As
UN
Watches Death
& Flies
Haroun in
Sudan, Calling
Darfur Safe,
Who's to
Blame?
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
October 17, updated
Oct 18
-- Who is to
blame for the
UN's
under-performance
in Sudan?
Civilians and
even a UN
contractor
were killed in
front of
UN
peacekeepers
in South
Kordofan
in June, but
nothing has
been done.
Now the UN
is accused by
the SPLM-North
of flying
Ahmed Haroun,
indicted by
the
International
Criminal Court
for war
crimes, to the
disputed town
of Talodi,
as the UN
admits it flew
Haroun to
Abyei.
Inner
City Press
asked noted
American
activist John
Prendergast
about these on
Monday,
in advance of
a book launch
at the UN.
After
referring to a
"confused
response,"
Prendergast
urged not to
"blame
the UN" for
these things,
but rather
then member
states.
Obviously
it's
not
either-or.
But in the
case of flying
Haroun, the UN
was
specifically
"demarched" or
criticized by
member states
for its
previous
flight of
Haroun.
The UN
nevertheless
flew Haroun
again. Now in
the
face of SPLM-N
allegation to
the UN that it
has again
flown Haroun,
the UN has not
responded to
Press requests
for comment in
over 67
hours.
Inner
City Press
sent
the questions
in writing to
the Department
of
Peacekeeping
Operations on
October 14
and, having no
substantive
response,
asked
about the
SPLM-North
letter at the
October 17 UN
noon briefing,
Ban
Ki-moon's
spokesman
Martin Nesirky
said, you have
asked DPKO.
Yes,
but they have
not answered.
Should
member
states be
blamed for
that? In that
case, perhaps
France is to
blame
since it has
controlled
DPKO's top
post with four
Frenchmen in a
row,
including
current
occupant Herve
Ladsous.
Inner
City Press
asked asked
Prendergast
about the
claims of UN
(and African
Union)
official
Ibrahim
Gambari about
refugee and
IDP returns in
West
Darfur.
Prendergast
called the
urging of
people to
return
"unrealistic
and
dangerous,"
but still said
don't blame
the
UN. So who is
Gambari
speaking for?
Watch this
site.
Prendergast
previously at
UN, Mia Farrow
shown,
critique of UN
performance in
Sudan and
Haiti not
shown
Footnote:
the
book project
will be
launched later
on Monday and
will benefit
education in
the camps. The
press
conference was
hosted by
UNCHR,
whose Udo Janz
introduced
Prendergast
as, among
other things,
the
"strategic
advisor to Not
On Our Watch,
the
organization
founded
by George
Clooney, Matt
Damon, Don
Cheadle, and
Brad Pitt."
Prendergast
described a
trip to Sudan
with Tracy
McGrady,
leading to
the Darfur
Dream Team
Sister Schools
Program.
With
all this,
Prendergast is
in a position
to call-out
the UN when it
under-performs.
The fault of
states which
host Sudanese
president and
ICC-indictee
Omar al
Bashir, for
example, can
be separately
addressed. But
the lack of
accountability
within the UN
continues
when those
positioned to
at least
critique it do
not. We will
continue on
this.
Update
of
Oct 18, 12:50
pm --
four days
after the
questions were
asked, the
UN proffered
responses to
some but not
all of them:
"I
have
received
further
information
from our
liquidation
team on the
ground in
Sudan on this
matter. The
UNMIS
liquidation
team has not
flown Governor
Haroun on its
helicopters.
The
liquidation
process
continues, in
accordance
with the
timeline
agreed with
the Government
of the
Republic of
Sudan."
And what
about,
regarding the
murders in
Kadugli in
June in front
of UN
peacekeepers
-- "Who
were the
commanders of
the Egyptian
peacekeepers
there that
day, and are
or will they
work again in
UN
peacekeeping
missions?"
Watch this
site.
, 
