Ban's
UN, Set to
Evict Press,
Cuts Ability
To Film UN
Staff Search
Files
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, April
16 -- As the
UN bribery
scandal
gathered force
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon called
for an audit
by the UN
Office of
Internal
Oversight
Services of
the Global
Sustainability
Foundation
(GSF), David
Ng Lap Seng's
Sun Kian Ip
Group and its
affiliates
including the
"World Harmony
Foundation"
and South
South News,
among others.
The
audit,
completed
early this
year but first
put online
by Inner City
Press,
directly
criticizes
Cristina
Gallach, the
Under
Secretary
General for
Communications
and Public
Information.
Gallach
has ordered
the search and
eviction of
Inner City
Press' files,
set for April
16. She has
misrepresented
it to UN
Ambassadors of
major
countries.
She and / or
Ban Ki-moon
above her are
so intent on
permanently
restriction
Inner City
Press' ability
to cover
corruption at
the UN that
they had there
functionary
head of MALU
write to Inner
City Press at
1:30 in the
morning of the
eviction,
limiting the
Press' ability
to document
the seizure of
its files:
From: Tal
Mekel <mekel@un.org>
Date:
Sat, Apr 16,
2016 at 1:30
AM
Subject:
Saturday
access
To:
matthew.lee@innercitypress.com
Dear Matthew,
Access on Saturday is 'exceptional' in nature (as Green Ps do not have access to UNHQ on weekends save for an official event being convened e/g. emergency SC meeting) and is solely for the purpose of over sighting the removal of your belongings.
You may bring with you one (1) individual, again on a exceptional basis.
Best, Tal
------------------------------------------------ Tal Mekel Acting Chief Media Accreditation and Liaison Unit United Nations - S-250 New York, NY 10017
Tel: 1-212-963-1504 Cell: 1-347-688-6258 Fax: 1-212-963-4642 @UNMediaLiaison http://www.un.org/en/media/accreditation/
This inordinate focus on ousting Inner City Press, while UN Correspondents Association board members have private offices and many write no articles, is all the more contrary to freedom of the press as Inner City Press on April 15 exclusively published documents of UN and Morocco fraud in Western Sahara, credited by 360, here.
Gallach, the highest UN official of Spain, has by her no due process orders BANned Inner City Press from covering even UNSC meetings on Western Sahara. This is retaliation and censorship.
On the afternoon of April 15 Inner City Press was told that it
will be UN staff going through the files but that then they will be
given to, and impounded for some time by, a third party or parties whom
the UN won't even name to Inner City Press.
As one wag put it, maybe they'll just keep passing them along.
Gallach's Team has heard on April 15 from Capitol Hill to maintain the status quo. They are a lawless bunch - but will they go this far?
* * *
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