By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
June 11 --
After Uganda's
foreign
minister Sam
Kutesa became
the next UN
General
Assembly
President on
June 11, Inner
City Press
asked him
about both New
York Senators'
protests to
his candidacy
based on
Uganda's
anti-gay law.
Video
here, and
embedded
below.
Kutesa said
that
opposition to
him is based
on
"mis-understanding;"
he said his
position is
that
homosexuality
is a private
matter, or is
okay if kept
private.
Inner City
Press asked
Kutesa if he
would meet
with Schumer.
Kutesa said he
would be happy
to, "I have a
lot of respect
for him;" he
said the
statements
attributed to
Schumer, "if
they are
correct, it
was because he
was not very
informed."
Afterward two
African
Permanent
Representatives
asked Inner
City Press if
these
questions will
go on all
year. One
noted that the
US did not
speak in the
meeting - and
nor did the
Latin American
and Caribbean
group GRULAC,
reflecting
they could not
or did not
agree on a
statement.
Inner City
Press also
asked Kutesa
about South
Sudan; he said
he supports
"the peace
initiative
spearheaded by
our leaders in
IGAD in
Ethiopia and
Kenya."
He said that
he had just
issued a
statement on
his ownership
interest in
Entebbe
Handling
Services - on
which UN
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric never
before the
meeting
corrected his
statement in
the noon
briefing two
days before.
Dujarric was
asked of
accusations
that Kutesa
was chair and
still part
owner of
Entebbe
Handling
Services
(ENHAS) and if
ENHAS does
business with
the UN.
Dujarric
said,
“I do not
think they
have any
contracts with
MONUSCO The
President of
the General
Assembly is
not a staff
member of the
UN. And again,
we’re checking
on the
veracity of
the reports
that have been
floating
around,
Matthew.”
Since
then, Dujarric
has not
provided any
information or
updated the transcript.
But even the
most cursory
search find
many ENHAS
contracts with
missions of UN
Peacekeeping
under Herve
Ladsous,
including
MONUSCO in the
Democratic
Republic of
the Congo.
From
the “2013-
2014
Acquisition
Plan - UN
Mission in the
Democratic
Republic of
Congo
(MONUSCO),”
there's “ENHAS
Airfield
services in
Entebbe,
$1,860,000” -
click
here to view.
See
also, “2013 PO
Awards for
Field Missions
- Others”
listing
“Entebbe
Handling
Services Ltd (
ENHAS )
Training,
other $50,847,
13SOA-130654,
13RFP-130022”
and “Entebbe
Handling
Services Ltd (
ENHAS )
Training,
other
$147,279,
14SOA-140105,
14RFP-140003.”
Click
here.
So why
would Dujarric
deny it? Then
not either
look into it
or provide a
correction?
Similarly,
Inner City
Press has
repeatedly
asked Dujarric
about how
Ban's supposed
Human Rights
Due Diligence
Policy applies
to the mere
two
convictions
for 130 rapes
in Minova by
the DRC Army.
MONUSCO's
Martin Kobler
said the
policy is
clear, but
his boss Herve
Ladsous
refuses to
answer the
Press
questions.
Ladsous has
also refused
to explain why
he is
procuring
drones to be
based in
northern Mali,
before any
approval for
this. And
Dujarric
provides no
answers.
Last week
Dujarric's
deputy Farhan
Haq answered
Inner City
Press that
Pakistani
journalist
Hamid Mir was
killed.
But it was an
assassination
attempt - he
was not
killed. Haq
simply
doctored the
transcript to
make it appear
he hadn't said
“killed,” but
never told the
Press the
transcript was
changed.
This
was, media
could report
what the UN
Office of the
Spokesperson
said - then
have it not
line up with
that was said,
or in the case
of ENHAS, what
the public
record shows.
This is
unacceptable,
and the new Free UN Coalition for Access will
pursuing this.
Watch this
site.
