Salva
Kiir Not At UN
Meeting on
South Sudan,
Copter
Shootdown
UNsolved
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
September 25
-- While South
Sudan
President
Salva Kiir is
in
New York, he
did not attend
the UN's “High
Level” event
about his
country on
September 25.
A
Senior US
State
Department
Official,
speaking on
background,
said
that “there
was a lot of
disappointment
expressed in
the meeting
that Salva
Kiir who is
here in New
York did not
attend the
meeting.
He sent his
Minister of
Foreign
Affairs and
some of his
ministers to
the meeting
and several of
the attendees
made a point
of noting that
Salva Kiir was
not at the
meeting.”
Inner
City Press
asked the
Senior State
Department
Official if
the US know
who was behind
the recent
shooting down
of a UN
helicopter, if
it
could confirm
that forces
under the
control of
Peter Gadet,
already
under US
sanctions, did
it.
The
US official
said “we know
that the UN is
investigating
it, we are
waiting for
the results of
that
investigation.
Gadet has been
put on
the sanctions
list even
before that
happened.”
The
official
called the
shoot-down
“evidence of
how difficult
it is to
work in South
Sudan,” and
added that
South Sudan's
foreign
minister
had said the
government is
committed to
not blocking
NGOs and the
UN
from providing
aid. “We have
to hold them
to that
commitment,”
the official
concluded,
“people are
suffering.”
Background:
back
on May
6, 2014, when
the US imposed
sanctions on
Gadet,
Inner
City Press asked:
MODERATOR:
Great.
Thank you. Our
next question
is from the
other Matt
Lee,
Matthew
Russell Lee of
Inner City
Press. Go
ahead.
QUESTION:
Great.
Thanks a lot,
[Moderator]. I
wanted to ask,
there was a –
it
was said that
in Security
Council
consultations
at the UN that
senior
government
officials were
named in a
radio
broadcast
prior to the
attacks in Bor
on the UN
compound in
killing the
civilians. I
just
wonder if you
can say are
these people –
is that the
case? Do you
know the names
of people that
sort of called
for that
attack, and in
which case,
why aren’t
they on this
list?
And
I also – this
might for
Senior
Administration
Official
Number Two.
Secretary
Kerry was
talking about
a legitimate
force to help
make
peace. And I
just wanted to
know, is the
UN – is the
U.S. thinking
of that as
part of UNMISS
mission or as
the IGAD
force? And if
so,
would it
require a
Security
Council
approval?
Thanks.
SENIOR
ADMINISTRATION
OFFICIAL ONE:
On the first,
I mean, we
typically do
not comment on
actors against
whom we are –
we have not
yet – we
have not yet
acted, a
clunky way of
saying we
don’t comment
on
those who are
not part of
our
designation.
But anyone who
is
contributing
to the
violence,
whether that’s
by directing
violence,
whether that’s
by funding it,
fueling it,
contributing
arms, can be
a subject of
designation in
the future.
And I’ll leave
it to my
State
Department
colleague to
answer the
second
question.
SENIOR
ADMINISTRATION
OFFICIAL TWO:
Yeah. On the
question about
the regional
force and on
UNMISS, we –
it is
something that
conversations
and
discussions
are ongoing
between
countries of
IGAD, with New
York,
with ourselves
and others on
how best to
create this
additional
force
presence that
we are working
very much with
UNMISS and see
this as
part of the
same effort.
But we do
think it’s
very important
that
the regional
forces are
able to join
this effort in
larger numbers
and appreciate
the efforts
of,
particularly,
the
governments of
Ethiopia and
Kenya, who are
leading the
mediation and
who are
seeking
to work with
UNMISS in this
regard.
, 
