In UNISFA Draft, Sudan Says It Prevails on Abyei, Juba Blamed on Visas
By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive
UNITED NATIONS, November 15, 2012 -- With the mandate of the UN peacekeeping
mission in Abyei, UNISFA, set to expire on November 17, Sudan on November 13
wrote to the UN Security Council saying its renewal resolution should not
support or welcome the African Union Peace and Security Council's October 24
decision and Communique on the status of Abyei, since an extra six weeks had
been given.
Inner City Press exclusively obtained
<
http://www.innercitypress.com/abyei1letter111312.html> and published
Sudan's letter on its beta Google+ site
<
https://plus.google.com/u/0/100354344517386630362/posts/jVBfS16USng> , and
asked, <
http://www.innercitypress.com/abyei1letter111312.html> "one senses
the US behind this and the visa proposed language -- will they agree to
remove it?"
The answer, according to Sudan, is that the US did agree to drop the
support of the Abyei decision, switching it only to "recalling" the
Communique in a final draft resolution which, under silence until 2:30 pm on
Thursday, went "into blue" for adoption.
Inner City Press has obtained and is publishing this draft, here
<
http://www.innercitypress.com/unisfa1silence111512.docx> .
On the above-reference visa issue, Sudan opposed a reference to "prejudice
to nationality." Sudan said it does not discriminate by nationality in
issuing visas to UN personnel. After publishing the letter, Inner City Press
asked Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesman Martin Nesirky if this is
true.
On November 14 the following came back: "On your question about Abyei, the
Department of Peacekeeping Operations is not aware of any distinction of
nationality in granting of visas by the Government of Sudan."
Now, sources say talk in the Council was that South Sudan has blocked some
visas for staff from "Arab and even some African" countries.
With the US expending UN political capital, to say the least, on the Gaza
issue, some might say it backed down to Sudan on the issue of Abyei. Since
others don't speak, we will try to ask the principal. Watch this site.
Footnote: when Inner City Press asked about Abyei and visas on November 13,
spokesman Nesirky said he would check - and then added that a UNISFA
peacekeeper "succumbed to his injuries" -- that is, was killed -- in a
protest by the Dinka in Abyei. It seemed to some that DPKO should have
announced this, even before a question.
Inner City Press put the question to DPKO chief Herve Ladsous as he left
the Security Council on November 14: did a UN peacekeeper shoot and kill a
national staff member in Abyei?
Ladsous looked, but did not offer any answer at all. His predecessors
Alain Le Roy and Jean-Marie Guehenno would always answer such a question, if
only to say, as Nesirky did, that it's under investigation.
But this UN is in decline: Ladsous had said he won't answer any Press
questions <
http://www.innercitypress.com/ladsous2insults102212.html> , even
about killings by or of his peacekeepers, due to some
<
http://www.innercitypress.com/ladsous2insults102212.html> "insulting
innuendo." It's all actually quite factual (click here
<
http://www.innercitypress.com/ladsous2insults102212.html> ) -- and
explaining DPKO's actions is part of Ladsous' job. Watch this site.
Received on Thu Nov 15 2012 - 21:30:02 EST
