On S. Sudan, Power Cites Kiir Officials' Pre-Bor Talk, Dieng Says Wait for
Probe
By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, May 5, 2014 -- Parallel to US Secretary of State John
Kerry's visit to South Sudan, as if in a parallel universe, the UN Security
Council met about the country on May 2.
There were calls for accountability: US Ambassador Samantha Power, for
example, said that before the deadly attack on civilians in the UN compound
in Bor, senior government officials made statements leading to the attack.
But the UN's Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide Adama Dieng
said that "both President Kiir and Riek Machar assured us that they are
investigating any serious violations by their respective forces and that
those found responsible will be held accountable."
Inner City Press asked Dieng after the meeting, couldn't Kiir easily know
who his senior government officials were, making statements before the Bor
attack?
Dieng said one must await the investigation. So Inner City Press asked
about the reported killing of 200 Nuer in Juba, already cited in a UN
report. Any accountability? Dieng cited yet another report coming out next
week.
(Dieng also gave this reporter a lengthy answer on Burundi, the April 3
cable about the ruling party arming its youth wing and more, that will be
separately reported.)
Earlier on May 2 Kerry spoke by phone with former vice president Riek
Machar. A senior US State Department official on background summarized:
"Secretary Kerry urged Riek Machar to abide by the Cessation of Hostilities
Agreement both parties signed in January and to take steps to bring an end
to the violence.
"He provided an update on his meeting with the Foreign Ministers from
Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda, with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam, as
well as his trip to Juba and meetings with President Kiir. He also expressed
strong concern about the humanitarian situation on the ground and the need
for improved access for humanitarian workers in the face of the very real
risk of famine to the people of South Sudan.
"Secretary Kerry urged Riek Machar to participate in a meeting as early as
next week with IGAD negotiators to discuss bringing an end to violence, and
engaging in meaningful political dialogue, and made clear that he had made
the same request of President Kiir, who indicated his willingness to
attend."
Earlier on May 2, Inner City Press asked UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric
if the UN will play any role. Apparently not. Some say UN enovy Hilde
Johnson is not viewed as impartial and is on her way out by this summer.
We'll have more on this.
Earlier on May 2 spokesperson Jen Psaki told the press that while in
Juba, Kerry
"will reiterate the need for all parties to respect the Cessation of
Hostilities Agreement, to immediately cease attacks on civilians, and to
fully cooperate with the United Nations and humanitarian organizations to
protect civilians and to provide life-saving assistance to the people of
South Sudan. He will also meet civil society leaders, IDP representatives,
and UNMISS officials."
Will Kerry meet not only with Salva Kiir but also with Riek Machar, as
outgoing UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay did?
On May 1 in Addis, Kerry flanked by his counterparts from Kenya, Uganda
and Ethiopia referred to a "legitimate force... to help make peace." Some
wondered how far outside the UN would this be? If the UN used a Force
Intervention Brigade in Eastern Congo, is that model being considered? At
the UN on May 1 an ambassador from one of those countries told Inner City
Press this is "just the IGAD force." The Security Council meets later on May
2. Kerry said on May 1:
"it’s clear that everybody is in agreement the killing must stop; that
humanitarian access needs to be delivered; most importantly, a legitimate
force that has an ability to help make peace needs to get on the ground as
rapidly as possible. And we agreed on both the terms and timing and manner
and size, and we need to go to work to make sure that happens."
After on April 26 Kerry spoke with Salva Kiir. State Department
spokesperson Jen Psaki gave this read-out:
Secretary Kerry spoke today with South Sudanese President Salva Kiir to
express grave concern about the ongoing conflict in South Sudan, including
recent violence in Bentiu and Bor and the deliberate targeting of civilians
by armed groups on both sides of the conflict. Secretary Kerry welcomed the
Government of South Sudan’s decision to release the four senior political
officials who had been in detention since December. He urged President Kiir
to stop military offensives and to adhere to the Cessation of Hostilities
agreement, and noted U.S. demands that anti-government forces do the same.
Both Secretary Kerry and President Kiir expressed their support for the
IGAD-led peace process. Secretary Kerry noted the important role played by
the UN Mission in South Sudan, denounced recent attacks on UNMISS bases and
personnel, and encouraged President Kiir to ensure full and unfettered
access throughout South Sudan for UNMISS, the African Union Commission of
Inquiry, and the IGAD Monitoring and Verification Mechanism.
On April 24, Kerry aid he w
<
https://twitter.com/innercitypress/status/459405170926182400> ould travel
to the country, as stateed at an event with Norway's foreign minister
<
http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2014/04/225159.htm> :
FOREIGN MINISTER BRENDE: Also, our work in South Sudan is now in the top of
our agenda and the troika work there. The UN Security Council will hopefully
make clear statements on this, because it’s unacceptable what we’re seeing
of the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding. So thank you.
SECRETARY KERRY: Well said. I forgot – I’ll be there next week, as a matter
of fact.
FOREIGN MINISTER BRENDE: Me too. (Laughter.)
SECRETARY KERRY: So we’ll talk about it. (Laughter.) See?
Kerry's statement came after US President Barack Obama threatened
sanctions against not only former vice president and now opposition leader
Riek Machar's forces but also those of president Salva Kiir.
The question arose: would Kerry meet not only Kiir but also Machar while
in Juba? US State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki on April 24 said there
could be more details about Kerry's Africa trip in the next 24 to 48 hours
<
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2014/04/225150.htm> . After Kerry's
statement beside Norway's Foreign Minister Borge Brende, that timetable
became 24 hours.
Inner City Press suggested that Kerry might also want to visit Burundi,
where a leaked April 3 cable about the government arming a youth wing,
published by Inner City Press on April 10, now appears in the process of
being hushed-up in the UN, click here for that.
<
http://www.innercitypress.com/burundi7uncableicp042414.html>
But on April 25, the State Department put out an itinerary listing only
Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola
<
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2014/04/225186.htm> . What does this mean?
Secretary Kerry Travels to Addis Ababa, Kinshasa and Luanda
Secretary of State John Kerry will visit Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Kinshasa,
Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Luanda, Angola, on April 29-May 5 to
encourage democratic development, promote respect for human rights, advance
peace and security, engage with civil society and young African leaders who
will shape the continent’s future, and promote trade, investment and
development partnerships in Africa.
The Secretary’s trip will also highlight U.S. investments in the President’s
Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
In Addis Ababa, Secretary Kerry will co-convene the Fourth Session of the
U.S.-AU High-Level Dialogue and discuss a range of issues on which we
partner with the African Union (AU). Secretary Kerry will meet with Prime
Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and Foreign Minister Tedros Adhanom to discuss
efforts to advance peace and democracy in the region, and strengthen
important areas of bilateral cooperation with Ethiopia.
In Kinshasa, Secretary Kerry will meet with President Joseph Kabila and will
discuss how the DRC government’s progress in neutralizing some of the dozens
of dangerous armed groups that victimize the Congolese people can be
consolidated and how to best advance the DRC’s democratization and long-term
stability, including through a timely and transparent electoral process.
In Luanda, Secretary Kerry will commend President José Eduardo dos Santos
for Angola’s leadership of the International Conference on the Great Lakes
Region (ICGLR) and encourage the President’s continued personal engagement
in the Great Lakes peace process. The Secretary will also discuss bilateral
policy and trade issues with Foreign Minister Chikoti.
Secretary Kerry will also be accompanied by Assistant Secretary for African
Affairs Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Special Envoy for the Great Lakes and the
Democratic Republic of the Congo Russell Feingold, Special Envoy to Sudan
and South Sudan Donald Booth, and Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's
Issue Catherine Russell.
Donald Booth going on the trip might indicate an unscheduled stop in Juba
-- or just, talks in Addis.
At the April 25 State Department briefing, spokesperson Jen Psaki said,
"trips are always subject to change, as you all know who have traveled with
us. But I don’t have any other stops to announce today."
As to South Sudan, in the wake of the April 15-16 mass killing in Bentiu,
UN official Mary Cummins said
<
http://unmiss.unmissions.org/Default.aspx?tabid=3465&ctl=Details&mid=6047&I
temID=3628700&language=en-US> "we need the Ghanaian contingent to come
soon."
This was troubling and strange, since it was ostensibly to ship weapons to
the Ghanaians that the UN moved trucks of weapons by road to Bentiu. Weapons
without soldiers?
So Inner City Press asked at the April 22 UN noon briefing and was
promised an answer that never arrived. At the UN Security Council stakeout
on April 23, Inner City Press put the question to UN Peacekeeping chief
Herve Ladsous who refuses Press questions. Even at the April 24 noon
briefing, when Inner City Press asked for a third time, there was no answer.
Now this belated response:
Subject: Your question on South Sudan.
From: UN Spokesperson - Do Not Reply [at] un.org
Date: Thu, Apr 24, 2014 at 4:51 PM
To: Matthew Russell Lee [at] innercitypress.com
The Department of Peacekeeping Operations says that, as of now, 44 members
of the Ghanaian Battalion are in Bentiu.
But that doesn't answer about the Ghanaian Battalion's (non) presence
during the April 15-16 killings. And shipping containers of weapons for a
mere 44 members? Compare this to the 350 troops from Ghana's continent in
Cote d'Ivoire <
http://www.innercitypress.com/cote1ssudan012714.html> that
the UN told Inner City Press about in January, here
<
http://www.innercitypress.com/cote1ssudan012714.html> . We hope to have
more on this.
The UN Security Council belatedly met about Bentiu on April 24.
Afterward UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations chief Herve Ladsous came
out and took three questions, curtly.
The UN itself says that the Ghanaian battalion
<
http://unmiss.unmissions.org/Default.aspx?tabid=3465&ctl=Details&mid=6047&I
temID=3628700&language=en-US> -- the shipment of whose weapons by land to
Bentiu triggered an objection by South Sudan's government and a report by
Ladsous' DPKO that has yet to be publicly released -- was not in Bentiu
<
http://unmiss.unmissions.org/Default.aspx?tabid=3465&ctl=Details&mid=6047&I
temID=3628700&language=en-US> to even try to stop the April 15-16 killings.
Inner City Press put this question to Ladsous both on and off UNTV's
camera, but he refused to answer it. Video here
<
http://youtu.be/AMWNKAx2xJ4> and embedded below. Criticisms of his DPKO
are spreading, but Ladsous refuses to answer them.
Back on April 22
<
http://www.un.org/News/briefings/docs/2014/db140422.doc.htm> Inner City
Press asked Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesman Stephane Dujarric
about the Ghanaian contingent:
Inner City Press: on South Sudan, I saw that Mary Cummins, who is the acting
Coordinator for Unity State, really sounded the alarm that they need more
forces there. And she said, “we need the Ghanaian battalion to arrive soon”.
I thought that was the battalion whose weapons that were found in the
boxes--
Spokesman Dujarric: Let me find out.
But more than 24 hours later Dujarric, or ultimately Ladsous' DPKO, had
not provided any answer. So Inner City Press put the question to Ladsous at
the stakeout. Ladsous refused to answer it, pointedly calling first on
Reuters <
http://www.chillingeffects.org/notice.cgi?sID=1117933> , then Voice
of America <
http://www.innercitypress.com/voa4bbgbank010814.html> , then on
state-owned France 24.
Then Ladsous lumbered from the stakeout microphone and up the stairs, with
a retinue of DPKO staff, many of whom worked under Alain Le Roy and even
Jean-Marie Guehenno but now enable this decay within UN Peacekeeping.
From inside the closed consultation, the French mission's spokesperson
tweeted that a film was being screened of Bentiu. This was confirmed to
Inner City Press by an actual ambassador in the meeting; at the stakeout
afterward Inner City Press asked Security Council president Joy Ogwu of
Nigeria if the film was only about Bentiu and not Bor and she said Yes, only
about Bentiu.
The April 15-16 killings in Bentiu have been attributed to the Sudan
People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) in Opposition led by former vice
president Riek Machar, who has denied that his forces killed civilians.
Likewise, the April 18 murders inside the UN peacekeeping camp in Bor have
been attributed to supporters from the Dinka tribe of president Salva Kiir,
and statements by his information minister bear this out.
The UN has alleged that in Bentiu the victims were targeted based not only
on tribe but nationality. One response was that Darfur rebels from the
Justice and Equality Movement who were fighting along with Kiir's government
forces were killed, but not civilians.
In this environment, for UN Peacekeeping to be run by an official who
can't even answer basic questions is a major problem. Watch this site.
Received on Mon May 05 2014 - 18:31:37 EDT