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At UN in Congo, Gold and Dealing with Nkunda,
Sexual Threats and New Staff Complaints
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of
Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED NATIONS,
August 13 -- The UN's force
commander for its mission in the Congo, Babacar Gaye, confirmed on
Wednesday
that one of the Indian peacekeepers under his command had praised, on
tape,
militia leader Laurent Nkunda. He declined to comment what Inner City
Press
heard when in the Congo in June, that the Indian battalion in North
Kivu
ignored his orders to engage and fight with Nkunda's forces, and
instead after
calling New Delhi retreated to their base.
"That is why we are investigating," Gaye said, "to
know
how deep is the matter, how bad is it." Video here,
from Minute 28.
On other
scandals surrounding MONUC, Gaye was dismissive. Inner City Press asked
if he
was satisfied with the mere warning
India gave to three peacekeepers found by
the UN to have sought to buy gold in the Congo, then imprisoned and
sexually
threatened the seller of what turned out to be false gold. We're not
talking
about a lot of gold, Gaye said, joking that it was nonetheless
improper, just
as he will not buy a (blood) diamond for his wife, "I'm sorry
Madame." Video here,
from Minute
54:40.
But the
gold
trading allegations against MONUC under Gaye's watch are more
extensive,
including returning guns to Eastern Congo militias
in return for gold, and
escorting gold traders around in MONUC vehicles. So to have the force
commander
joking about the buying of gold and diamonds in a conflict-ridden
environment
is only an encouragement toward impunity. Likewise Gaye's statements
Wednesday
about the finding of prima facie
evidence of widespread sexual abuse, allegedly of hundreds of children
in
Masisi. They pay for sex, Gaye said. It
is against the UN's rules but is it a crime? I don't think so, he said.
Babacar Gaye and MONUC civilian chief Alan
Doss, with a Mountain between them
In fact, on
Gaye's way out of the briefing room, Inner City Press asked him again
about the
gold trading and sexual threat
charges which the UN found credible and
forwarded to India. So they said, give us our money back or we'll f*ck
you,
Gaye said. It happens all the time. So
much for zero tolerance.
The
problems at MONUC are not only not only sexual, they are not only
military. The
national staff have filed two complaints, which Inner City Press is
putting
online here and
here.
These are issues that were ostensibly being solved under
then-Department of Field Support acting director Jane Holl Lute, now
passed on
to Susana Malcorra and human resources chief Catherine Pollard. How
will they deal with the issues?
Watch
this
site. And this (on
South Ossetia), and
this --
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