As
UN
Looks Into DR
Congo Claims,
Dodges on
Press
Crackdown in
Egypt &
Syria
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
December 30 --
Better late
than never?
For weeks
Inner City
Press has been
asking the
Office of the
Spokesperson
for UN
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon about
abuses and
irregularities
in the
Congolese
elections.
At first they
said they'd
have no
comment until
after the
results were
announced;
then they said
a probe might
be in order,
"for the
future."
On
December 30,
the UN belated
answered Inner
City Press'
question about
the looting
of the
headquarters
of opposition
figure Etienne
Tshisekedi by
saying
"MONUSCO is
investigating
the alleged
involvement of
members of
the national
security
forces in this
looting
incident."
The
UN also
provided
answers to
Inner City
Press to
questions
about
crackdown on
journalists,
and complains
by the
opposition:
From:
UN
Spokesperson -
Do Not Reply
[at] un.org
Date: Fri, Dec
30, 2011
at 4:11 PM
Subject:
Questions
To:
Matthew.Lee
[at]
InnerCityPress.com
On
UDPS
meeting with
MONUSCO: On 29
December,
MONUSCO senior
officials
met a
delegation of
opposition
political
parties, led
by Mr. Vital
Kamerhe of the
UNC political
party who was
accompanied by
the
Secretary-General
of the UDPS
and Director
of UPDS leader
Mr. Etienne
Tshisekedi’s
Cabinet,
Jacquemain
Shabani. The
meeting was
held at
their request.
The
following
issues were
raised: the
restrictions
on Mr.
Tshisekedi’s
freedom of
movement and
communication,
the resumption
by the
Independent
National
Electoral
Commission
(INEC) of the
legislative
elections
results
compilation
process and
human rights
violations
committed
against
opposition
supporters.
MONUSCO
informed that
it was
conducting
investigations
into a number
of reported
human rights
violations by
national
security force
personnel and
agreed to
follow
up, as
appropriate,
and in
accordance
with its
mandate, with
relevant
Congolese
authorities on
a number of
issues raised.
On
DRC
journalists:
Since the
beginning of
the electoral
campaign on 28
October,
MONUSCO has
documented 22
cases during
which
journalists
have allegedly
been
intimidated,
threatened or
attacked in
relation
with their
work. These
alleged
incidents took
place mostly
in the
Kasai Oriental
and Maniema
provinces as
well as in
Kinshasa. The
alleged
perpetrators
are members of
the national
security
forces and
provincial
authorities.
MONUSCO is
following up
with relevant
Congolese
authorities on
a number of
these reports.
(c) UN Photo
Ban Ki-moon
briefs press
in DRC '09
(Doss), 2011
comment on
press
crackdown in
Egypt &
Syria not
shown
By
contrast to
the
UN's response
on attacks on
reporters in
the DRC, also
on December 30
the UN dodged
or deferred
answering
questions
about the
killing of a
civilian
journalist in
Syria, and the
imprisonment
of a blogger
in
Eygpt. Inner
City Press
asked:
Does
Ban
Ki-moon have
any comment on
the killing,
presumably by
Syria
government
forces, of
citizen
journalist
Basil
al-Sayed, who
died in
the hospital
Thursday of
wounds
sustained
after filming
at a
checkpoint in
the district
of Bab Amr in
Homs?
What
is
Ban Ki-moon's
response to
the requests
that he
finally speak
up
and call for
Egypt to
release jailed
blogger
Michael Nabil,
26,
sentenced by a
military court
to three years
in prison in
April for
insulting the
armed forces
and who has
been staging a
hunger strike
since August,
now in "dire"
condition?
To
these two
questions,
Ban's
spokesperson's
office
answered:
From:
UN
Spokesperson -
Do Not Reply
[at] un.org
Date: Fri, Dec
30, 2011
at 4:11 PM
Subject:
Questions
To:
Matthew.Lee
[at]
InnerCityPress.com
On
Egyptian
blogger: We
are checking
for more
specifics on
this case.
More
generally, the
Secretary-General
has been clear
in calling for
human rights,
including the
right to
expression, to
be upheld in
Egypt's
transition.
On
Syrian
journalist: We
are checking
for more
specifics on
this. If we
have more
we'll let you
know.
But
the Syrian killing
of Basil
al-Sayed
is well
documented.
Watch this
site.
, 
