After
UN Evicts
ICP's Office,
Ban's Spox
Says It's Fine
For Guards to
Target Press
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, April
20 -- Contrary
to what the UN
says about
freedom of the
press, and
despite a petition
signed by 1400 people and opposition from the Government
Accountability
Project and
several
Permanent
Representatives
at the UN and
members of
Congress in
DC, UN
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon on
April 16 threw
five boxes of
Inner City
Press'
journalistic
files out onto
First Avenue.
Photo
here;
video here and here
(Periscope).
This
followed eight
of Ban's
guards, at the
direction of
his "Public
Information"
chief Cristina
Gallach,
physically
throwing Inner
City Press
onto First
Avenue, and
its laptop on
the sidewalk,
on February
19. Audio
here.
On April
20, when Inner
City Press
arrived at the
UN's Visitors'
Entrance well
in time to
cover 10 am
meetings, a UN
Security guard
blocked its
way in to the
metal
detectors.
"I know
who you are,"
the guard
said, telling
Inner City
Press to go to
the back of a
long line of
visitors.
Since on all
previously
days
non-resident
correspondents,
like the
"affiliates"
who staff the
UN's food
venues and
even its UNTV,
are sent into
the glass
building with
the metal
detectors,
this new
"rule" was
noteworthy.
Inner
City Press, as
Ban's
spokesman has
often advised
before walking
off the podium
even as Inner
City Press
asked
questions,
called the
Media
Accreditation
and Liaison
Unit. But
ultimately
nothing was
solved --
Inner City
Press was only
able to enter
the UN 25
minutes late.
Thanks, Ban
Ki-moon, and
Cristina
Gallach --
also for BANning
Press access
to the
stakeout by
John Kerry and
Javad Zarif on
the JCPOA on
April 19,
here.
At the
noon briefing
on April 20
Inner City
Press asked
Ban's
spokesman
about these
and about
being BANned
at 6 pm. Vine
here.
Dujarric
cut in: "You
should talk to
MALU and make
sure they get
you in. It's a
very busy time
at the GA and
the UN,
there's a
line, people
wait on line.
I don't manage
crowd control,
if people tell
you to get on
line, I think
you get on
line."
So
there you have
it. When
another
(visiting)
journalist
asked about
waiting for
two hours for
a pass, with
500 people and
no water or
chairs for the
elderly, no
fire exits,
Dujarric was
more
conciliatory,
saying, "I
apologize and
will raise
with my
colleagues."
But when
Inner City
Press asked
about what an
NGO said was
the UN's
confiscation
of its
newsletter,
Dujarric said
curtly, "There
was no
confiscation."
Of course not
- everything
is FINE at the
UN. Just look
at the recent
patterns..
On April
18, Inner City
Press asked
Ban's
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric about
corruption,
and the files,
video
here, UN transcript
here:
Spokesman
Dujarric: I
will say, for
the record,
that your
files were not
moved out on
First
Avenue.
From what I
gather and
from watching
the live
broadcast over
the weekend,
you refused to
provide an
address for
them to be
shipped.
Inner City
Press:
Because I
don’t trust
them.
Spokesman:
Well, that’s…
but that’s
your choice.
Inner City
Press:
Why would
I? Would
you?
Spokesman:
That’s your
choice.
I don’t want
you to portray
that they’ve
been moved or
thrown out.
Inner City
Press:
They were
thrown out
onto First
Avenue.
Ban Ki-moon…
Spokesman:
I’ll come back
to you.
Between
6 and 7 pm on
April 18,
despite a
Media Access
"Guideline"
saying even
those with
non-resident
correspondent
status can
enter the UN
up to 7 pm, an
abusive UN
guard targeted
Inner City
Press,
apparently at
Gallach's or
Ban's
instructions,
claiming
falsely that
six pm is the
cut off. This
is today's UN.
In the
case of
Gallach and
ultimately Ban
Ki-moon, this
is retaliation
for Inner City
Press'
critical
coverage of
the UN
including
each's
involvement in
the Ng Lap
Seng bribery
scandal which
so far was
resulted in
four guilty
pleas.
"Macau SAR,
China, 25
August 2015: I
am pleased to
send greetings
to this
High-level
Multi-stakeholders
Strategy Forum
on Scaling-up
Global
Support for
South-South
and Triangular
Cooperation in
the Context of
the Post-2015
Development
Agenda."
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,
for example in
Paragraphs
20(b) and
37-40. She
should have
recused
herself.
Instead
Gallach has
ordered the
search and
eviction of
Inner City
Press' files,
on April 16.
She has
misrepresented
it to UN
Ambassadors of
major
countries
including
South Africa
and to Nobel
Prize winner
Jose Ramos
Horta.
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 AM on 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
Earlier on April 15, Mekel had told Inner City Press that a two-person film crew was approved. This was revoked at 1:30 am, precluding the crew. And yet...
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 heard on April 15 from Capitol Hill to maintain the status quo. Did they even tell Ban Ki-moon, his chief of staff or deputy? Is this what allows Ban Ki-moon to (try to) say, "That is not my decision"? We'll have more on this.
, 
