Kagame
Rumor Shot
Down, UN Truck
in
"Celebration"
Left
Unexplained
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
January 10,
updated --
Rumors of the
death of
Rwanda's Paul
Kagame
were quickly
responded to
and shot down
by the
government in
Kigali.
Across the
border in the
Eastern Congo,
when a time-stamped
photograph
was tweeted
of a UN truck
full of people
on the back,
captioned
"MONUSCO in
Goma
celebrating
the death of
Pres Paul
Kagame," it
seemed worth
asking the UN
mission
MONUSCO and
its
chief, Martin
Kobler, to
comment on or
explain the
photograph.
Inner
City Press first
did so by
Twitter, a
medium in
which Kobler
has in
the past
responded. But
not this time.
And so, Inner
City Press
inquired by
e-mail with
all three
spokespeople
listed on
MONUSCO's
press
releases,
Charles
Bambara, Félix
Prosper Basse,
Adèle
Lukoki, as
well as
Kobler, in
both French
and English:
"Please
comment
on / explain
this
time-stamped
photo, which
is being
described as a
UN truck
participating
in
"celebrations"
of
the rumor of
the Rwandan
president's
death. Do
you
dispute that
the photo was
taken on
January 10? To
whom is the UN
giving a ride
in this truck
/ photo? In
what context?"
If
MONUSCO's and
the UN's goal
is to dispel
online
"rumors" --
MONUSCO even
called reports
of some of its
"peacekeepers'"
links
with the FDLR
militia rumors
when Inner
City Press
published
leaked
documents
later
confirmed by
the UN's own
Group of
Experts
report -- then
they should
have
responded, on
Twitter or to
e-mailed
Press
questions.
But
they did not.
One wag, not
this one,
joked that
they were
having
their
post-party
smoke. But
really, for a
billion
dollars a
year,
shouldn't the
UN mission
MONUSCO be
expected to
respond to
this?
Watch this
site.
Update:
After a time,
UN envoy
Martin Kobler
did reply:
"@innercitypress
Ceci apparait
de toute
évidence comme
une
utilisation
frauduleuse
d'un véhicule
de la
#Monusco.
C'est
inacceptable"
Inner City
Press thanked
Kobler and
asked, "And
now, what?"
Watch this
site.
, 
