As UN
Stonewalls ICP
On Somalia DNA
to US Story,
Threatens
Accreditation
By
Matthew
Russell Lee,
2d Follow Up
on Exclusive
UNITED
NATIONS, June
24 -- A
whistleblower's
complaint that
the head of
the UN Mine
Action Service
in Somalia,
David Bax, has
been giving
genetic
information
from Somalia
bombings to US
intelligence
was filed on
Friday, June
21 with three
UN officials.
There
were the head
of UN
Peacekeeping
Herve Ladsous,
his Rule of
Law chief and
the director
of UNMAS,
Agnes
Marcaillou.
Inner City
Press before
publishing a
June 22 story
about this
whistleblower
complaint
sought comment
from two of
three above,
as well as
from Bax.
(Also, even a
Twitter
question was
sent to UNMAS;
this is a
type of
non-response
issue worked
on by the Free UN Coalition for Access, @FUNCA_info.
Amid
reports
of a witch
hunt in
Mogadishu to
find the
whistleblower,
Inner City
Press put the
question at
Monday's noon
briefing to
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
deputy
spokesperson
Eduardo Del
Buey, video here:
Inner
City Press:
whether Mr.
[Hervé]
Ladsous, Mr.
[Dmitry] Titov
and the head
of UN Mine
Action Service
(UNMAS) have
received a
detailed
complaint from
an UNMAS
whistleblower
in Somalia
that the head
of UNMAS in
Somalia
provided
genetic
information
from bombings
to United
States
intelligence
agencies and
also moves
around
Mogadishu with
armed guards
from that
group, Denel,
that we were
talking about.
It’s a pretty
troubling
thing, I’ve
seen a copy of
it, and it
seems to have
been directed
to and
received by
those three
individuals,
so I would
like to get a
statement from
you that they
have received
it and what
their response
to it is. I
also e-mailed
several of
them and asked
for a comment;
I haven’t
received
anything.
Deputy
Spokesperson
Del Buey:
Well, we’ll
have to check
on that for
you, Matthew,
we’ll check
with DPKO
[Department of
Peacekeeping
Operations].
Inner
City Press: is
it your
understanding
that UNMAS
individuals
and their
contractors
can walk
around with
arms, weapons?
Deputy
Spokesperson:
Matthew, you’d
have to ask
DPKO that, I
don’t have the
information.
Inner
City Press:
It’s UNMAS… I
mean it’s…
Deputy
Spokesperson:
I don’t have
the exact
nature of what
they are
allowed to do
and not
allowed to do.
Speak with
DPKO over
that.
Inner
City Press:
You always say
that and then
I don’t have
any answer
from them.
I’ve e-mailed
the head of
UNMAS about a
complaint that
her agency
provides
genetic and
other
information to
US
intelligence
and she
wouldn’t deny
it, so I am
asking you.
Deputy
Spokesperson:
Well, you know
we… there are
all kinds of
complaints,
they have to
be…
Inner
City Press: By
a UN
individual?
Deputy
Spokesperson:
…they have to
be proven.
Inner
City Press:
And the
individual
says that
there is
already now a
witch hunt to
find out who
the
complainant
is, so I am
asking to get
a response,
that’s all.
Deputy
Spokesperson:
Well, I
wouldn’t say
there is a
witch hunt,
but when
people are
being accused
of something,
we obviously
have to go to
the bottom of
it and find
out what is
happening. So,
as I said, we
will check
with DPKO and
then get back
to you.
Inner
City Press:
But, when a UN
person comes
forward… will
this person be
protected by
whistleblower
protections?
Deputy
Spokesperson:
We will have
to get back to
you on that,
Matthew. We
don’t discuss
hypothetical
situations.
Right now, we…
right now, I
certainly
don’t know
anything about
a
whistleblower.
Pam?
But
seven hours
after this
exchange, the
UN system had
still not
gotten it
together to
respond to
these serious
allegations.
They were
engaged in a
witch hunt in
Mogadishu; in
UN
Headquarters
in New York,
Inner City
Press on
Monday
afternoon,
four hours
after these
questions, was
threatened
with
suspension or
withdrawal of
accreditation.
Watch this
site.
, 
