At
UN
on Mali,
France Defers
to ECOWAS on
Sanctions,
UN's Ban
Silent
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
April 3 -- The
UN and
countries like
France often
says that
sanctions
should be
targeted, so
that civilians
do not suffer.
But when
ECOWAS this
week closed
the borders of
Mali, with an
eye to
shutting down
the country's
electrical
grid, former
colonial power
France
supported it,
and the UN had
nothing to
say.
French
Ambassador to
the UN Gerard
Araud came to
the stakeout
to brag about
a draft
statement he
had
introduced,
supporting
ECOWAS. Inner
City Press
asked him
about the
impact of the
sanctions, and
to explain why
Foreign
Minister Alain
Juppe said
France would
not intervene
in Mali while
it played the
key role in
ousting
Laurent Gbagbo
in Cote
d'Ivoire. Video
here, from
Minute 2:09.
Araud
stammered that
"the only
difference
between Cote
D'ivoire and
Mali is that
in Cote
d'Ivoire we
had a UN
mandate,
resolution
1975....
[here] we are
not doing to
ask for it, no
French
intervention
in Mali."
He
continued, "As
for sanctions,
it's decision
by ECOWAS,
they have
knowledge of
the region,
president Sal
in Dakar,
[Blaise]
Campoure will
be mediator,
the coup
leader has
announced he
is going to
restore
constitutional
order,
Inshallah."
A
country like
France which
make
pronouncement
on human
rights and the
protection of
civilians, it
is not enough
to simply to
defer to a
regional
group. Did
Jean-Maurice
Ripert defer
to ASEAN, when
he called for
intervention
in Myanmar?
But
this is a
former French
colony, and so
there is more
than meets the
eye. At the UN's
noon briefing
on Tuesday,
Inner City
Press asked:
Inner
City
Press: On
Mali, some are
saying that
the ECOWAS
sanctions,
they’re
closing the
borders, that
there are
already people
lining up for
gas, they are
not targeted
in any way.
So, I heard
you say that
the UN
humanitarians
are concerned
about
shortages, but
Valerie Amos,
for example,
on South Sudan
said that they
should keep
pumping oil
because of
humanitarian
needs. What
does the UN
say about a
sanctions
regime that
would
essentially
close the
border and
block the
entry into, of
consumer goods
like gasoline.
Is that, how
is it
consistent to
talk about
shortages when
they are being
caused by the
sanctions?
Spokesperson
Nesirky:
Well, these
are measures
that have been
introduced by
the regional
organization,
ECOWAS. I
would refer
you to them to
ask about
that. From a
purely
humanitarian
point of view,
it is obvious
that the
sooner that
the political
side of this
can be dealt
with, and we
can get back
to
constitutional
order in the
country, the
easier it will
be to deal
with the
humanitarian
crisis that
existed even
before this,
and has
obviously been
exacerbated by
the
developments
of recent
days. I think
that’s what we
have at the
moment. I will
come back to
you.
But
hours later,
nothing more
than been
provided.
Watch this
site.
, 
