As
ICC
Indicts Uhuru
Kenyatta, IMF
Is Asked How
It'll Deal
With Him
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
January 23 --
In the wake of
this morning's
International
Criminal Court
confirmation
of charges
against four
of six Kenyan
officials for
crimes against
humanity
during the
post-election
violence, much
of the focus
in Kenya has
been on how
the
indictments
impact
upcoming
presidential
elections.
But
with indictee
Uhuru Muigai
Kenyatta being
not only a
presidential
candidate but
also the
country's
sitting
finance
minister,
Inner City
Press has
asked the
International
Monetary
Fund's
spokespeople
to "state
how this ICC
indictment
changes the
ways in which
the ICC will
engage
with this
finance
minister."
The
IMF is, at
least
formally, part
of the United
Nations
system. The UN
has
propounded a
policy of only
dealing with
ICC indictees
when
absolutely
necessary
(although, as
Inner City
Press reported
on
January 20,
joint UN -
African Union
envoy to
Darfur Ibrahim
Gambari
greeted
Sudanese
president and
ICC indictee
Omar al Bashir
at the
Khartoum
wedding
reception of
Chad's
president
Idriss Deby
and the
daughter of
janjaweed
militia leader
Musa Hilal, click here
for that
story.)
So
what are the
IMF's policies
for dealing
with finance
ministers
against whom
the
ICC judges
have confirmed
charges of
crimes against
humanity? This
is
a question the
IMF should
answer, this
morning, as
Inner City
Press
has asked.
Watch this
site.
Uhuru Kenyatta
& IMF's
DSK - Lagarde
not shown?
Footnote:
Inner
City Press has
also re-posed
another human
rights and
finance
question to
the IMF, about
Sri Lanka: "in
light of this
week's
visit to Sri
Lanka by Brian
Atkins, will
the IMF
consider in
any way
issues of
human rights
and
"accountability"
in considering
Sri Lanka? And
please answer
this question
left
unanswered and
unacknowledged
from your
January 13
briefing (as
well as the
other
questions
below, which I
was told would
be answered
bilaterally
but
none were"
On
Sri
Lanka, what is
the IMF's
response to
Central Bank
Governor Ajit
Nivad Cabraal
statement on
January 3 that
Sri Lanka will
seek a fresh
“follow up or
surveillance
program” with
the IMF as the
$2.6
billion loan
obtained in
2009 is
reportedly due
to expire
early this
year? What is
the IMF's
thinking on
Sri Lanka's
failure to
fully meet
the budget
deficit
targets and
its refusal to
devalue the
rupee?
On
Ukraine,
what if the
relation
between that
country's
negotiations
with Russia on
gas prices and
the IMF
resuming
talks, after
Ukraine
passed the
bankruptcy
legislation it
said the IMF
wanted? Etc.
Watch
this site.
, 
