Amid
Sudan's
Darfur Crackdown, UN Has No Comment, Partners with Bashir
Gov't
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
February 15 -- With a dozen
doctors arrested in Darfur, and
food
distribution reportedly stopped to internally displaced persons
camps, the UN and its mission under Ibrahim Gambari have had nothing
to say.
The UN spends $1
billion a year in Darfur, and Ban Ki-moon said it was one of his top
priorities when he became Secretary General. What happened?
On
February 10,
Inner City Press asked UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesman:
There
were
reports that in the IDP [internally displaced persons] camps,
including Hamadiya and Zalengei, that there is no, that food is no
longer being distributed by WFP [World Food Program] and the people
inside the camp say that this was an attempt by the Government to
disassemble the camps in this visit of this guy, Ghazi Salaheddine,
who is in charge of the Darfur file for the Khartoum Government. First
off, was the UN, is it a fact that food services in this IDP
camp have stopped, and what is the UN going to do about it?
Spokesperson
Martin
Nesirky: Well, let’s ask our colleagues from the World Food
Program to let us know what the picture is there. And obviously, it
is a clear priority for the United Nations to ensure that aid can be
delivered to those people who need it.
Nesirky
cut to
another question, until Inner City Press was again called on:
Inner
City
Press: I actually had a follow-up. This guy, Ghazi Salaheddine,
the Government Minister for Darfur, held a
joint press conference
with Ibrahim Gambari in which they announced a partnership, and Mr.
Gambari said he was very positive. So what I was, I guess, trying
to
say is that people in Darfur say it was the visit of this minister
that led to this suspension of services to IDPs. I wanted, I guess,
some explanation of what it is that Mr. Gambari is finding so
positive in the visit of this minister, the announced intention to
“Darfurize” the peace process, which most people in the IDP camps
are protesting. What… how do you explain Mr. Gambari’s positive
statements in light of the reports of continued fighting, bombing and
dislocation?
Spokesperson
Nesirky:
I’d like to take a closer look at precisely what Mr.
Gambari said, firstly, and secondly, as I already mentioned to you, I
am sure our colleagues from the World Food Programme can give us some
details on precisely what is happening on the ground. What other
question did you have?
The
next day
February 11, still without any answer on the IDP camps, Inner City
Press asked:
Inner
City
Press: It’s reported that 12 staff members of Médecins du
Monde have been arrested in Sudan, in Darfur, in Nyala, by the
Government. I wanted to know, it is actually said that some others
are now in hiding at the OCHA [Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs] compound there. I am wondering if the… what
the UN can say about this, about the Government locking up doctors
for serving the Jebel Marra area?
Spokesperson
Nesirky:
Let’s find out.
But
four days
later, absolutely nothing had been found out, or said by the UN. On
February 14, Nesirky dodged questions from Inner City Press following
up on its stories
on the UN providing free transportation to Ahmed
Haroun, indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes
in Darfur.
UN's Ban, Gambari, Khare & Menkerios: Haroun not shown
On
February 15
without explaining, Nesirky ended the briefing by allowing Inner City
Press to ask “only one question.” Inner City Press asked for a
response to a report that UNAMID is not trusted by Darfuri, as it is
too close to the Khartoum government.
As
he left the
briefing room, Nesirky said he'd have to look into the report and get
back to Inner City Press. By the close of business on February 15 he
had not.
Again, the UN spends
$1
billion a year in Darfur, and Ban Ki-moon said it was one of his top
priorities when he became Secretary General. What happened? Watch
this site.
Footnote: at a press
conference on February 15 by the Committee to Protect Journalists, at
which Ban Ki-moon was described as weak on press freedoms, Inner City
Press asked about the treatment of Radio Dabanga by Sudan, and the UN.
CPJ's expert described Dabanga as UN funded. But it is not - and
Gambari's UNAMID hardly defends it, as it reports critically of
UNAMID's closeness with Khartoum. Where is the oversight?
* * *
UN
Says
Flying
ICC Indictee Haroun Was In Its Budget, Won't Disclose Cost
By
Matthew
Russell
Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
February
14 -- After the UN begrudgingly confirmed to Inner
City Press that it had provided transportation to Ahmed Haroun,
indicted for war crimes in Darfur by the International Criminal
Court, the office of Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson
Martin Nesirky insisted that it was “on a space available basis...
at no additional operational costs to the mission.”
Immediately
after
that
answer, two weeks ago, Inner City Press began asking Nesirky:
“On
your answer that Ahmed Haroun, indicted by the ICC for war crimes in
Darfur, flew on a pre-existing UN flight, in light of footage from
interview in South Kordofan which Haroun arranged with UN plane on
camera behind him, please state who else was on the flight with him,
how frequent UN flights between Abyei and South Kordofan are and what
size aircrafts are used.”
While
there
has
still not been answer answer to this question, on February 11 in
front of the UN Security Council Inner City Press asked the head of
the UN Mission in Sudan Haile Menkerios if Haroun had been flown on a
regular UN flight.
Menkerios
said no,
“there is no direct flight to Abyei. We flew him there in order to
take him... We flew him by helicopter to Abyei because there is no
flight.”
This
contradicted
Ban's
spokesman's response that the UN's flight of ICC indictee
Haroun was “on a space available basis... at no additional
operational costs to the mission.”
And so on
February 14 Inner City
Press asked Nesirky to explain the discrepancy, and reiterated the
request to know who else was on the flight, and how much it cost.
Nesirky
began
by
asking Inner City Press to “read
from
[its] blog” and then denied
there was any contradiction:
Inner
City
Press:
I wanted to ask you about this, the flying by UNMIS of
Ahmed Haroun, who is indicted by the ICC. And earlier response from
your office had said that…
Spokesperson
Martin
Nesirky:
Matthew, why don’t you read out what your blog
said today?
Inner
City
Press:
Yeah, Okay.
Spokesperson:
Why
don’t you read out…?
Inner
City
Press:
No, what I would like to know, I’d like to know what
your response is.
Spokesperson:
Why
don’t you read out what the top of your blog said today? Do
you want to read out the top, what your blog actually says?
Inner
City
Press:
I’d like… okay, fine, I mean… I guess that… I
was trying to ask you a question. I thought that was the purpose of
these briefings.
Spokesperson:
No,
I mean, just ask the question, but…
Inner
City
Press:
Yeah, my question is, how is it consistent with the
response that I got that said that there were these pre-existing
seats and were done at no additional cost to the Mission with Mr.
[Haile] Menkerios’ statement that there was a special helicopter
used because there are no regular flights to Abyei. How are the two
consistent? And what was the cost to Abyei? And…
Spokesperson:
Well,
I think there is a very clear answer to this. And that is
that, at the request of the Government and when space is available,
UNMIS provides seats on its flights to Government officials on
official business related to the peace process, and without any
financial implications to the Government and at no additional
operational costs to the Mission. This means that, as part of the
Mission's mandate, the cost of transporting Government officials,
whether it is on a regular or a special flight, is already allocated
in the Mission's budget and so there is no question of it incurring
any additional operational costs.
UN's Ban & spox Nesirky, cost of flying ICC indictee not shown
And
in
this
case — and as mentioned indeed by the Special
Representative of the Secretary-General, Mr. Menkerios — a regular
flight was not available and therefore UNMIS transported Governor
Haroun as part of its mandate to provide good offices to the parties,
under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, in their efforts to resolve
their differences through dialogue and negotiations.
And
as
I
think you will recall, at the time there were clashes in Abyei
going on at the time, and those clashes threatened to escalate. And
it was Governor Haroun who was instrumental in bringing the Misseriya
leaders to that meeting in Abyei, and this helped to prevent further
clashes.
Inner
City
Press:
But you understand why the answer that said on a
space-available basis and at no additional operational cost to the
Mission created the impression that this was a pre-existing flight,
as from, for example, Kinshasa to Goma, on which he put somebody on
an existing flight? I mean, that’s why I have been asking who else
was on the flight and how much did the flight cost. It seems a fair
question when transporting an indicted ICC indicted of war crimes.
Spokesperson:
I
think, as we’ve said very clearly, no additional operational
costs are involved. Within the budget there are costs that cover
transport, and there is no additional cost involved in the flight
that was provided.
Inner
City
Press:
The idea of like a special UN flight to fly Mr. Haroun
to Abyei being at no additional costs to the Mission. I just, I guess
I wanted…
Spokesperson:
Because
there are blocks of time available for flights, and that is
already budgeted into the Mission’s budget, and indeed that is a
standard procedure in any mission which has an aircraft.
Inner
City
Press:
Would the UN fly Omar al-Bashir to Darfur? I mean, I
guess I just want to know where it stops. I guess I just want to
reiterate my question, despite the simplest way to do it, how much
the flight actually cost - because there is, I am sure, a cost to it
– and who else was on the flight? I mean, it seemed like a pretty
fair… because there is controversy around this flight and I just
find that the answer that was given, at least I know, maybe I am…
maybe I am a bad reader, but it’s… when it says when seats are
available and at no additional cost it implies that the flight was a
pre-existing flight on which, at no cost to the Mission, they put Mr.
Haroun on the flight. But it’s not the case.
Spokesperson:
Well,
it is as I said to you, when space is available and at the
request of the Government, the Mission provides seats on its flights.
And it doesn’t, there are no financial implications for the
Government, and no additional operational costs to the mission.
Inner
City
Press:
[inaudible] when you said like when seats are available,
usually this implies…
Spokesperson:
Let’s
move on, we’re moving round in circles, Matthew. Let’s
move on to the next question. I am sure you have another question.
Yes
there are many
more questions. Watch this site.
, 
