti, Didn't
Know
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
March 7,
updated --
After the UN
has refused to
answer
complaints
that it
introduced
cholera into
Haiti, its
Special Envoy
Bill Clinton
has now in
essence
admitted it,
only disputing
whether "the
UN
peacekeeper
from South
Asia... knew
he was
carrying that
virus."
Intrepid
journalist has
put the
audio online,
here from
Minute
0:50.
Back
on December
16, Inner City
Press
asked
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
Associate
Spokesman
Farhan Haq
about
Inner
City
Press: a quote
from Nigel
Fisher, that
“I don’t think
the UN has
ever denied
the
possibility”,
and then it
goes into
brackets,
“that they
could have
been at
fault”. And
some have said
that the UN
did deny
exactly that.
And I wanted
to know,
again, one,
the update on
how they are
responding to
this claim for
compensation
for the
cholera, but
two is, again
Mr. Fisher has
been there a
long time, but
is that
accurate? Is
the UN not
denying that
they may have
been
responsible?
Associate
Spokesperson
Haq: Well,
first of all,
on the claim:
yes, the claim
has been
received and
is currently
being studied.
And at this
stage, I
wouldn’t have
any further
comment on
that.
Regarding the
second thing
about
responsibility
for cholera,
as you know,
we take that
matter very
seriously. In
January 2011
appointed a
panel of
independent
scientific
experts to
study all
available
evidence in
order to
determine the
cause of the
cholera
outbreak and
epidemic. The
panel
determined
that it was
not possible
to be
conclusive
about how
cholera was
introduced
into Haiti.
So, in other
words what Mr.
Fisher says
does not
necessarily
contradict
that. It is
just that
there was no
conclusive way
of determining
how the
cholera was
introduced,
according to
the panel.
And still
the UN has not
responded to
the complaint
filed and then
buried with
its Office of
Legal Affairs
under Patricia
O'Brien. Now
what?
Typically, "a
spokeswoman
from the U.N.
peacekeeping
mission said
she couldn't
comment
because she
did not hear
Clinton' s
statement."
Well here it
is: audio here
from Minute
0:50.
Watch this
site.
, 
