Ban gets ahead of himself in castigating Ivory Coast and Belarus

On Monday morning, just past midnight, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon office issued an alarming statement that lamented that "three attack helicopters and related material from Belarus" were reportedly being delivered to former President Laurent Gbgabo‘s forces in the Ivory Coast.

In an effort to underscore the seriousness of the transaction, Ban urged the U.N. Security Council to convene an emergency session to address what he considered a violation of a 2004 arms embargo on Ivory Coast. "The first delivery arrived reportedly on a flight which landed this evening and additional flights are scheduled for tomorrow. This is a serious violation of the embargo against Cote d’Ivoire," according to the statement.

In reality, however, there was no hard evidence that Belarus had actually shipped an attack helicopter – not least, because armed personnel refused to allow U.N. peacekeepers and arms experts to approach the airport try to verify their suspicions.

It was the second time in more than a week the U.N. chief had misspoken on fast moving developments in far off trouble spots. A week earlier, Ban’s office said he was "outraged at press reports that the Libyan authorities have been firing at demonstrators from war planes and helicopters. Such attacks against civilians, if confirmed, would constitute a serious of international humanitarian law." The reports, it appears, have never been confirmed, likely didn’t happen.

The Ivory Coast mixup — which was first reported by Reuters — came as the U.S., the U.N. and most European and African powers have been seeking to pressure Gbagbo, who was defeated in presidential elections in November but refused to go, to step down. It raised concern in New York that the delivery of the attack helicopters marked a turning point in the electoral crisis, signaling the country was heading towards a civil war.

U.N. Security Council diplomats officials acknowledged that that they may have over-reached in the public statement. "It looks like the sanctions committee has not yet been able to positively confirm the reported arms shipment to Cote d’Ivoire," say one council diplomat. "My feeling is there may have been some miscommunication from the UN mission to New York." The diplomat said the Security Council committee has asked the U.N. mission in Cote d’Ivoire and a panel of U.N. arms experts responsible for enforcing sanctions to continue monitoring the situation.

The slip-up has played into the hands of Belarussian authorities, who claim they have unfairly been made a pariah, and Gbagbo, who has used the episode to demonstrate that the U.N. has taken sides in the country’s internal dispute.

Acting on a tip, the U.N.’s panel of arms experts launched an investigation into a possible role by a Belarussian arms trader to sell attack helicopters to Gbagbao according to U.N. officials. The U.N. mission became alarmed over the weekend when they noted a build up of military presence at the airport, and conveyed their concerns to New York, triggering the late night statement from Ban.

But the U.N. had never confirmed the shipment. The following day, a team from the U.N. mission, joined by UN arms experts, approached the airport where they saw erected tents that they suspect may have concealed weapons or helicopter parts. But when they approached the airfield a vehicle filled with armed men drove toward them, firing warning shots, the officials said.

Now, they contend, the misstatement by Ban will subject the organization to criticism while they might have actually prevented a shipment of lethal helicopters. "The deployment of attack helicopters by pro-Gbagbo forces would constitute an exceptionally dangerous escalation of tensions," one U.N. official said. "Hopefully this will have a preventative effect."

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