UN troops traded gold, guns: report

LONDON – Pakistani United Nations peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo traded gold and returned weapons to militia groups in 2005, according to a BBC investigation broadcast yesterday.

A UN team sent to investigate faced intimidation, while the organisation buried its official report to avoid political fallout, the British Broadcasting Corporation said. There are currently some 17 600 UN peacekeepers in the country – the organisation’s largest mission – overseeing the transition from a devastating civil war in which millions died.The Pakistani team at the centre of the claims was working in and around the north-eastern mining town of Mongbwalu two years ago to try and effect peace between Lendu and Hema ethnic groups.The BBC quoted locals who said they saw evidence of peacekeepers’ links to the gold trade.Local businessman Evarista Anjasubu said he knew of transactions between Pakistani officers and two notorious FNI militia leaders, called Kung Fu and Dragon, who controlled the gold mines.”It was gold that was the basis of their friendship.So the gold extracted from the mines went directly to the Pakistanis.They used to meet in the UN camp in Mongbwalu, in a thatched house,” he was quoted as saying.The broadcaster added that Pakistani officers drew in Indian traders from Kenya as the transactions increased.Petronille Vaweka, a senior local official, said that she had tried to inspect cargo on a plane at Bunia airport but found her way blocked by Congolese army officers, who the BBC says were also involved.”I knew they had gold because the price of gold increased when the Indians went to Mongwalu,” she told the BBC.”When we wanted to verify what was inside the plane the pilot refused to allow us to enter the plane – me who was the chief, he refused! It was a big scandal.”William Swing, the special representative to the UN secretary general in DR Congo, told the broadcaster he would “categorically deny” that troops rearmed militia and that there was “absolutely nothing” to the allegation.The investigation into claims of gold trading is ongoing, he added.Nampa-AFPThere are currently some 17 600 UN peacekeepers in the country – the organisation’s largest mission – overseeing the transition from a devastating civil war in which millions died.The Pakistani team at the centre of the claims was working in and around the north-eastern mining town of Mongbwalu two years ago to try and effect peace between Lendu and Hema ethnic groups.The BBC quoted locals who said they saw evidence of peacekeepers’ links to the gold trade.Local businessman Evarista Anjasubu said he knew of transactions between Pakistani officers and two notorious FNI militia leaders, called Kung Fu and Dragon, who controlled the gold mines.”It was gold that was the basis of their friendship.So the gold extracted from the mines went directly to the Pakistanis.They used to meet in the UN camp in Mongbwalu, in a thatched house,” he was quoted as saying.The broadcaster added that Pakistani officers drew in Indian traders from Kenya as the transactions increased.Petronille Vaweka, a senior local official, said that she had tried to inspect cargo on a plane at Bunia airport but found her way blocked by Congolese army officers, who the BBC says were also involved.”I knew they had gold because the price of gold increased when the Indians went to Mongwalu,” she told the BBC.”When we wanted to verify what was inside the plane the pilot refused to allow us to enter the plane – me who was the chief, he refused! It was a big scandal.”William Swing, the special representative to the UN secretary general in DR Congo, told the broadcaster he would “categorically deny” that troops rearmed militia and that there was “absolutely nothing” to the allegation.The investigation into claims of gold trading is ongoing, he added.Nampa-AFP