As
Ladsous Seizes
Mic to Avoid
Rape Question,
UN Hides
Criticism,
UNCA
Enables
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
February 4 --
How badly does
the UN brass
want to
protect
Herve Ladsous,
the Under
Secretary
General for
Peacekeeping
who
refuses to
answer Press
questions
including on
drones, rapes
by the
Congolese
Army, and
cholera?
The
answer is, so
much that it
will put its
own staff at
risk and leave
them in the
dark.
On
December 18,
Ladsous at the
Security
Council
stakeout
directed his
spokesman to
grab the UN
Television
microphone to
try to make it
impossible for
Inner City
Press to ask a
question about
the 126 rapes
in Minova by
the Congolese
Army, the
partners of
Ladsous
Department
of
Peacekeeping
Operations. Video here.
Ladsous
had
already
ignored such
questions on November 27 and December
7.
Inner
City Press was
not alone in
its outrage --
so were the
UNTV staff and
at
least some
journalists
(though
apparently not
those
controlling
the
UN
Correspondents
Association,
who to the
contrary went
out into the
hallway with
Ladsous for a
private
briefing on
November 27,
video
here.)
Inner
City Press
raised the
issue
immediately
with the head
of the
Department of
Public
Information.
But no
response on
the issue was
ever given.
At
a January 17
meeting by the
new Free
UN Coalition
for Access
with
DPI's chief
and also
Stephane
Dujarric, who
is in charge
of UNTV,
Dujarric said
"I talked to
Andre-Michel,
I told him it
was
inappropriate,
case is
closed, he
understands it
was
inappropriate.
It was a
mistake by a
UN staffer, as
you pointed
out it also
violates
union rules,
it wasn't the
right thing to
do."
But
why wasn't
this
communicated
at least to
UNTV staff?
As of mid
January, UNTV
staff
continued to
encourage
Inner City
Press and
FUNCA to
pursue the
issue - so
clearly, they
were not told
by Dujarric.
Why not?
Is this only
to protect
Ladsous?
In
fact, while it
was said that
the answers at
the January 17
meeting
would be
committed to
writing by DPI
and sent to
FUNCA, even
Dujarric's
February 1
letter did not
mention the
Ladsous issue.
When
asked why not,
Dujarric
replied that
"I think a
number of the
questions you
raise were, in
fact, answered
to you in
person during
our meeting
with last
month" and
asked that his
(obviously
incomplete)
letter be published
in full.
This,
of course,
would imply
that all was
well with
Ladsous. But
is it?
Also
enabling
Ladsous, from
the very first
day he got the
job (when AFP's
Tim Witcher
demanded
action by
the UN
Correspondents
Association
against Inner
City Press'
truthful
reporting), is
UNCA a/k/a the
UN's
Censorship
Alliance.
Things
have gotten
such that UNCA
said nothing
when Ladsous
said "I
don't answer
your
questions" and
then seized
the
microphone.
The
UNCA
"leaders'"
response was
to go
out into the
hall to be
spoon-fed by
Ladsous.
Even
UNCA's
past president
said it was a
shame (for
UNCA) that it
"couldn't"
defend the
Press' right
to ask a
question and
get it
answered by
Ladsous. But his
successor
is apparently
worse on this:
nothing has
been said.
Now
Ladsous is
slated to
brief the
Security
Council on
February 5
about
the failed
"peace
enforcement"
deal for
Eastern Congo
the
UN
promoted
anonymously to
embedded
journalists on
January 25
-- but
will he do a
stakeout? Will
the mic be
grabbed or
questions
avoided?
Ladsous
is
also scheduled
for a sit-down
press
conference at
the UN noon
briefing on
February 6. At
these, the
questions are
selected by
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
spokespeople.
Last time they
called
on Inner City
Press, which
asks more
questions
about, and
writes more
stories on, UN
Peacekeeping
than other
Correspondents.
Then Ladsous
refused to
answer.
This
time, unless
Ban through
his
spokesperson's
office wants
to further
"enable"
Ladsous'
dysfunction
beyond what
DPI's Dujarric
has done, one
expects again
to ask a
question,
topics
foreseeable.
But will there
be an answer?
Watch this
site.
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