For UN
Day Light-Up,
DM Pays, "Only
25 UNCA
Journalists"
Until
Complaint
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
October 22 --
The upcoming
UN Day, on the
UN's 70th
anniversary,
will be
sponsored by
South Korea,
with
performances
by the Korean
Broadcasting
System's
symphony and
“K-Pop”
artists, as
well as
Chinese
pianist Lang
Lang.
Tellingly, now
the UN
limiting
information
about UN Day
events like
the lighting
of the Empire
State Building
with Lang Lang
to the UN
Correspondents
Association,
which after
taking money
from now
indicted Ng
Lap Seng's
South South
News gave SSN
an award and
delivered up
Ban Ki-moon
for a photo op
with Ng in
Cipriani.
Plus ca
change.
More
than 24 hours
after Inner
City Press and
the Free UN
Coalition for
Access
complained,
the UN belated
sent the
information to
all
journalists,
at 6:30 pm,
telling them
they had to
RSVP that
evening.
At the
October 22
noon briefing,
Inner City
Press asked UN
Deputy
Spokesperson
Farhan Haq:
Inner City
Press: I've
seen these
lights being
installed in
the fountain
area and I'm
assuming that
that is to
light up the
building blue?
Deputy
Spokesman:
Yes.
Inner City
Press:
So I have two
questions.
One is, who is
paying for the
lights?
Is it the
Republic of
Korea or is it
out of the UN
budget?
And, number
two, is the
Secretary-General
lighting the
Empire State
Building
tomorrow at
noon?
Deputy
Spokesman:
The
Secretary-General
I don't
believe is
lighting the
Empire State
Building at
noon. He
will be at the
stakeout just
a few minutes
before that.
Inner City
Press: I
know, but I’ve
seen some
announcement
not publically
but in some
other way that
he will be
with Lang Lang
lighting the
Empire State
Building so I
wanted to know
is that true?
Deputy
Spokesman:
I can't
imagine that
that could
happen at noon
given the
logistics.
Inner City
Press:
Who is paying
for the
lighting?
Deputy
Spokesman:
I believe that
the Department
of Public
Information
[DPI] has been
making the
arrangements.
I don't know
what
arrangements
they have for
the payment,
but it's DPI
that has been
arranging.
Question:
Seems
important,
given the
current issue
of who pays
for what,
could you get
back on who is
paying for the
lighting?
Deputy
Spokesman:
I believe it's
out of DPI's
budget, but we
will see.
[The Deputy
Spokesman
later said the
Department of
Management was
absorbing the
cost for the
lighting.]
That
question was
belated
answered, but
other longstanding
questions have
not been.
UNCA,
which has yet
to explain its
support from
South South
News and other
Ng vehicles,
much less the
Ban photo op,
bragged that
the UN was
inviting only
"UNCA
Journalists"
to the Empire
State
Building:
"UNCA is
extending an
invitation
from the DPI
Outreach
Division, to
see the United
Nations
Secretary-General
light the
Empire State
Building to
mark the 70th
Anniversary of
the United
Nations, on
Friday,
October 23rd..
Giampaolo
Pioli, UNCA
President
Please note
there will be
a limit of 25
UNCA
journalists
allowed, so
registration
will be on a
first come
first serve
basis."
This,
which was
provided only
to those who
pay UNCA
money, was
leaked by one
of the
increasing
numbers of
disgusted or
troubled
recipients.
At 6:30
pm on October
22, the UN
told the
journalists
who choose NOT
to join
"David" Ng Lap
Seng in paying
UNCA money
that "There
are a limited
number of
spots to cover
the Empire
State Building
Lighting
Ceremony,
which will
take place
tomorrow. If
you are
interested,
please send an
email
tonight." This
was at 6:30
pm. This
(UNCA) is
corruption.
Inner
City Press on
October 19
asked UN Under
Secretary
General
Cristina
Gallach how
the sponsors
were chosen,
if all member
states were
notified they
could put in
proposals, and
about her
participation,
admittedly
early in her
tenure as USG
for Public
Information,
as events of
the Global
Sustainability
Foundation,
named in the
charge sheet
against John
Ashe, Sheri
Yan and Frank
Lorenzo, and
of the
Lorenzo-affiliated
South South
Awards. Video
here.
Gallach genial
referred the
selection or
“vetting”
question to
her colleague
Maher Nasser,
and said that
UN Spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric's
answer minutes
earlier, on
which we'll
separately
report, was
her answer as
well.
Maher Nasser
said that
under previous
USG Peter
Launsky-Tieffenthal,
the Vienna
Philharmonic
was to play at
this 70th UN
Day, but then
(after
Launsky-Tieffenthal
returned to
his native
Austria) found
it was unable.
So South Korea
stepped
forward,
Nasser said,
adding that
future
sponsorships
are open.
We'll have
more on this.
Other UN Day
events beyond
the concert
with Lang Lang
-- who also
gave a speech
at the
founding of
the Global
Sustainable
Foundation and
will appear at
an UN
Correspondents
Association-affiliated
event this
week,
including
Spanish
sculptures on
October 24 in
Central Park,
and
photographs
and a show
about Dag
Hammarskjold's
“Markings”
inside the UN
on October
27. Some
of these, the
UN sent only
to UNCA.
Of the
Ashe / Lorenzo
scandal at the
UN, one might
well ask and
try to answer,
“What Would
Dag Say?” What
indeed. The UN
can and must
do better,
including
being more
transparent.
The Free
UN Coalition
for Access,
along with
others, is
working for
this. Watch
this site.
Footnote:
Since the UNCA
representative
who only last
week demanded
the first
question when
not called on,
and told Inner
City Press for
FUNCA to “shut
up,” did
not on October
19 try to
brand the
briefing for
UNCA, Inner
City Press
offered a
general thanks
to USG
Gallach. It
works fine
that way:
briefing are
not for
branding. But
branding by
UNCA,
particularly
given recent
revelations,
will be be
accepted. Follow @innercitypressFollow @FUNCA_info
, 
