Kofi Annan, hypocrite

CBC News reports:

GENEVA - The top UN refugee official has resigned under pressure from Secretary General Kofi Annan, amid allegations of sexual harassment.

Ruud Lubbers, a former Dutch prime minister, stepped down Sunday as high commissioner for refugees. He maintained his innocence against accusations that he had sexually harassed a woman who worked at the agency.

..."To be frank, and despite all my loyalty, insult has now been added to injury and therefore I resign as high commissioner," Lubbers said.

The first thing we must note in this case is that "Ruud Lubbers" is an extremely unfortunate name for a man accused of sexual harrassment.

The second thing is that if Mr. Lubbers were truly innocent, one would expect him to fight the allegations made against him. Pre-emptively resigning to spare oneself further inquiry is the mark of a guilty person.

And the third thing is the hypocritical reaction of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

In a statement, Annan said he "is convinced that it is in the best interest of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, its staff and the refugees it serves that the page be turned and a new chapter be started.

"While the secretary general had accepted legal advice that the original allegations made against Mr. Lubbers [last year] could not be substantiated, the continuing controversy has made the high commissioner's position impossible," he continued.

So, Kofi is fine with dismissing a man who he himself believes did nothing wrong, in response to allegations of comparatively minor wrongdoing.

But when Annan himself is implicated in a far worse scandal like Oil-for-Food (or even, if we take a buck-stops-here view, the Congo child rape rings), he hangs on and fights for his own cushy job.

Disgusting.