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In Darfur, Australia Says UN Has
Suspended Deployment, Suspension of Indictments Discussed
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of
Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED NATIONS,
July 11 -- Days after seven UN
peacekeepers were killed in Darfur, and with UN Ambassadors arguing
about the
expected indictment of the president of Sudan for war crimes, less
noticed but
related news was made Friday morning by Australian Defense Minister
Joel
Fitzgibbon, when he said Australia will suspend the deployment of nine
military
officers to Darfur, "in keeping with UN policy."
Fitzgibbon was speaking on the sidewalk in
front of the UN, to Inner City Press and an Australian television crew.
Inner
City Press asked if it is now UN policy to suspend deployment in
Darfur, given
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's announcement on Thursday that he
intends to
increase by the end of 2008 to 80% of the approved 27,000 deployment.
Fitzgibbon said yes; later his aides said perhaps deployment of "formed units" would go forward,
but smaller (or "individual") deployments like Australia's have been
curtailed by the UN.
At the
UN's regular noon media briefing, Inner City Press asked Associate
Spokesman
Farhan Haq about Fitzgibbon's comments and if it is UN policy to
suspend some
or all deployments in Darfur. Rather than answer the question, Haq said
that "as we're speaking" the
Under Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guehenno
was speaking at the Security Council "stakeout about UNAMID," and to
ask him. Video here,
from Minute 21. Inner City
Press ran out, but one of Haq's colleagues had, according to reporters,
announced the cancellation of Guehenno's stakeout. Thus the question
about the
UN's policy of suspending deployment in Darfur was not answered.
Joel Fitzgibbon in flak jacket, UN policy not shown
Sudan's
Ambassador to the UN told Inner City Press that the UN has raised the
threat
level in Darfur to Four, the highest category, and that explained the
suspension of the deployments of the Australians. "What were they going
to
do there anyway?" he asked. "Maybe they are good guitar
players." He added that his meeting
with Ban Ki-moon had been rescheduled from 3:15 to 4 p.m.
The talk at the stakeout was of the Security
Council voting to suspend International Criminal Court action on Sudan,
and
whether than would have to be done before prosecutor Luis Moreno
Ocampo, or the
judges, act to indict President Bashir.
Developing.
Footnote: As
Ban Ki-moon on Friday morning left a standing-room-only awards ceremony
for UN staff members' creativity,
Inner City Press asked him if he had spoken to President Bashir. Not
yet, he
said. While a spokesperson tried to say, "He won't answer," Inner
City Press asked if he intends to brief the General Assembly about the
High
Commissioner for Human Rights selections process before announcing a
winner.
"That has to go to the GA," he said. "I'm in the final
stage."
This
"having to go" to the GA appears to contradict what
Ban's spokesperson said earlier in the week, that the winner would be
named
before Ban's GA briefing. Video here,
from Minute 15:05. Ban
himself
could have been asked this question at his Thursday press conference,
and
better explained himself, but the question was
not allowed. Nor were questions at
Friday's noon briefing
answered. Watch this site. And this --
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