UNITED
NATIONS, April
2 -- How low
will
UN
Peacekeeping
under Herve
Ladsous go to
sweep under
the carpet the
126 rapes in
Minova by its
partners in
the Congolese
Army?
How far
will media
“partners” go
in helping
Ladsous claim
he got
assurances
that he
refuses to
disclose, even
to them? This
far.
On
March 28 Inner
City Press
asked at the
noon briefing
about the
rapes.
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
spokesman
Martin Nesirky
said a
deadline for
action of
April 1 had
been set, and
had been
reiterated by
Ladsous to
Congolese
foreign
minister
Tshibanda on
March 27.
But
later on March
28 when Inner
City Press put the
question twice
to Ladsous on
UN Television
he refused to
answer.
And while
Tshibanda did
answer Inner
City Press'
question about
the rape, he
was dismissive
of the UN's
ultimatum.
But
after Inner
City Press
asked again at
the UN noon
briefing on
April 1, now Ban's
deputy
spokesman
Eduardo Del
Buey said that
some
unspecified
assurances had
been given.
He said the UN
was waiting
for official
notification,
and said the
deadline was
at midnight.
After
midnight Inner
City Press
wrote to Del
Buey and to
Nesirky, on
European time
in Andorra
with Ban
Ki-moon,
asking what
the assurances
were, or what
the UN would
do. Neither
sent any
answer.
So at
noon Inner
City Press
asked Del Buey
again. He
reiterated the
previous day's
comment, that
assurances
were given but
he would not
or could not
say what they
were.
Other
than a sign of
further UN
stonewalling
it didn't seem
newsworthy,
having written
the exact
same story the
day before
with Del
Buey's
identical noon
briefing
answer to
Inner City
Press.
But
after the noon
briefing, Reuters
published a
story with no
criticism or
analysis of
the delay by
UN
Peacekeeping,
using exactly
the quote Del
Buey gave the
day before --
but this time
put in the
mouth of
Ladsous'
spokesman
Andre-Michel
Essoungou.
Where
did Essoungou
say or type
and e-mail
exactly the
same thing as
Del Buey said
at the
previous day's
noon briefing?
The story
doesn't say.
Nor,
understandably
perhaps, does
the Reuters
story say that
Essoungou
on exactly
this question
of Minova
rapes seized
the UN
Television
microphone to
try to avoid
an Inner City
Press question
to Ladsous.
Video here.
In
fact, when
Inner City
Press asked
the question
of the Minova
rapes on November
27 on UNTV,
Ladsous
refused to
answer it and
summoned
favored
scribes,
including
Louis
Charbonneau of
Reuters the
author of the
April 2 story,
into the hall
for a private
briefing.
Video here.
Should that
have been
mentioned?
Reasonable
minds may
disagree.
Watch this
site.
, 
