UN
Locks UNSC
Stakeout As
Prez Speaks,
ICP Can Only
Stay With UN
Minder
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, March
24 -- After
Inner City
Press was
summarily
ejected from
the UN, which
it has covered
for 10 years,
on February 19
(audio
here), the
ostensibly
deciding
official
Cristina
Gallach told
Nobel Peace
Prize laureate
Jose Ramos
Horta, who
contacted her
to oppose her
arbitrary
decision, that
Inner City
Press would
still be able
to cover the
UN.
That has
proved to be
false. Simply
as examples,
on March 21
Inner City
Press arrived
to to stakeout
the Western
Sahara meeting
of UN Security
Council
Permanent
Representative,
but was unable
to. Its
downgraded
“non resident
correspondent”
pass does not
open the
turnstiles;
the glass door
to the
Security
Council was
locked. Video
here.
Still Gallach
claimed that
Inner City
Press had
access, the
same access as
before. This
is false - and
in a sinister
way. On March
24, still on
Western
Sahara, UN
Security
arrived and
locked the
glass doors to
the Security
Council even
as it was said
Council
President
Gaspar Martins
of Angola
would come and
speak.
Inner
City Press
asked UN
Security not
to lock the
door -
rejected - and
took a
photograph, in
response to
which UN
Security said,
No photos. UN
Correspondents
Association
president
Giampaolo
Pioli, in a
rare
appearance at
the stakeout,
did not
advocate for
media access.
He repeatedly
called Inner
City Press “an
asshole,” and
said, “Quote
me.” Audio
here.
It gets worse.
After Gaspar
Martins spoke
-- Inner City
Press streamed
it live on
Periscope, and
converted that
into a YouTube
video --
quickly the UN
Media
Accreditation
and Liaison
Unit told UNTV
to shut down,
and asked
Inner City
Press to leave
the stakeout.
But
diplomats were
still present.
In fact, an
UNCA board
members was
interviewing
one about the
Western Sahara
meeting, in
the second
floor hallway.
Inner City
Press told
MALU it has
the same right
to cover the
meeting, and
that it should
be able to
conduct an
interview.
This, it
turned out,
even speaking
off the record
with
diplomatic
sources, could
now only be
done by Inner
City Press
with a MALU
“escort” -- a
minder.
What diplomat
speaking off
the record
about the
closed meeting
would do so in
front of UN
Secretariat
staff? This is
absurd - it
must all be
reversed.
Inner
City Press
used the booth
on January 29
in order to
not disrupt or
participate in
the event by
the UN
Correspondents
Association, a
group Inner
City Press
quit in 2012,
finding it to
be corrupt.
Also, there
are few
electrical
outlets in the
UN Press
Briefing Room,
only in the
front, where
Inner City
Press did not
want to be -
there would
be, as there
was, heckling.
But Inner City
Press said it
has a right to
be in the UN
Press Briefing
Room, until it
is formally
closed. And it
was not.
Since then it
has been
argued that
there is a
rule against
being in the
interpreters
booth. This is
not in the UN
Media
Guideline. But
even if the
rule were to
exist
somewhere - on
March 23 it
was openly
broken, in
front of the
same Deputy
Spokesman who
used it to
oust Inner
City Press
while insult
it, then and
since.
On
March 24,
Inner City
Press asked UN
Deputy
Spokesprson
Farhan Haq
about it - he
ended the
exchange, as
he walked out,
saying "Liar."
TO this has
the UN and its
"case"
descended. From the UN
transcript,
sans liar:
Inner City Press:
Yesterday, as
you held your
briefing,
there were two
individuals in
the booth
right there,
the
interpreter's
booth, the
other
interpreter's
booth.
And I wanted
to know, since
it's been
explained to
me that
there's some
clear rule,
it's been said
that the
Under-Secretary-General
of Department
of Public
Information
says that
there's an
extremely
clear rule
that only
interpreters
can be in
these booths,
and if anyone
other than
interpreters
are in the
booth, they
face summary
ouster from
the United
Nations.
What was the
use of this…
please
explain,
because he's
been asked for
the rule and
didn't provide
the rule.
Deputy
Spokesman:
Yes, there
was, in fact,
a violation of
the room,
which we…
which we have
taken up…
Inner City
Press: A
violation of
what
rule?
Can you
provide the
rule?
Because she's
been asked for
the rule.
Deputy
Spokesman:
This is by our
fellow DPI
staff who were
unaware of
this, but they
have been told
they cannot
use that room,
that they
cannot and
must not.
Inner City
Press:
Who were
they?
And did you
know yesterday
when you did
nothing during
your presence
there?
Deputy
Spokesman:
I did not
know, because,
as when you
were hiding
there, it's
difficult for
me to tell
that there are
people there.
Inner City
Press:
There's no
hiding.
They're
totally
visible.
So, you're
saying you
didn't know
and you did
nothing, yet
it's an
extremely
strong rule.
Deputy
Spokesman:
No, I didn't
say I did
nothing.
In fact, we
were apprised
of this, and
they cannot
use that
room.
Thanks.
Since
Haq admits not
knowing who
those in the
interpreters
booth were,
and did
nothing, there
is no rule. It
was all a
pretext to
retaliating
and censor.
We'll have
more on this.
Now
Gallach, even
having been
informed that
Inner City
Press can no
longer for
example go to
the second
floor of the
UN Conference
Building and
speak with
diplomats
entering and
exiting
meetings like
March 21when
it was Banned
from covering
the Western
Sahara meeting
of the
Security
Council,
like March 9
on UN Security
Council
reform, and
March 10 on
Counter-Terrorism
including in
Sri Lanka,
repeats the
same position
to others - as
does Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
Office of the
Spokesperson,
under Stepane
Dujarric, who
on March 14
essentially
said, We
do whatever we
want.
On
March 22
Dujarric's
deputy Farhan
Haq went
further,
claiming that
Inner City
Press attempts
to ask
questions are
"bullying" and
saying he
stands behind
what he said
during Inner
City Press'
first ouster
from the Press
Briefing Room,
that Inner
City Press
"lies a lot."
From the March
22 transcript,
Video
here:
Inner City
Press: So the
questions are
as
follows:
There was a
meeting today
down the
second floor
about
revitalization
of the General
Assembly.
It was
described as
being about
the selection
process for
the next
SG.
Given that
non-resident
correspondents
cannot enter
that area and
given the
claim of
Cristina
Gallach of the
DPI that the
amount of
access is
identical,
that there is
no difference,
how is it that
those with
non-resident
passes? You
said that you
had one
before, and
you had full
access.
Well, that was
before the
glass
turnstiles
were installed
down where you
go to the
stairs and the
ramp to go
down, and
these passes
don't work
there.
So how is a
non-resident
correspondent
interested in
covering the
process for
selecting the
next
Secretary-General
supposed to,
as others can,
stake out that
meeting?
And the second
question is a
much more
specific
question.
These focus
booths that
were promised
when the press
corps moved
back to the
Secretariat,
there were
supposed to be
four of
them.
They were
supposed to
have UN phones
where you
could call
missions.
There are no
phones, and it
seems like
we're down to
one focus
booth.
And a UNCA
(United
Nations
Correspondents
Association)-affiliated
troll Twitter
account has
today
announced that
these booths
are not even
for reporters
at all.
And in fact,
in using them,
I've been
repeatedly
asked to leave
them. So
I wanted to
know, what
happened to
the provision
that… that
non-resident
correspondents
can have a
space to make
a confidential
phone call
in? And
is it true, as
UNCA appears
to believe,
that these
focus booths
are not, in
fact, for
reporters at
all, but only
for UN staff?
Deputy
Spokesman:
Those are good
questions for
you to be
asking our
colleagues in
the Department
of Public
Information…
[cross talk]
Inner City
Press:
They don't
speak to
me. They
didn't speak
to me before
throwing me
out, so I'm
asking you
here.
They're simple
questions.
Deputy
Spokesman:
You have
objectively
not been
thrown
out. I'm
looking at you
right now.
Inner City
Press:
You're looking
at me
now. I
was physically
thrown onto
First Avenue,
and my laptop
was thrown on
the street,
and there's
audio of it.
So you can say
what you
will. If
you're
comfortable
with it, it's
fine… [cross
talk]
Deputy
Spokesman
Haq: It
is clearly not
the case that
you've been
thrown out of
the building
because you're
in the
building.
Deputy
Spokesman:
This room is
part of the
United
Nations, and
you’re here
right
now.
[cross talk]
Inner City
Press: I
was thrown
out.
Apparently,
you don't
understand the
words that I'm
saying.
I was thrown
out.
It's a past
tense. I
was told from
the Security
Council
stakeout that
I had to march
down the
escalator and
go onto First
Avenue, or I
would be
turned over to
NYPD (New York
Police
Department).
This is what I
was
told.
It's all on
audio.
You can listen
to it or
not. But
I dispute your
statement.
But here's my
question.
Maybe you
don't want to
talk about the
focus booth,
because this
was a huge…
Deputy
Spokesman:
Your volume is
rising.
Take it down a
notch.
Inner City
Press:
Okay. My
question is
this.
Given that
this event may
still be going
on and given
it's about the
important
topic of next
SG selection,
how is it that
people either
that currently
have or who
have been
downgraded
without due
process to
non-resident
correspondents
status, how
are they
supposed to
stake out and
cover this
meeting?
Deputy
Spokesman:
That's a good
question to
ask our
colleagues in
media
accreditation.
Please do so.
Inner City
Press:
I'm asking
you. I
don't want a
minder. I want
to stand as I
could before
19 February in
front of the
room… [cross
talk]
Deputy
Spokesman:
I'm not the
in-house
representative
for you.
You can deal
with media
accreditation.
[cross talk]
On March
14, Inner City
Press arrived
early at the
UN to cover
the UN's
continuing
cover up of
its rape
scandal, the
swearing in a
adviser on the
topic of Jane
Holl Lute, who
did the same
thing ten
years ago.
Inner City
Press has
covered many
such
swearing-in
photo ops at
the UN,
without
incident. But
now it is all
different. Up
on the 38th
floor, before
UN officials
including the
evicter
Cristina
Gallach, the
justifier
Stephane
Dujarric, the
non-responding
head of the UN
Office of
Legal Affairs,
the American
Jeffrey
Feltman,
UNresponsive
on Sri Lanka,
the entirely
UNresponsive
Herve Ladsous
and Ban
Ki-moon
himself
arrived, a UN
Security guard
called Inner
City Press
aside.
“They told me
you were
cleared to do
this,” the UN
guard said. Audio
here. Actually,
even those
with
non-resident
correspondent
accreditation
like Inner
City Press was
without due
process cut
to, are
“cleared”
without
question.
The UN
guard told
Inner City
Press, “Do it
in a nice
way.” Did this
mean, write a
nice article?
Because
the hiring of
a single
individual
will not fix
the UN's
problems with
rape (Ladsous,
in attendance,
has publicly
linked the
rapes to
R&R). And
the inability
/
unwillingness
of those
officials
present, aware
of the ouster
and censorship
of Inner City
Press speaks
volumes. It is
current an
organization
that cannot
fix itself.
Later, after a
second photo
op seemingly
designed for
Ban to
campaign for
president of
South Korea,
Inner City
Press asked
Dujarric, UN transcript
here:
Inner City
Press: I
noticed today,
having
attended now
two photo ops,
that there's
a… clearly
either an
interview or
some kind of a
documentary or
something
larger from
Phoenix TV
with the
Secretary-General.
And I wanted
to know,
seemed to be
that, in some
of these
incidents,
the… the crew
that's
following Ban
Ki-moon's
every movement
today is given
rights greater
than
journalists
that are just
photographing.
Spokesman
Dujarric:
Yes.
Inner City
Press:
Okay.
What… so who
decides
that?
What exactly…?
Spokesman:
Matthew, I'm
not…
Inner City
Press:
I'm asking.
Spokesman:
You know,
there is… I
think most
journalists
would expect
someone in my
position not
to share what
projects or
interviews
they're doing
on. It
is our
decision to
decide what
interviews to
grant, what
documentary
filmmakers to
work with, one
way or
another.
That's
it. It's
our
decision.
I mean, I
don't… it's
not something
for
discussion.
We don't
share…
Inner City
Press:
My question's
what's the
right of
normal… of
regular
non-resident
correspondent
journalists to
go to photo
ops?
Because I went
to a photo op
today and I
was told by
security to be
nice, and I
think it's
inappropriate.
Isn't that
inappropriate?
Spokesman:
I think it's
always nice to
be nice…
Inner City
Press:
Yeah, but why
am I told not
to be nice and
these guys are
in the
residence?
Spokesman:
I'm
done.
Yes.
Correspondent:
Thank you,
Steph.
Spokesman:
I'm always
told to be
nice.
But
you're not,
Inner City
Press said.
But the UN did
not transcribe
it. They do
whatever they
want --
including on
March 14
selling
jewelry in the
same lobby
they threw the
Press out of.
More to
follow.
But Inner City
Press had been
told that
while the pass
would not
allow it to
enter the UN
after 7 pm, if
it was already
inside
working, it
could finish.
On
March 10 at 8
pm, as Inner
City Press sat
in the UN
Lobby cafe
area editing a
video of the
day's noon
briefing, see
below, UN
Security
officers
approached and
told it to
leave.
Immediately. Video here.
Inner
City Press
asked if this
rule applied
to all
non-resident
correspondents,
many of whom
stayed much
later than 8
pm, or only to
it.
"I"m
just doing
what I'm
told," UN DSS
Officer Clyde
said, telling
Inner City
Press to take
it up with his
supervisor
Chief (Michael
or Mick)
Brown.
This is
harassment; it
flows from the
February 19 no
due process
order of Under
Secretary
General of DPI
Cristina
Gallach but
has been
enabled by
inaction by
the highest UN
officials and
some
diplomats.
On March 11,
Inner City
Press asked
Ban Ki-moon's
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric about
having been
ousted from
the UN again,
video
here,
UN
transcript
here:
The March 10
session on
Counter-Terrorism,
including Sri
Lanka Supreme
Court Justice
Chandra
Ekanayake, was
held in the
ECOSOC Chamber
- Inner City
Press was not
able to stake
it out and
talk to
diplomats, as
it had before.
In fact,
it was
Dujarric who
used the UN
Press Briefing
Room he threw
Inner City
Press out of
to "discuss"
Inner City
Press'
accreditation
on February 22
- only, with a
board member
of UNCA, the
UN Corruption
Association /
UN Censorship
Alliance.
Cristina
Gallach has
written, "Mr
Lee has a
Press
accreditation
that allows
him to cover
all events in
the UN, as the
rest of
accredited
journalists."
She even
referred to
"total
access."
This is false.
For
example,
today's
General
Assembly
meeting on
Security
Council reform
is "closed."
But those with
Resident
Correspondent
accreditation,
which Gallach
stripped from
Inner City
Press without
any due
process and
only two hours
notice on
February 19,
can use their
pass to swipe
through the
turnstile on
the second
floor and
stakeout
outside the
meeting,
speaking with
diplomats.
Inner City
Press cannot -
its new
restricted
pass does not
open the
second floor
turnstile. It
has been
Banned from
this type of
coverage.
It was
precisely by
staking out
outside
"Closed"
meetings that
Inner City
Press got and
covered such
stories as Sri
Lankan alleged
war criminal
Shavendra
Silva being
one of Ban
Ki-moon's
Senior
Advisers on
Peacekeeping.
Staking out
closed
meetings of
the Senior
Advisory Group
on
Peacekeeping,
Inner City
Press quoted
even South
Asian
ambassadors on
what an
outrage it
was.
Now
Inner City
Press is
Banned from
such coverage,
and the UN
Department of
Public
"Information"
is misleading
those who
contact it.
At the March 9
UN noon
briefing,
Inner City
Press asked
Ban Ki-moon's
deputy
spokesperson
Farhan Haq
about what
Gallach had
said, full
YouTube here,
Vine
here and here, from the UN
transcript:
Inner City
Press: Beyond
the letter
from the
Northern
Provincial
Council to
Secretary-General
Ban, Cristina
Gallach of DPI
[Department of
Public
Information]
has received a
letter from a
group called
the Tamil
Sangam, of
diaspora
Tamils.
And the reason
I'm asking you
is the
following:
They've sent
me her
response to
them.
They raised a
number of
issues about
Sri Lanka
coverage, UN's
performance in
Sri Lanka, and
she wrote back
and
said: "I
want to firmly
clarify that
Mr. Lee has
total access
at the
UN." And
since that's
actually not
the case,
since I can't
go through the
turnstile on
the second…
Deputy
Spokesman
Haq:
That is the
case.
Inner City
Press:
No, it's
not. I
can't cover
ECOSOC
[Economic and
Social
Council].
I can't cover
Trusteeship.
I'm telling
you…
Deputy
Spokesman
Haq:
Matthew, you
have
access.
We're standing
in a briefing
room in the
United Nations
right
now.
You’re asking…
Inner City
Press:
She said
"total
access",
"total
access", So
let me ask
you…
Deputy
Spokesman:
You can go
anywhere that
the other
reporters
[can].
Inner City
Press:
No, I
can't.
What about the
2nd Floor of
the conference
building?
This pass
doesn't work,
and I'm told
by Security I
cannot go
there.
So, I'm asking
you, what did
she mean by
"total
access"?
Deputy
Spokesman
Haq: You
can go to the
Security
Council
stakeout or
any other
public area.
Inner City
Press:
This is not
the
case.
Come with me…
Deputy
Spokesman
Haq:
Matthew, I
used to have a
non-resident
pass many,
many, many
years ago, and
I used to go
all the areas.
Inner City
Press: They
didn't used to
have a glass
turnstile
there.
And I'm also
told to leave
the building
at 7 pm,
that if I
leave the
building after
7 pm, I can't
come back into
it no matter
what work I'm
doing.
Is that the
case?
Deputy
Spokesman
Haq:
Matthew, as
far as I'm
aware, you
have the time
to go about
the work that
you need to
do. Joe?
Inner City
Press:
I'm totally
contesting it,
totally.
Again,
Inner City
Press is as of
March 8 not
allowed to
cover anything
on the second
floor of the
UN conference
building
(ECOSOC,
Trusteeship
Council),
cannot
effectively
edit videos of
UN Q&A,
and must leave
the building
by 7 pm. These
are
restrictions.
But USG
Gallach
continues to
repeat the
mantra that
reducing the
Press' ability
to do
journalism at
the UN by 60%
is fine. A
group wrote to
her that
"it is
paramount
importance
that
journalists of
Mr. Lee's
caliber
continue to
monitor the UN
system and we
firmly stand
behind him. We
urge you to
resolve the
dispute with
him and
restore to Mr.
Lee his
Resident
Correspondent
accreditation
and ICP's
long-time
office which
he uses to do
his
journalistic
work. We
do not find
the punishment
in your
February 19
letter to be
proportionate
even to what
it's claimed
he did: seek
to cover an
even in the
UN's own Press
Briefing Room.
Why was that
meeting in
that UN Press
Briefing Room
anyway, if it
was
'private'?"
"I can firmly
clarify to you
that Mr Lee
has a press
pass that
allows him
total access
to press
conferences,
media stake
outs and press
conferences in
the UN
building. I am
convinced that
the coverage
about the
issues you
care most [sic]
is totally
will be not at
all affected."
That is
FALSE. Inner
City Press is
now restricted
from the
entire second
floor of the
UN conference
building, must
leave the
building by 7
pm, cannot
conduct
interviews or
edit videos in
its long time
shared office
- for trying
to cover a
meeting, in
the Press
Briefing Room,
of an entity
also connected
by South South
to the UN
bribery
scandal?
Petition here.
USG
Gallach's
response was
cc-ed to Ban's
spokesman
Dujarric, who
cannot claim
to not know
the
restrictions
on the pass
Inner City
Press has
been, without
due process,
confined to.
On March 8 he
said, we will
not
characterize
it, "People
are free to
demonstrate."
(Vine
here.)
"journalists
face growing
efforts to
silence their
voices –
through
harassment,
censorship and
attacks.
Journalists
are not
criminals.
But they are
often
mistreated."
Note: on
February 19,
Inner City
Press was
physically
ousted from
the UN
Security
Council
stakeout where
it was writing
up the
evening's
Syria meeting
and was told
"you are a
trespasser" in
the UN and
that it would
be handed over
to NYPD. Audio
here.
"During
the past nine
years as
Secretary-General,
I have been
working hard
to defend the
press."
Well,
the above
happened on
February 19,
and
restrictions
remain in
place with no
right to
appeal, and no
due process.
Ban and his
senior
advisers have
been informed
of it.
On
February 26
the Government
Accountability
Project, which
defends
whistleblowers,
wrote to the
US Mission to
the UN,
Ambassador of
Management and
Reform Isobel
Coleman, to
ask the US to
ensure Inner
City Press
gets back its
office and
Resident
Correspondent's
pass.
GAP letter
here.
GAP's
Beatrice
Edwards cited
the UN's lack
of due process
and of rules,
and the
seeming
retaliation
against Inner
City Press for
its reporting.
(There's also
the physical
ouster of
Inner City
Press, audio
here.)
Other missions
have openly
taken action:
what will the
US Mission do?
On
February 29,
Inner City
Press asked
Ban Ki-moon's
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric
another
question about
UN - this time
DPI - seeming
corruption,
and about
GAP's letter,
Video
here, UN transcript
here:
Inner City
Press: I'd asked
you previously
about
South-South
News,
which is
pretty much
in… is in this
indictment of
Mr. [Francis]
Lorenzo and
Mr. Ng Lap
Seng as a
conduit for
funds for the
alleged
bribery at the
UN, why its…
its footage
and a number
of its pieces
are included
in UNTV in an
archive, and I
checked
today.
They're still
there.
I wanted to
know, since
there's no
other med…
non-UN media
that I can
find that has
its material
inside that
archive, why
is that, and
why does it
remain to be
the case,
given the fact
that it's
named as a
vehicle for
bribery?
Spokesman
Dujarric:
Obviously, I
think that's a
question you
can address to
my colleagues
in DPI.
Inner City
Press:
Okay.
They're not
communicating
too well.
Spokesman:
[Calls on
another.]
Inner City
Press: Again,
I'll keep it
very short,
but I wanted
to ask you,
the Government
Accountability
Project, which
you know,
which
represented
Mr. [Anders]
Kompass and
other UN
whistle-blowers,
has issued a
letter on
Friday in
which they
say… they call
for… I guess
I'll put it in
personal
terms… for my
resident
correspondent
pass to be
returned and
my
office.
And they say
the action was
retaliatory in
response to
independent
critical
journalism.
I'd like to
know what your
response to
this respected
group reaching
that
conclusion is.
Spokesman:
My simple
response would
be no, and I'm
sure they will
get a response
from whoever
they addressed
the letter to.
We'll
see.
Meanwhile
in defense of
Ban and
Gallach,
anonymous
troll account
has taken to
tweeting, now
at Spanish
journalists,
that Gallach
is fine and
didn't throw
Inner City
Press out of
the UN on two
hours notice
without once
speaking to
it. But those
are the fact.
Among the new
troll
account's
followers are
Ban Ki-moon's
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric and
four UNCA
board members,
plus Reuters
bureau chief
Louis
Charbonneau,
who has a
history with
this, see
here.
Because
as a working
journalist it
needed access
to cover the
February 25 UN
Security
Council
meeting about
North Korea,
and only in
connection
with filing a
lawyer's
letter telling
Gallach and
the UN not to
touch Inner
City Press'
office or
files, Inner
City Press
late morning
entered the UN
with a
so-called
"Green P"
non-resident
correspondents
pass.
At the
day's noon
briefing,
after asking
of Burundi,
Western
Sahara, Darfur
and the UN
corruption
scandals,
Inner City
Press asked
Ban Ki-moon's
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric two
simple
question, to
which he said
#AskGallach. UN transcript.
Wait -
so the UN has
no protocols
on the use of
force? Or
DPI's Gallach
is in charge
of the use of
force, and
ordered it?
How can the UN
and USG
Gallach be so
contemptuous
to the most
basic forms of
due process?
Inner City
Press is
opposing all
this.
And so
now are a
range of
people from
around the
world, who
have signed a
petition to
immediately
restore Inner
City Press to
the UN
Resident
Correspondent
accreditation
it had for
nine years
until, without
any due
process, the
UN pass was
physically
torn from its
chest as UN
Security throw
its laptop
onto the
sidewalk in
front of the
UN (also owned
by the UN and
immunity from
US law
including the
First
Amendment).
UN cover-up
artists are
taking
advantage of
the dying
months of Ban
Ki-moon's
tenure to
remove a thorn
in their side,
because they
are worried
the new SG
won't want to
start out with
a fight.
-James Bone,
Shelter Island
Heights, NY
ICP has been
the only voice
for the
oppressed in
#Burundi,
#Haiti &
#Yemen at #UN.
-Eloge Tinya,
Lagos, Nigeria
ICP asked
questions that
will bring
clarity on the
agreement the
Prime Minister
of Dominica
signed in
Macau on
August 25,
2015 together
with Ng Lap
Seng and a UN
official.
-Hon. Hector
John,
Salisbury,
Dominica
I am signing
for UN to
restore
Matthew Lee
Inner City
Press right to
access to the
UN as a
Resident
Correspondent
to question
authorities
because it is
the
fundamental of
free speech as
the UN
preaches to
other
countries it
must first
practice
itself to set
example.
-Smret Kibrom,
San Gallo,
Switzerland
Freedom of
press. -Prem
Kumar, India
innercitypress
defends the
human rights
of Burundians
and help to
avoid
genocide,
please free
innercitypress!
- MICHAEL Tim,
London, United
Kingdom
I'm signing
because the
barring of
access to Mr.
Lee appears to
be at worst
motivated by a
reluctance to
engage with
and continue
to receive the
probing
questions he
asks, and at
best the
result of a
petty personal
vendetta based
on
unprofessional
antipathy
towards Mr.
Lee by the
'respectable'
wing of the
United Nations
press corps.
-Marlon
Ettinger,
Hastings-on-Hudson,
NY
I am signing
this petition
for Matthew
Russell Lee
and Inner City
Press be
restored to
the shared UN
office and
Resident
Correspondent
accreditation
they have had
for eight
years prior to
this
pretextual
incident. It
also requests,
as does the
Free UN
Coalition for
Access that
Matthew
co-founded,
that an
investigation
be launched
into how all
of this
occurred.
Moreover to
call for
aggressive
investigative
journalism at
the UN and to
tell the
leaders of the
UN that the
UN, too, must
live up to the
principles of
due process
and freedom of
the press.
-Martha
Fassil, New
York, NY
Han er en
journalist som
forteller
sannheten til
verden.
Mussie Tesfay,
Oslo, Norway
UN should walk
the talk.
Practice what
you preach -
rule of law,
democracy,
freedom of
expression, of
press.
Reinstate ICP
Mathew Russell
Lee to full
resident
reporter.
-Seble Ephrem,
London, United
Kingdom
Incredible.
This banning
is the exact
opposite of
the
transparency
and
accountability
that the UN
should be
defending for
all
institutions.
This must be
reversed.
Denis
Rancourt,
Ottawa, Canada
ICP is the
most reliable
source of
information at
the UN. The
other
corporate
media are
controlled by
the special
interest
groups. Thus
their
journalistic
integrity is
always
suspect. ICP
is voice of
the voiceless
- of course
unlike the UN
and its
sponsors and
financiers.
-tsehaie
mahary,
edmonton,
Canada
I express my
solidarity
with Mathew,
God bless you
friend
Mohamed
MAYARA, El
Aaiun, Western
Sahara
Matthew Lee
has been a
lone voice
asking the
difficult
questions in
the UN press
gallery.
-Martin Field,
Geneva,
Switzerland
I have seen
Matthew only
defending the
truth. He is a
journalist
with a genuine
journalist
ethics. He is
also the one
of the most
intelligent
and courageous
journalist. He
is a model how
other
journalist
should be. He
should be
given a noble
prize for what
he does not
get banned
from the UN.
-Yacob
Woldehiwot,
London, United
Kingdom
The UN cannot
be dismissive
of new media
as people get
their news
from new
media.The UN
cannot pick
and choose
media persons
according to
their whims
and fancies.
-soraya patel,
India
Shame on UN.
-ibrahim
alhaifi,
Sanaa, Yemen
I believe this
is censorship
of the press.
Shameful.
-Douglas
Smith, New
York, NY
For Truth
&
Transparency,
there must
always be
those who
Question more.
-Auet Melache,
Bolton, United
Kingdom
I am signing
because UN is
being unfair
and need to
take some
responsibility.
-Lynda
Charles,
Boynton Beach,
FL
He's credible
and follows
the ethics of
journalism to
the fullest.
-Amanuel
Tseggai, Stone
Mountain, GA
We need the
alternative,independent
and
investigative
media to be
present
everywhere.
-Marja
Konttila,
Solna, Sweden
I demand the
U.N.
unconditionally
and ASAP to
restore access
to Inner City
Press`Matthew
Russell Lee to
the U.N. as a
Resident
Correspondent.
-johannes
abraham,
Germany
InnerCity
Press has been
very
professional
and a life
saver. His
reports on
different
issues around
the world
helped uncover
certain hidden
truths. If Ban
was in
#Burundi 2
days ago, I
can say it is
mainly because
of his
persistence of
bringing
Burundi to
light from the
repression of
de facto
president
Manirambona
Juma, Kirundo,
Burundi
Matthew
Russell Lee,
founder of the
Inner City
Press, is a
veteran
investigative
journalist I
have relied
upon on UN
news for the
past six
years. He is
truthful, and
pursues truth
in reporting
tenaciously
and with
integrity. We
need more
journalists
like him at
the UN to keep
us informed.
He and his
Inner City
Press must be
reinstated as
a fully
accredited
resident
journalist to
the UN. -Elias
Amare, San
Rafael, CA
Does the UN
have something
to hide? The
UN is also
obligated by
the same
principles and
norms it
preaches. I
demand the UN
to reinstate
Matthew
Russell Lee to
his desk so he
can do what he
does best-
pure
journalism. He
is the only
honest
journalist at
the UN
compound and
being the
voice of the
voiceless.
-Daniel Berhe,
Seattle, WA
I respectively
ask UNSG and
Mr Ban ki-moon
to return Matt
to his post as
a dedicated
reporter in
the UN. I have
a huge respect
for the guy.
It would be a
travesty of
justice if a
reporter like
matt is out
the office of
the biggest
office in the
world when we
need a
reporter of
such kind.
-Kibrom
tekeste,
berkeley, CA
The UN
repeatedly
acts like
human rights
protections
apply to
everyone but
themselves.
-Betsey
Chance,
Cambridge, MA
Matthew is the
only bona fide
journalist
reporting on
UN. He alone
is rectifying
the defects
created by
system of
diplomatic
immunity. Why
makes his job
harder? Do you
have something
to hide from
him? He makes
UN a more
acceptable
organization
and indeed, by
genuinely
reporting he
makes this
world a better
place. -T
Chan, London,
United Kingdom
I am signing
for UN to
restore
Matthew Lee
Inner City
Press right to
access to the
UN as a
Resident
Correspondent
to question
authorities
because it is
the
fundamental of
free speech as
the UN
preaches to
other
countries it
must first
practice
itself to set
example.
Sara Haile,
Alexandria, VA
Matthew Lee
is, far and
away, the
hardest-working
and most
dogged of any
journalist at
the United
Nations. His
arbitrary
expulsion is
both
outrageous and
a reflection
of the fact
that things
are not as
they should be
at the United
Nations, and
certainly not
what YOU would
expect. -
alberto
martin, New
York, NY
I'm signing
because I
believe in the
freedom of the
press. I often
reads Matthew
Lee's work
which reports
on difficult
topics and
events that
need covering
and exposure.
He should be
reinstated at
your earliest
convenience.
Rebecca Myles,
New York, NY
I'm signing
because I'm an
advocate for
real,
independent
journalism and
condemn the
UN's decision
to remove
Inner City
Press's access
based on a
nonsensical
pretext!
-Hermon
Gebrai,
Northamptonshire,
United Kingdom
I appreciate
Inner City
Press'
persistent and
prepared
journalism at
the United
Nations.
-Brian
Concannon Jr.,
Marshfield, MA
Freedom of the
press. -Luiz
Rampelotto,
New York, NY
The UN needs
to be held to
standards of
openess,
transparency
and freedom of
the press.
-Samuel
Horton,
Silsden,
United Kingdom
Lee should not
have been
expelled, it's
a disgrace to
the UN.
-Richard
Johnson,
Potomac, MD
It's unfair to
throw someone
out like that
with out
hearing from
his side of
history.
-Hermon
Tsegay,
Slough, United
Kingdom
Such a crck
down on media
in an
organization
promoting
freedom of
speech and
information is
really awkward
and clearly
disgraceful
and
unacceptable.
-Florent
Nduwayo,
Kibungo,
Rwanda
This is
another in a
long line of
incidents
conclusively
evidencing the
UN's complete
and utter
disrespect for
the laws of
its HOST
country, the
US, in
particular the
1st
amendment!! UN
IMMUNITY =
IMPUNITY--END
IT NOW!!
Journalists
are the
ultimate
whistleblowers,
and I am well
aware of how
UN
whistleblowers
like Mr Lee
are persecuted
and suffer
grievous harm
at the hands
of rogue UN
officials. The
treatment of
Mr. Lee is an
outrage.
How ironic
this has
happened just
as the US
House Committe
on Foreign
Relations is
today, on 24
Feb, holding a
hearing about
the gross
mistreatment
of
whistleblowers
at the UN and
WIPO. Congress
must act now
to cut off 15%
of US
appropriations
to the UN this
year on
account of its
failure to
protect and
encourage UN
whistleblowers
like Mr Lee,
as provided
for in US law,
as it already
did to WIPO!!
-ted beacher,
Geneva,
Switzerland
ICP is doing a
great job. UN
should
support,respect
and promote
free speech.
-Kalu Thapa,
Kathmandu,
Nepal
There are
more...
But the
UN
Correspondents
Association,
at least its
15 Executive
Committee
members,
issued a
February 22
statement in
context fully
supporting the
throwing of
Inner City
Press into the
street, the
seizure of
passport, the
Banning, all
of it. We
wonder if
these scribes'
employers know
about this.
For now
we reiterate
the obvious:
the UN Press
Briefing Room
is
presumptively
open to all
press. If
Spokesman
Dujarric, or
DPI's Gallach,
wants to lend
it to their
friends, at
least provide
a notice so
journalists
hungry for
news don't get
excluded and
get nothing. Follow @innercitypressFollow @FUNCA_info
, 
