By
Matthew
Russell Lee,
Follow Up on
Exclusive
UNITED
NATIONS,
January 13 --
Following last
week's US
indictment of
Indian
diplomat
Devyani
Khobragade for
underpaying a
domestic
worker, Inner
City Press
cited the case
of French
diplomat
Romain Serman,
about which it
had asked the
French Mission
to the UN for
comment.
While the
French Mission
had declined to
comment and
instead made
only threats,
twice on
January 13
French
Ambassador
Gerard Araud summoned
Inner City
Press at the
Security
Council
stakeout and
shouted.
His
spokesperson
had told Inner
City Press
that pursuing
the story was
a "hostile
act." And on
January 13,
when Inner
City Press
asked when his
spokesperson
had declined
the
opportunity to
comment, Araud
insisted it
was all just
outrageous,
and made other
threats.
Back
in 2011 Inner
City Press uncovered
and
exclusively
reported on
the case of a
French
diplomat,
Romain Serman,
who after
resisting
arrest while
allegedly
buying cocaine
was later
allowed to
leave the
country. See
story here,
arrest
report here.
In connection
with that
story, Inner
City Press
expressly
asked the
French Mission
to the UN to
comment on,
explain or
contest the
NYPD arrest
record document.
They did not
-- rather,
Inner City
Press was told
that it being
published was
a "hostile
act."
The French
Mission took
other actions
that form another
story. But the
point is, the
French Mission
was asked for
comment, and
made none.
Now, 32 months
later, French
Ambassador
Araud
approached
Inner City
Press at the
Security
Council
stakeout just
after 10 am on
January 13. He
said the
arrest
document is
from 2006 but
Serman did not
leave the US
until 2007. He
said, "if you
had checked
--"
Inner City
Press replied
that his Mission
was asked for
comment but
gave none,
only threats.
Araud said, "You
let me finish
first!"
Inner City
Press
continued to
listen, but as
soon as Araud
finished he
turned and
walked into
the Security
Council.
Later on
January 13, at
1 pm with the
Security
Council's
consultations
on the
Democratic Republic
of the Congo
still ongoing,
Ambassador
Araud emerged
and again
began shouting
at Inner City
Press. While
we'll have more
on this,
notably Araud
still did not
explain why,
when given the
chance to
comment, it
had responded
only with
threats.
Why was
no comment
given by the
French Mission
back in April
2011,
including on
the other
leaked documents
they objected
to about the
UN mission on
Cote d'Ivoire
ONUCI and
other topics?
There is more
to be said on
all this as
well.
But,
in comparison
to Ms.
Khobragade, it
seems clear
that Serman
was NOT placed
on any US
watch list,
because he not
only returned
to the US --
he is now
France's
consul in San
Francisco.
While
it may be
debatable if
resisting arrest
for attemped
cocaine
purchase is
more or less
serious than
allegedly
underpaying a
domestic
worker, the
disparity in
US treatment
between the
French and
Indian and
French
diplomat has
still not been
explained.
Usually
the
agreement upon
being allowed
to leave the
US in this way
is that the
person will
not come back
to the US. But
Romain Serman
came back to
the US -- as
France's
consul in San
Francisco, still.
When
Inner City
Press reported
this, the then
spokesperson
of the French
mission
demanded that
Inner City
Press remove
the story from
the Internet.
As with stories
on Sri Lanka
that the
United Nations
Correspondents
Association
demanded be
taken down
from the
Internet
or Inner City
Press face
expulsion,
Inner City
Press refused.
The French
spokesperson
called this a
"hostile act"
(Inner City
Press
countered that
it was an act
of journalism)
and things proceeded
from there.
This
becomes even
more relevant
now in light
of reports not
only of the
disparity in
indictment of
Khobragade
versus none
for the French
Serman, but of
US State
Department
spokesperson
Psaki's
comments last
week about Khobragade
being put on a
watch list.
Back in April
2011, Inner
City Press
asked
spokespeople
at the US
Mission to the
UN and then
Mark Toner at
the State
Department,
"Was the State
Department
aware of
Serman's
arrest record
when he
re-entered in
2010, and how
does
applicable law
and precedent
allow this?"
And
we're still
waiting for a
response, as
we are to FOIA
requests
pending at the
State
Department.
Soon the new Free UN Coalition for Access will have
to get on this
case. Watch
this site.
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