On
Zambia, UN Was
UNaware of HH's Arrest, Now
Tells ICP "Following" Hold Over for Treason
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS,
April 26 – Back on April 11
Inner City Press asked the
UN's spokesman Stephane
Dujarric about Zambia's
arrest for "treason" of the
opposition leader Hakainde
Hichilema. After a no-comment
then platitude, Inner City
Press on April 26 asked
Dujarric, UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: I want to
ask you about Zambia. I’d
asked you before, and you’d
said sort of a generic comment
about due process. Now
the main opposition leader,
H.H., they call him, has been
held over for trial for
treason for allegedly cutting
off the… in his car, in his
convoy, the… a convoy of the
President. Many people
are saying it’s pretty extreme
and basically it’s an attempt
to shut down the
opposition. Is DPA
(Department of Political
Affairs) or anyone in the UN
paying attention to this?
Spokesman: No, we’re
following it, and I think,
again, we would call on all
the political actors to
de-escalate the tensions and
engage in dialogue.
Following?
How? From the April 11 UN
transcript: Inner
City Press: In Zambia, the
main opposition leader, Mr.
Hichilema, has been arrested
by the Government on treason
charges. Is there any,
is DPA or any of the various
envoys of the UN…
Spokesman: I don't have
anything on that.
And
nothing by the end of the day.
A full 24 hours later, not
having sent the statement such
as it was to Inner City Press,
Dujarric used his next noon
briefing to say:
"From Zambia, I think you,
Matthew, raised a question
about the issues and I can say
that we are following
developments in the country.
We are not in a position to
fully establish the facts but
hope that due process and an
impartial investigation into
the events will take place.
Zambia has made great strides
in consolidating its democracy
and has a tradition of
peaceful transition of
power. Differences
should be addressed through a
constructive and inclusive
dialogue to further advance on
the path to sustainable peace
and development."
The
UN has no
credibility in calling for
due process: the
Organization including Dujarric
evicted
and restricts
the Press with no
hearing, no appeal, no
explanation. On April
13, Inner City Press asked
Dujarric, UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: I wanted to
ask, on Zambia, yesterday,
you'd said, you'd come back
with the statement that the UN
can't verify the facts but is
concerned about due
process. So I wanted to
ask you, now, the lawyers for
the opposition leader, in
particular his lawyer, Jack
Mwiimbu, has said publicly
that he's being blocked from
seeing his client. Was
this, since there seemed to be
some issues with the UN…
Spokesman: I would
reiterate what I said
yesterday.
The gap
between what the UN says and
does is as wide as ever, maybe
wider. Back on March 30 after
the UN's noon briefing with
only three questioners (and
without still-restricted
Inner City Press), the
question again arose: what is
the bare minimum a
spokesperson should be
expected to do, for an
organization like the UN?
Should it include at least
providing some response to
Press questions submitted?
Despite only have to response
to the three questioner, two
hours after submission not one
of these, or outstanding
questions on Cameroon and
Western Sahara, was answered:
"These are four questions in
advance of the noon briefing,
to be answered at that time,
thanks in advance:
1) In Cambodia, opposition
leader Sam Rainsy has just
been sentenced to one year and
eight months in prison along
paying a fine to Hun Sen on
charges of “defamation.” This
coincides with the 20th
anniversary of the grenade
attack on a rally led by
Rainsy. What is the UN's
comment, and separately what
is it doing about this in
Cambodia? 2) On the DRC Congo:
1. Who found the bodies of
Sharp & Catalan? The UN or
the DRC authorities? 2. How
many bodies were found? Just
2, or 3? 3. Is the UN aware of
the status of Betu Tshintela?
Can the UN confirm that Betu's
body was found along with
Michael & Zaida? 4. How to
explain this discrepancy? 5.
Has the UN been to the site
where the bodies were found,
yes or no? 3) In light of
recent criticism that the UN
supports corrupt governments,
please explain / amplify the
UN's RC in Zimbabwe's
statement that “'Our role is
to support development in
Zimbabwe in partnership with
the government. We are behind
government' ... He said all
its efforts were done in
agreement with President
Robert Mugabe and his
government.” 4) Also, please
describe the vetting done in
connection with Sri Lanka
military deployments with UN
Peacekeeping missions in Mali
and elsewhere, given the UN's
own reports on military abuses
in Sri Lanka." We'll have more
on this.
On March 29, the UN was
providing two responses to
five Inner City Press
question, simply ignoring
questions on Cameroon,
corruption and Western Sahara?
Inner City Press on the
morning of March 29 asked the
UN's top three spokespeople
"questions in advance of the
noon briefing, to be answered
at that time: 1) What is the
Secretary General's comment on
Jordan rolling out the red
carpet for Sudan's Omar al
Bashir, subject to an ICC
arrest warrant for genocide?
2) Given that the UN Economic
Commission for Africa has had
to delay its meeting with
African finance ministers at
the Dakar meeting the 38th
floor is tracking due to
Morocco seeking to exclude the
Polisario, does the SG / DPA
think these developments move
the situation in Western
Sahara closer to a peaceful
solution and referendum? 3) In
one of two UN-related bribery
prosecutions in the US
District Court for the
Southern District of New York,
Ng Lap Seng's co-defendant
Jeff C. Yin is now engaged in
plea negotiations, as Ng Lap
Seng's trial draws near. Will
the UN be monitoring the trial
as to what it shows of UN
involvement, and what was done
regarding the DGACM official
who provided a falsified /
amended for “technical”
reasons document regarding the
proposed Macau convention
center? 4) Because UNanswered,
asking again: In Cameroon,
former UN legal adviser (in
UNAMA and elsewhere) Felix
Agbor Balla now, according to
a UK-based barristers'
organization, faces a military
trial with the death penalty
on the table for speaking out
about conditions in the
country's Anglophone areas,
where the Internet has been
cut for 71 days and counting.
Particularly given
Agbor-Balla's former position
as a UN legal expert, what is
not only the UN's comment, but
what is the UN doing to
attempt to ensure he receives
due process? Also, what about
the arrest of human rights
lawyer Robert Fon and his
transfer to Yaounde? Also,
yesterday your Office replied,
regarding the USG of DPI, “We
will announce arrivals and
departures as they occur.” Now
that your partner has arranged
a farewell for this USG for
March 30, what is the
rationale for your Office
refusing to confirm her
departure and the status of
recruiting a replacement? And
the unanswered questions
below."
To those
Inner City Press questions,
the UN Spokesman provided,
past 2:30 pm, only this --
"Regarding your question about
Omar al-Bashir, our position
on him remains
unchanged. We urge all
States, including the States
Parties to the Rome Statute of
the ICC, to abide by their
obligations. Regarding the
naming of senior officials, we
have announced two
appointments today (for the
Executive Director of WFP and
the High Commissioner for
Disarmament Affairs).
Other announcements will be
made in due course.
Regarding
Under-Secretary-General
Cristina Gallach, her position
will be filled by an
Officer-in-Charge upon her
departure while the process to
find a new
Under-Secretary-General for
Public Information continues."
So, nothing on Cameroon or
Morocco / Western Sahara /
ECA, nor other questions on UN
costs and corruption. We'll
have more on this.
Earlier (2016) here.
***
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