By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
October 3 --
Speeches on
Haiti filled
the Security
Council
all Wednesday
morning. As
simply two
examples,
Colombia
Permanent
Representative
Nestor Osorio
spoke of
cholera; US
Ambassador
Susan
Rice spoke of
accountability
for sexual
violence (but
apparently not
of or for
cholera).
When
it was over,
Council
president Gert
Rosenthal gave
a summary at
the
stakeout and
offered to
take
questions.
Inner City
Press asked
him of
polls showing
that half or
more of people
in Port of
Prince do not
want the
MINUSTAH
mission to
stay. Inner
City Press
asked, what
explained
this?
Rosenthal
said
that cases of
sexual abuse,
"two or
three," were
not
helpful; he
said that many
in Haiti
believe,
rightly or
wrongly, that
the UN brought
cholera into
the country.
(He added that
the
government
indicates it
wants MINUSTAH
to stay.)
Moments
later,
the head of
MINUSTAH
Mariano
Fernandez
followed and
gave a
short summary,
starting in
French. Inner
City Press
asked him the
same question
as to the
Council
President,
about cholera
and sexual
abuse,
specifically
if he thought
Uruguay's
charge of
"private
violence" made
real the UN's
stated "zero
tolerance"
policy.
Fernandez
replied
that he would
not question
the tribunals
of a troop
contributing
country --
this seems a
dubious
practice --
and that he
wouldn't
comment on
cholera since
it is a legal
matter.
Inner City
Press tried to
follow up, but
was rebuffed
by the
Department of
Peacekeeping
Operations spokesman,
the same one
who ran
interference
for DPKO head
Herve Ladsous
to not answer
questions
about why his
mission in the
Congo was
helping
recruit Mai
Mai militia
to fight the
M23 mutineers.
Ladsous
last week made
another of his
spokespeople
whisper to
boom
microphone
operation not
to give the
mic to
Inner City
Press, and then
called for
Press
questions to
be erased from
the UN
Webcast.
A fish, as
they say, rots
from the head
After
two soft
questions in
Spanish, and
with no help
from the DPKO
spokesman who
seems to be
under orders
to play by and
even expand
the
Ladsous Rules,
Inner City
Press managed
to ask
Ferandez the
follow
up: hasn't the
UN's Office of
Legal Affairs'
head Patricia
O'Brien's
non-response
to the
cholera claim
gone on too
long? How can
the UN preach
rule of law,
but bury a
claim like
this?
Fernandez
again
declined to
comment. Inner
City Press
asked if
MINUSTAH's
investigation
of the
shooting death
of a UN Police
officer from
Rwanda had
been
completed.
Ferandez said
the
investigation
continues,
called it an
accident, but
said he would
need more
facts. Then he
left. Will
there finally
be answers on
this shooting
death, and
much
longer
outstanding
cholera claim,
any time soon?
Watch this
site.
, 
