In UN
of Guterres
UNMAS
Marcaillou
Sent Somalis
To Their
Deaths No
Answer To
Press
By
Matthew
Russell Lee,
CJR
SG Ho
The
Hill
UN GATE, Aug 2 –
Two weeks ago
Inner City
Press started
in writing
the UN
of Secretary
General
Antonio
Guterres about
its role in
sending nine
Somalis to
their deaths,
cannon fodder
sent to
cut down trees
in which Al
Shabaab was
hiding. The UN
agency was
UNMAS, previous
exposed by
Inner City
Press for
incompetence
and
harassment, before
and after
Guterrees thew
Inner City
Press out of
the UN 760
days ago. But
this is a new
low.
On
July 17, Inner
City Press
asked UN Spokesperson
Stephane
Dujarric and
Farhan Haq and
Melissa
Fleming, "On
Somalia, what
are the SG's
responses on
deadline to
the murder of
9 Somali
street
cleaners by
Al-Shabaab --
The project
was funded by
UNMAS and
implemented by
a company
called
Ukroboronservice.
Survivors say
basic security
precautions
were ignored."
Nothing. No
answer to the
Press;
no answer to
Somalis.
“Though the
Gov’t accused
Al-Shabaab for
Feb 25, 2019,
this report
also points
that the UN
and respective
contractors
ignored the
death threats
and made gross
negligence,”
Senator Abshir
Axmad said.
“This is
indeed
troubling. I
urge the UN to
explain and
fully address
this matter.”
The UN
steals
public money
and kills the
people is it
supposedly
helping.
Guterres
should resign.
Back on
December 9,
2019 as
Guterres after
Inner City
Press questions
to him about
UN corruption
he encourages
has banned
Inner City
Press from a
"UN Human
Rights" event
on December
10, we ran
another story
from a UN
whistleblower.
It involves
the UN Mine
Action
Service,
(under)
overseen by UN
Peacekeeping
chief Jean
Pierre
Lacroix. Because
Guterres'
decayed UN has
reached the
point where it
physically
ousts those
who ask
Guterres about
(his)
corruption and
then refuses
to response to
written
questions on
such matters,
here it is, as
now
exclusively
reported by
Inner City
Press: "Agnes
Marcaillou,
the head of
UNMAS whom
Inner City
Press before
being roughed
up and banned
by Guterres questioned
many times
including
about her
staffer David
Bax buying
a missile in
Somalia and
sharing DNA
evidence with
intelligence
services, is
accused of
bullying. The
victims blame
LaCroix,
Bintou Kieta
and ultimately
Guterres for
doing nothing.
A fish rots
from the head.
The
whistleblowers
express
outrage at
Marcaillou
commenting on
the weight
(and more) of
longtime UNMAS
director of
operations
Paul Heslop,
in joint
appearance here
with Daniel
Craig.
How
does Guterres'
UN allow this
from some,
also like
Michel Sidibe,
while using
his OIOS
against
others?
Lacroix,
reportedly
personally
close with
Marcaillou,
has tried to
some talks in
January on a
new way
forward. Few
believe him. And
here's another reason: in the
DR Congo where the UN uses a
"Force Intervention Brigade"
to neutralize groups, seven
peacekeepers were killed last
month. Rest in peace. But when
on November 16 UN Peacekeeping
chief Jean Pierre Lacroix came
to the UN Press Briefing Room
that Antonio Guterres has
banned Inner City Press from
for 760 days, he did not
specify when their offensive
action was decided on, nor on
which Congolese Army units
they were working with, see
below. Now Lacroix is fending
off this report from his
MONUSCO's former spokesman.
Inner City Press at noon asked
in writing Guterres, his
deputy, his spokesman Stephane
Dujarric, his deputy Farhan
Haq and Alison Smale who
promised such questions would
be answered six including
these: "November 19-1: On DRC,
please immediately state how
many UN system personnel have
been withdrawn from Beni and
explain the discrepancy
between what WHO (and a former
MONUSCO spokesman) say ("#RDC
According to the #Beni press,
45 UN staff, including 17
#PAM, 19 WHO and 9 UNICEF
executives have left Beni for
temporary re-deployment in
Goma. This comes 24 hours
after the attack of the
Battalion base of Malawi
#MONUSCO Beni.") and Mr
Lacroix's “"The whole of UN,
WHO-led operations against
Ebola continue in and around
Béni, with strong support of
MONUSCO which is reinforcing
protection in Béni &
carrying out operations
against armed groups."
November 19-2: Further on Mr
Lacroix and DRC, since I was
banned from attending his Nov
16 press conference, please
immediately state which FARDC
units the Malawi and Tanzania
FIB forces were working with
and how they were vetted."
Eight hours later, nothing,
nothing at all. But Lacroix
haad issued a denial: "The
whole of UN, WHO-led
operations against Ebola
continue in and around Béni,
with strong support of MONUSCO
which is reinforcing
protection in Béni &
carrying out operations
against armed groups." This
while Lacroix, in Cairo,
declined to answer banned
Inner City Press' online
questions
here,
including
about reported
rapes by
Cameroon
peacekeepers
in CAR, still
no answer from
Lacroix or the
UN. We'll be
continuing to
ask: Antonio
Guterres the
censor doesn't
get to choose
who covers the
UN. On
November 16 amid softball
questions, the excuses given
didn't add up or raise more
questions: the UN peacekeepers
don't know how to fight in the
jungle. They don't speak the
language. They rotate out too
quickly and re-training has to
start again. How can the UN be
this ineffective after so many
years and billions of dollars
spent in DRC? Lacroix let drop
that there are captured ADF
combatants and he'll get
information from them. Does
his and Guterres' UN know or
care if torture is used? No
one asked. Guterres' UN is
corrupt. In Mali's Gao a
compound of the UN Mine Action
Service was the target of an
attack claimed online by
Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam
wal-Muslimin (JNIM) as against
forces from the UK, incoming
UN Security Council member
Germany and UNSC candidate
Canada. Inner City Press,
still banned from the UN for
the 132nd day by UNSG Antonio
Guterres, asked in
writing: After the noon
briefing it was banned from,
Guterres' deputy spokesman
sent the following, seemingly
clunkily translated from
French: "On question Nov.
13-3, we have the following to
say: The UN Mission in Mali,
MINUSMA, and the UN Mine
Action Service (UNMAS) report
that a suspected car bomb
detonated at a mine action
implementing partner's
compound in Gao in Gao region
yesterday evening. Two
civilians were killed as well
as nine UNMAS demining partner
personnel and several
civilians were wounded in the
attack.
This while Guterres lets his
own guards oust the press then
has a spokesman who said you
can only ask UN Security about
it. It seems Guterres is a
corrupt censor. Five UN
Security officers, most with
automatic weapons, pushed
Inner City Press' reporter out
of the UN on June 22 as it was
filming and preparing to write
about Secretary General
Antonio Guterres' claims about
his visit to Mali, where he
didn't even inquire into a
recent case child rape by a UN
Peacekeeper. With the event
still ongoing, Inner City
Press was approached by UN
Lieutenant Dobbins and told
that since it was just past 7
pm it had to leave the
building.
That is not
the rule, nor the practice; in
any event, the Guterres Eid al
-Fitr event listed in the UN
Department of Public
Information was still ongoing,
making it unquestionable that
Inner City Press had a right
to be in the UN and cover it.
But
even as Inner City Press
dialed DPI's Media
Accreditation and Liaison
Unit, getting only voice mail,
Dobbins made a call and UN
“Emergency Response Unit”
officers arrived, with barely
concealed automatic weapons.
One of them repeatedly pushed
Inner City Press' reporter in
the back, forcing him through
the General Assembly lobby
toward the exit. Periscope
video here.
Longer YouTube (40 min) here.
***
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