NEPAL NEVER LIT HAITI CHOLERA BOMB: UN

NEPAL NEVER LIT HAITI CHOLERA BOMB: UN

KATHMANDU, DEC 09, 2010 -

“UN mission conducted tests everywhere but found no evidence”

There is no conclusive evidence to hold Nepali peacekeepers responsible for the cholera outbreak in Haiti, according to the United Nations.

The statement comes from UN Spokesperson Martin Nesirky following a report prepared by French cholera expert Renaud Piarroux whose team concluded that the outbreak originated at a UN base at Mirebalais on Artibonite River in central Haiti that houses Nepali peacekeepers. The report of the study commissioned by the French government at the request of the Haitian government has yet not been publicised. “MINUSTAH has neither accepted nor dismissed his findings. What the Mission has said is that this is one report among many that the United Nations has taken very seriously,” said Nesirky at a regular press meet in New York on Tuesday. “The Mission has conducted a number of tests on water inside the military camp, between the camp and the river, and the river itself, and all the results have proven negative. And, at this point the Mission says there is no conclusive evidence,” he added. He said the UN Mission in Haiti is continuing to consult specialists and scientists to gather the maximum information possible. The findings of the Piarroux-led team have been submitted to the UN Headquarters for further investigation.

Meanwhile, the Nepal Army has strongly opposed the report prepared by the French expert, terming the study ‘hypothetical’ “Various tests conducted by the UN on Nepali peacekeepers and the peacekeeping base in Mirebalis have already proved that there is no Nepali hand in the outbreak,” said Nepal Army Spokesman Ramindra Chhetri. “The French report is hypothetical and prepared without substantive evidence.”

More than 2,000 people died of cholera in Haiti since its outbreak in October. The samples taken by the UN from latrines, kitchens and water supply at the camp housing Nepali peacekeepers had tested negative in November. Edmond Mulet, head of the UN mission in Haiti, had said last month none of the peacekeepers tested positive for cholera.

Source: ekantipur.com