In
Haiti, China's 8 Dead Include 4 Diplomats Meeting with UN's Annabi,
Mission Staffer Tells Inner City Press
By
Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive
UNITED
NATIONS, January 13 -- With the UN still
vague about its top envoy in
Haiti Hedi Annabi, in front of the UN Security Council on Wednesday
morning Inner City Press asked a diplomat from China about reports of
eight dead Chinese.
The diplomat confirmed the figure, but also told
Inner City Press that four of the eight were members of a Chinese
delegation to Haiti. They were meeting with Mr. Annabi at the time of
the earthquake, the diplomat said, adding "they are dead."
If
Chinese
officials know that their diplomats meeting with Mr. Annabi have been
killed, it is more than that Annabi is "missing" or
unaccounted for.
For the UN to
be cautious before releasing death
figures is one thing. But to lag so far behind its member states,
particularly regarding it top leader in Haiti, is subject to
question.
On
a media
conference call by Doctors without Border / MSF on Wednesday morning,
Inner City Press asked it MSF has any information about the UN
headquarters in the Hotel Christopher.
MSF' Paul
McPhun replied that
the UN has been badly damaged, MSF does not expect much help from the
UN as they will have to face their internal challenges. MSF says,
unprompted, that it cannot confirm how the top leadership of the UN
in Haiti has been impacted. But China says it has the information.
We hope it is
somehow not true. But this source is well positioned and has been
impeccable in the past. Watch this site.
China's "riot squad" returns to Xinjiang from Haiti,
rotation not shown
Footnotes:
Some in Haiti have noted to Inner City Press that the Chinese "riot
squad" unit with MINUSTAH was also active in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous
Region, to which the previous contingent flew back (see above).
Also, in the UN Security Council, China in the past threatened to veto
or
shorten the mandate of the UN Peacekeeping Mission MINUSTAH due to
Haiti recognizing Taiwan. This recognition, like many in the
Caribbean, was revoked.
* * *
At
UN after Haiti Quake, Delivering Death News, Delayed Dispatch of
Deputy, Live Blogging UN Responses
By
Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, January 13, updates below -- As news as UN casualties from
Haiti trickles
out -- four Brazilian, eight Chinese and three Jordanian peacekeepers
killed, head of mission Hedi Annabi missing -- at UN Headquarters
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and his chiefs of Peacekeeping and
humanitarian affairs prepared to speak to the Press.
In
the lobby of
the nearly empty UN building, lights and microphones were set up.
Journalists milled around, asking for the dates of U.S. invasions of
Haiti. Mr. Ban had trailed not only U.S. President Barack Obama, but
even Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, in responding to the
earthquake Tuesday night. But now the UN was springing into action.
Questions
remain unanswered about whether the UN's headquarters in Haiti, for
which it has paid $94,000 a month, was MOSS (Minimum Operational
Safety Standard) compliant. Updates below
UN in Haiti, earthquake and safeguards not shown
Update of 8:49 a.m. -- after Mr.
Ban spoke, saying among other things he will send Peacekeeping Deputy
Edmond Mulet to Haiti "as early as Friday," a half dozen of his top
officials took to the microphone. One, however, stood off to the side:
Under Secretary General for Safety and Security Gregory Starr, in
charge of inspecting UN facilities for safety.
Inner City Press asked the group if the Hotel Christopher
was MOSS compliant, the way the UN assesses buildings' safety. The
question was never answered. Rather, Mr. Mulet said that other
buildings also collapsed, as if that meant that the question of UN
self-inspection, highlighted at least since the bombing and partial
collapse of the Canal Hotel in Baghdad, didn't have to be answered.
Update
of 9:10 a.m. -- While UNDP says that 38 staff, both national and
international, are so far unaccounted for, no numbers were given for
UNICEF or the World Food Program. Inner City Press asked humanitarian
chief John Holmes about these two agencies. He said the staff were
all fine, or mostly all fine. Later, off camera, Edmond Mulet told
Inner City Press that WFP has a warehouse, which did not collapse,
and is now secured by UN Peacekeepers, presumably to prevent looting.
Inner
City Press
asked DPKO Alain Le Roy what role the UN Peacekeepers will play in
keeping public order. Le Roy referred to first helping at Hotel
Christopher, then securing other UN buildings, then patrolling the
streets.
In
late 2009, UN
Peacekeepers fired live ammunition when they thought a crowd was
approaching a downed UN helicopter. It was explained to Inner City
Press that UN Police use rubber bullets, while the Peacekeepers use
live rounds. Le Roy said the UN has 3000 "Peacekeepers" on
Port au Prince.
Before
Mulet left
the UN lobby, Inner City Press asked him directly what the terms of
engagement would be for UN Peacekeepers, referencing rubber bullets
or live ammo. We haven't discussed that, Mulet said. And then he was
gone.
By the UN's
schedule, there is a "debate" -- in reality, a series of speeches -- in
the Security Council starting at 9:30 about "regional organizations."
Click here
for Inner City Press' story yesterday about the EU's power
play. It is anticipated that the Council's stakeout microphone will
be a venue for Haiti quake statements if not news Watch this space.
Update
of 9:32 a.m. -- in front of the Security Council, a Chinese
diplomat
is asked about reports on state media that eight Chinese peacekeepers
have been killed in Haiti. The diplomat doesn't appear to know,
saying first that they are okay, then that China has only a "small
delegation" in Haiti. One reporter groans.
Alain
Le Roy, on
his way in, declined to confirm the figure of eight Chinese dead, but
says that Peacekeeper deaths may be around twenty. In the UN
headquarters in Hotel Christopher, he says, were some 100 people.
Still no work from Mr. Annabi or his deputy.
Update
of 10:26 a.m. -- on a Doctors Without Borders / MSF press
conference
call, Inner City Press asks for any information about the UN
headquarters in the Christopher Hotel. MSF says the UN has been badly
damaged, MSF does not expect much help from the UN as they will have
to face their internal challenges. MSF says, unprompted, that it
cannot confirm how the top leadership of the UN in Haiti has been
impacted. But Inner City Press may have news on that, from a
delegation. Watch this site.
* * *
In
Haiti, UN Paid $94,000 a Month for Now Collapsed Hotel, Called It
Safe
By
Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, January 13 -- With the UN's main compound in Haiti in the
former Hotel Christoper having collapsed, along with humanitarian
concern, questions have arisen about the appropriateness of the
facility.
Back
in 2008,
Inner City Press repeatedly asked the UN's Department of Peacekeeping
Operations how it had been selected and how much the UN paid for it.
Finally, DPKO provided this response which Inner City Press exclusively
reported:
"the
main MINUSTAH headquarters complex (The Christopher Hotel) is rented
directly from a private individual (Dr. Gerard Desir) at the rate of
$3.86 per square meter. The total complex is 24,383 square meters
which includes parking, office space, pre-fab office space, canteen
and conference space. The total monthly rent is thus $94,000. Please
note that this does not include the MINUSTAH logbase, which is
located on a plot of land provided at no cost by the Haitian
Government. The decision to select the Hotel Christopher was based on
a locally-completed analytical process which determined that this
facility was one of the few premises in Port au Prince which would
meet the Mission's requirements with regards to space, water and
power . It is also in a neighbourhood that was judged in 2004 to be
among the safest in Port au Prince."
On
the evening of
January 12, DPKO chief Alain Le Roy briefed select journalists while
Secretary General Ban
Ki-moon, initially silent on a Long Island
retreat while officials from U.S. President Obama to Manhattan
Borough President Scott Stringer issued statements, later said he
had
spoken with Bill Clinton and U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice.
UN patrols Haiti's Martissant, earthquake not yet shown
Inner
City Press
asked DPKO if the Christopher Hotel had been judged MOSS (Minimum
Operations Safety Standard) compliant by UN Security. There has been
no answer yet.
The
UN announced
that Mr. Ban, along with Peacekeeping and Humanitarian officials,
will take questions from the press on Wednesday morning at 8:20 a.m..
Watch this site.
* * *
In
Hours After Haiti's Earthquake, Silence from UN, Building Codes
Flashback
By
Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, January 12, updates below
-- In the hours after a 7.0 earthquake hit Haiti,
prepared statements were issued by U.S. President Barack Obama,
Secretary of State Clinton, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and
even Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer in New York. At
the
headquarters of the UN, which has 7000 peacekeepers in Haiti, there
was silence.
After
7 p.m on
January 12, Inner City Press and another journalist covering the
Americas ventured down to the new UN Spokesperson's office in the
basement. Any communications from the UN Peacekeeping Mission,
MINUSTAH? No. Anything from Secretary General Ban Ki-moon? No.
Mr.
Ban is on Long Island on retreat, with the heads of regional
organizations.
Update of 8:12 p.m. -- after 8
p.m., the UN Spokesperson's Office issued an e-mail to correspondents
that Mr. Ban "will meet with press on Wednesday morning at 8:20 am, at
UN Headquarters." We'll be there.
Update
of 8:40 p.m. -- and at 8:28 p.m., after even Scott Stringer, the
UN
put this out:
Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon on the earthquake in Haiti:
My
heart goes out to the people of Haiti after this devastating
earthquake. At this time of tragedy, I am very concerned for the
people of Haiti and also for the many United Nations staff who serve
there. I am receiving initial reports and following developments
closely.
First,
given that
the UN told not only Inner City Press but also AFP they could not
reach MINUSTAH, how Ban is "receiving initial reports,"
other than CNN, is unclear. But the point, we emphasize, is that the
UN has more presence on the ground in Haiti than anyone else. Why
hasn't it been the go-to organization for information on the
earthquake?
Update
of 9:20 p.m. -- and at 9:12 p.m., in greater detail than Ban
Ki-moon
(why? Because of Francophonie? Lss skeptically, because peacekeeping
and civilian personnel are missing? but where else is this done?)
DPKO chief Alain Le Roy chimed in:
Statement
from the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Alain Le
Roy:
English:
The
Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations expresses his
deep concern following this afternoon’s catastrophic earthquake.
The Department of Peacekeeping Operations is still in the process of
gathering information on the extent of the damage and the status of
UN personnel. Contacts with the UN on the ground have been severely
hampered as communications networks in Haiti have been disabled by
the earth quake. For the moment, a large number of personnel remain
unaccounted for. The United Nations can confirm that the Headquarters
of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) in
Port au Prince has sustained serious damage along with other UN
installations. Further information will be provided as it becomes
available.
We
hope so.
To Gonaives
in 2008, it took the UN and others three days to reach those in need.
Will response this time be more timely?
When
the head of
MINUSTAH, Hedi Annabi, came to brief the Security Council in
September, Inner City Press asked him what if anything had been done
to improve building codes and practices following the deadly school
collapse in Petionville. Video here,
from Minute 1:50. Inner City
Press asked asked what discipline had been imposed on the over 100
peacerkeepers repatriated to Sri Lanka on charges of sex abuse or
exploitation in Haiti.
Mr.
Annabi, as to
building codes, said that the government of Michel Pierre Louis has
been "very mindful" and made "special effort to
improve the relevant rules and regulations" to make buildings,
particularly of institutions, safe. One of the first reports on
January 12 was of a collapsed hospital.
Previous
UN
Spokesperson Michele Montas in November 2008 told Inner City Press,
which asked
whether the UN given its central role in Haiti might be trying to
encourage
improvements in building codes, that "there is a government in Haiti...
those codes have existed for two hundreds years." That might be the
problem.
UN's Ban waves to UN staff in Haiti, quake
and response not yet shown
From our
November 10, 2008 report:
After Haitian Collapse, UN Uses Batons But No Building
Codes, School Chief Said Arrested
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of
Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED NATIONS,
November 10, 2008 -- In the wake of a
deadly school collapse in Petionville in Haiti,
the UN's strange role in the country was
exemplified by its peacekeepers beating back parents who surged on the
ruins to
determine the fate of their children, while the UN said it had no role
in
improving the construction practices that even President
Rene Preval says led to the
collapse.
UN
Spokesperson Michele Montas told Inner City Press, which asked
whether the UN given its central role in Haiti might be trying to
encourage
improvements in building codes, that "there is a government in Haiti...
those codes have existed for two hundreds years." That might be the
problem.
Following
the collapse, not only concerned parents but neighborhood residents
converged
on the school. Some of the latter tried to get in and remove debris,
reportedly
accusing "the internationals" of moving slowing in order to make more
money off Haiti. Reportedly
"anger boiled over as
thousands of Haitians looked on in the blazing sun, with the stench of
rotting
bodies beginning to rise from the rubble. Rumours have circulated that
the
international rescuers were working slowly to inflate their wages.
About 100
men rushed the unstable pile... Thousands cheered them on, chanting,
'We don't
need money to do the work!' Baton-swinging Haitian police and United
Nations
peacekeepers in riot gear drove the men away, only for them to return
and throw
rocks."
In New York
on Monday, Ms. Montas was asked who decided on this use of force.
Initially and cordially,
she said that a "serious problem of crowd control" had existed as
parents tried to get to the school, which "two teams, French and
American,
were working with MINUSTAH" to clear the rubble. Video here,
from Minute
13:20.
One
wonders, given the insistence that the UN system which includes the UN
Development Program can do nothing about the building codes and
practices that
led to the collapse, why MINISTAH is described as being in charge of
the rescue
effort. Also, if the UN's Hedi Annabi can
call for a delay in using
construction equipment on the site, why cannot he not call for better
building
codes or enforcement?
UN Peacekeepers outside a school in Haiti,
kids in tank's shadow
Inner City
Press asked again, who controls MINUSTAH's use of force against
civilians in
Haiti? Ms. Montas answered that the Haitian National Police were
working with
MINUSTAH at the site. So did MINUSTAH need and get consent?
In response
to Inner City Press' question about Haitian President Rene Preval's
statement
that "what occurred was the result of instability and disorder on a
state
level in Haiti," Ms. Montas countered diplomatically that the collapse
did not reflect on
"the state as a whole." Video here,
from Minute 21:02.
Inner
City Press was later informed by a UN
official who stress they were not speaking as an international civil
servant,
and is therefore granted anonymity even without explicitly requesting
it, that
"the person in charge of the school was arrested on Saturday."
To come
full circle, the UN in the past month has twice spoken about
its work on the
prisons in Haiti.
News analysis: So in Haiti as in
the Congo, the UN is everywhere when there
is success, and tried to be nowhere, at least in terms of
accountability and
transparency, when things go wrong.
That
Haiti
and Haitians need help is clear. Whether the UN, Minustah or UNDP are
the right
ones to deliver it is another question.
, 
