As
Darfuris
Lay Dying, UN Leak Shows Failure to Respond, Stonewalling, UNSC Soon?
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
September 4 -- Proof of UN inaction on slaughter in Darfur,
received today by Inner City Press, is matched by silence from the
UN, in Sudan and at the level of UN Spokesperson.
Amid
reports of
dozens killed by janjaweed in the North Darfur village of Tabra,
Inner City Press on the morning of September 4 sent questions to the
spokesman for the joint UN - African Union Mission in Darfur
(UNAMID), Chris Cycmanick, as well as to the spokesman for UN
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Martin Nesirky, and the spokeswoman
for UNAMID chief Ibrahim Gambari.
Nesirky
replied
that UN was “aware of the reports [and] checking further.” Eight
hours later, however, no further information was provided. Cycmanick
never responded, but was quoted by CNN that “men on horses and
camels slaughtered 37 and left 30 injured at a market elsewhere in
Darfur... it was unclear who was responsible for that attack.”
Well,
one reason
the UN could claim a lack of knowledge of killing of dozens of people
in the Tabarat Market in Tabra was that the UN peacekeepers told
family members of those killed and wounded -- some of whom later died
-- that they could not go to the site of the attack, until approval
from El Fasher and ultimately from the Sudanese authorities.
Inner
City Press
has now obtained the following account from inside UNAMID:
“At
about 1800hrs on 02 Sep 2010, UNAMID Police Advisors received
unconfirmed information from locals in Tawilla IDP camp that
unidentified armed men attacked Tabarat Market near Maral village
about 28kms southwest of Tawilla, where about 30 people were killed
and more than 70 others were injured.
“The
information was received by the PF Force Commander Major Aimable
Rukondo from relatives of victims in Tawilla IDP camp. At about
2030hrs, people from the Tawilla IDP camp gathered near the gate of
Tawilla UNAMID Base requesting for assistance to evacuate their
relatives who were in Tabarat market. The PF Commander together with
the Acting Team Site Commander advised the relatives that prior
approval from El Fasher Headquarters is needed before proceeding to
the place and with that they were advised to be back to Tawilla Base
tomorrow morning for possible medical evacuation movement to Tabarat
market once it has been approved by the higher Headquarters.”
UN's Ban in North Darfur, delay and failure to
respond not shown
While the above only refers to need approval from Al Fashir,
that could be obtained quickly. But the background here is the UN's
accepting of the need to get Sudanese authorities' approval to move,
even in cases of medical emergency.
Not only is
this inconsistent with UNAMID's protection of civilians mandate -- it
also calls into question the UNAMID spokesman's statements (and
refusals to answer media requests), and Ban Ki-moon's spokesman's
ostensible inability to provide information about the UN's actions.
What will Ban
Ki-moon, and the UN Security Council, do? Watch this
site.
* * *
Amid
Death
in Darfur, UN Silent, Awaiting
Permission 15
Miles from Killing
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
September 4 -- Do the restrictions on movement the Sudanese
authorities impose on the UN conflict with the UN's
mandate to
protect civilians in Darfur?
With
reports of
over 50 killed by janjaweed in the predominantly Fur village of Tabra
in North Darfur, and 10 more dead in the camps of West Darfur, the UN
with its two billion dollar peacekeeping missions in Sudan has yet to
say anything.
On
the morning of
September 4, Inner City Press sought comment and confirmation from
the joint UN - African Union mission in Darfur, UNAMID, from the
spokesperson for UNAMID chief Ibrahim Gambari and from UN Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon's two top spokespeople.
More
than three
hours later, the only response was from the spokesman traveling with
Ban in Austria, who replied that they are aware of the media reports.
There are UN peacekeepers in Tawilla, a mere 15 miles away from
Tabra.
But
sources tell
Inner City Press that the peacekeepers in Tawilla before even trying
to reach the site of the killing waited for orders from Gambari's
office in Al Fashir, which had to seek permission from the Sudanese
authorities.
Peacekeeper in UN base in Darfur, permission
and protetion of civilians not shown
Twenty
miles
separated the UN peacekeepers in the Congo from the villages where
240 rapes took place earlier this month. Now, 15 miles separate UN
peacekeepers from the site of 58 killings in Darfur, but response is
delayed seeking permission. Some protection of civilians.
Here
are some of the
questions Inner City Press has pose to the UN:
“Has
UNAMID yet gained access to the site of the mass killing in North
Darfur? If not, why not, and how is this consistent with the
Mission's protection of civilians mandate?
“What
is the UN's estimate of casualties? Who's responsible? What will
UNAMID be doing?"
Is there any comment from
Garbari, the S-G, or Spokesman for the S-G? What about the delayed
malnutrition information about Darfur?
Watch
this site.
* * *
In
Darfur
as
Kalma Camp Faces Closure and IDP Sorting, UN Spokesman & DPKO
Silent,
OCHA in Sudan Concerned
By
Matthew
Russell
Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
August
22 -- In South Darfur the Kalma Camp, which the Sudanese
government blockaded and starved for two weeks with
surprising little said by the UN, is now slated to be closed,
officials said over the weekend.
The
remaining residents, estimated
by the UN at 50,000, will be separated into two camps in Bileel. Some
wonder from past practices if the governmental sorting will be
along political or ethnic lines, presaging further blockages and
attacks on internally displaced persons.
On
August 20,
Inner City Press asked the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations
for its update on the Kalma Camp. DPKO said it had provided an update
that day, and every recent day, to UN spokesman Martin Nesirky for
his noon press briefing.
But Nesirky
has decided to only provide the
Darfur information if he allows a question on the topic; later on
August 20 he chided Inner City Press to not tell
him about rules or
asking questions. “It is my briefing,” he said.
Contacted
again
on August 22, DPKO still did not provide the update it gave Nesirky
on August 20, but said it would do so on August 23.
Thus
Inner
City
Press reached out to the UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs spokesman in Sudan, Samuel Hendricks, who
provided the following update:
Subject:
Re:
Press
request re Kalma Camp
From: Samuel Hendricks at
UN.org
To: Inner City Press
Date: Sun, Aug 22, 2010 at 2:31 PM
Mr.
Lee,
Thanks
for
your
message. Latest info on Kalma as follows... Estimate of
current camp population thus remains around 50,000; location of many
Kalma residents remains unconfirmed... Motorized water pumps are
functioning; fuel shipment will be needed in coming days, NGO will
seek permission to transport.
Food
distribution
in
neighboring Bileil camp for Kalma IDPs still awaiting
provision of list from camp leaders (sheikhs); distribution
contingent on proof of Kalma residence (ie, ration cards).
Regarding
the
issue
of closure/movement of Kalma camp: Local media has reported
Gov't identifying new site for Kalma IDPs. Humanitarian Team (UN and
NGOs) in South Darfur will meet to discuss issue of proposed new
site, as there are various implications. The UN cannot support any
movement of IDPs that is not voluntary or otherwise appropriate.
Kids in Darfur between
two UN vehicles, "don't tell
me about rules"
Until
such
a time as a suitable location and facilities are
established, and decision reached on movements in full consultation
with IDP community of the camp, IDPs in Kalma camp should continue to
have access to humanitarian assistance as required.
But
will
this
statement of UN principle be implemented by DPKO and envoy Ibrahim
Gambari? The government is already claiming that the NGOs have
approved the new sites, and the sorting process.
IDPs continue
to
insist that Gambari threatened to turn six of them over to Sudanese
authorities if they did not agree to government patrols of the camps.
The UN denies this. We'll see. Watch this site.
, 
