On
Drones,
Ladsous Sought
for West
Africa But
UNSC Says Only
DRC
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
January 29 --
Four days
after Inner
City Press
exposed that
UN
Peacekeeping
chief Herve
Ladsous began
procuring
drones 50 days
before he had
any approval,
the UN still
had no
response.
Beyond jumping
the gun,
Ladsous also
made his
November 2012
procurement
for drones not
only in
Central Africa
but also "West
Africa." The
closing date
was January 11
-- before any
approval at
all.
Inner
City Press has
identified the
UN Procurement
document, here.
Tuesday UN
Security
Council
president for
January Masood
Khan told
Inner City
Press that the
case by case
approval
conveyed by
his January 22
letter was
only for
Eastern Congo.
At Tuesday's
noon briefing,
Inner City
Press again
asked
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
deputy
spokesman
Eduardo Del
Buey to
explain
Ladsous'
seemingly
lawless
gun-jumping,
and also to
state once and
for all if
Ladsous will
try to launch
drones over
FrancAfrique's
West Coast,
Cote d'Ivoire?
On this and
other Inner
City Press on
the Congolese
Army and on
Darfur, Del
Buey said,
Have you asked
DPKO?
Inner City
Press reminded
Del Buey that
Ladsous
refuses to
answer any
Inner City
Press
question.
Del Buey asked
if any of
Ladsous'
subordinates
had been
asked.
But in the the
last
interaction on
December 18,
Ladsous'
spokesman
grabbed the
UNTV
microphone to
prevent a
Press question
about the 126
rapes in
Minova, South
Kivu, by the
UN's partners
in the
Congolese
army.
Weeks later on
January 17, UN
official
Stephane
Dujarric told
the Free
UN Coalition
for Access
that he had
quietly spoken
with Ladsous'
spokesman
about grabbing
the
microphone.
Typically,
nothing in
writing.
Here's
the inital
video
#LADSOUS2013,
soft launched
January
27.
Watch this
site.
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