In Other Media-eg New Statesman, AJE, FP, Georgia, NYT,  Azerbaijan, CSM Click here to contact us     .

By Matthew Russell Lee, Photos, Periscope, Video

UNITED NATIONS, April 27 – On Gaza, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on April 5 said in a statement, "I reiterate my call on all concerned to refrain from any act that could lead to further violence or place civilians in harm's way, especially children." Then he prepared to leave for six days in China, just as the previous Friday he was an another UNannounced trip to his home in Lisbon. On April 20, after Palestine's Riyad Mansour, flanked by the Ambassadors of Tunisia, Kuwait and of the Arab League, conducted his Friday stakeout, Inner City Press asked if there has been any progress on requesting an inquiry by the UN Human Rights Council, and if Mansour had any comment on Mike Pompeo's upcoming trip to Jerusalem. Periscope video here. Mansour said he was not the right person to ask about Pence, and that some process is underway in Geneva. We'll see. On April 13, after Palestine's Riyad Mansour, flanked by the Ambassadors of Kuwait and of the Arab League, responded to Inner City Press' question about why Guterres hadn't followed his own advice and set up an inquiry, Inner City Press put the question to Guterres himself. He dismissed it with a wave of his hand. Vine video here. On April 20, after Guterres' spokesman refused to answer Inner City Press on who Guterres was taking with him to the UN Security Council retreat in Sweden (other than Izumi Nakamitsu, which Inner City Press on its own reported, on Syria and perhaps North Korea), Inner City Press asked Mansour if he knew if Guterres took envoy Mladenov to Sweden. Mansour replied that Mladenov would brief the open Council meeting on April 26 - and that Palestine is now going forward in the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. We'll have more on this. Inner City Press Photos on Alamy. On Sunday, April 8, with Guterres issuing statements praising China but little to nothing on any other topic, the International Criminal Court Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda issued this: "It is with grave concern that I note the violence and deteriorating situation in the Gaza Strip in the context of recent mass demonstrations. Since 30 March 2018, at least 27 Palestinians have been reportedly killed by the Israeli Defence Forces, with over a thousand more injured, many, as a result of shootings using live ammunition and rubber-bullets. Violence against civilians - in a situation such as the one prevailing in Gaza – could constitute crimes under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (“ICC” or “the Court”), as could the use of civilian presence for the purpose of shielding military activities. I remind all parties that the situation in Palestine is under preliminary examination by my Office. While a preliminary examination is not an investigation, any new alleged crime committed in the context of the situation in Palestine may be subjected to my Office’s scrutiny. This applies to the events of the past weeks and to any future incident. I am aware that the demonstrations in the Gaza Strip are planned to continue further. My Office will continue to closely watch the situation and will record any instance of incitement or resort to unlawful force. I urge all those concerned to refrain from further escalating this tragic situation. Any person who incites or engages in acts of violence including by ordering, requesting, encouraging or contributing in any other manner to the commission of crimes within ICC's jurisdiction is liable to prosecution before the Court, with full respect for the principle of complementarity. The resort to violence must stop." At 6 pm on April 6 Mansour returned with Tunisia's Ambassador and said the US had broken silence and blocked the statement. 12 Minute Video here. Inner City Press asked Mansour what he'd like Guterres to do, now that he's on a six day trip to China. Mansour said Guterres said let's stay in touch, or with his office; there is an Arab League meeting on April 12. Watch this site.

While France 24 asked a softball question to Kuwait - what would you like to say to Nikki Haley? - hanging over the proceding was incoming US National Security Adviser John Bolton, set to begin on Monday. Inner City Press asked, since Mansour mentioned the UN Human Rights Council, if they were planning a specific request there (last Friday they told Inner City Press, Security Council only). Step by step, Mansour said on April 6. We'll have more on this - while the Arab League Ambassador is Maged Abdelaziz, formerly the Ambassador of Egypt to whose state media Akhbar al Yom Guterres and his Global Communicator Alison Smale have assigned Inner City Press' long time work space S-303, leaving Inner City Press confined to minders. Akhbar al Yom's Sanaa Youssef, as is the norm, was not present on April 6 and has not asked the UN a question in ten years. At the UN earlier on April 6, while Haneen Zoabi, Member of Israeli Knesset from the Arab joint list, is set to speak, it is not in the UN Press Briefing Room or UN Security Council stakeout or any public place - she will UNwisely appear in the private club of the UN Censorship Alliance a/k/a UN Correspondents Association, a group which had independent Press thrown out for covering its event in the UN Press Briefing Room, in pursuit of the UN bribery story of convict Macau based businessman Ng Lap Seng, whose South South News paid thousands of dollars to UNCA. It is ironic that on a talking tour ostensibly about free speech, the UN venue would be a private club of censors. But that is today's UN. The UN Security Council was set to meet about Gaza at 6:30 pm on Good Friday, a day the UN was closed to the public and to non-resident correspondents. ICP photos here. More than dozen Palestinians had been killed; Israel spoke of rocks and Molotov cocktails being thrown. But nothing had been heard from UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. In fact, for more than 17 hours his top three spokespeople had refused to answer even where Guterres was.  In through the metal detectors just after Kuwait which called the meeting, Inner City Press filmed Sweden's Deputy Carl Skau calling for an immediate investigation, and France's spokesperson indicating that Permanent Representative Francois Delattre would not be coming. Nor did the French deputy; for the US, it was not immediately clear to many who spoke. Crowd-sourced, it emerged that he was and is Walter Miller, Deputy Political Coordinator. In fact, Equatorial Guinea had not arrived at all by 6:30 pm, according to UN sources inside the Council, a Security officer said, We'll just wait. After 6:50 pm the Permanent Representative of Equatorial Guinea showed up, as Palestine's Permanent Observer Mansour was saying that UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres should issue a statement. Inner City Press asked him, have you tried to reach out to the SG? Is he in New York? Mansour said he doesn't know. There was an open meeting, ending with Palestine's Mansour (Inner City Press' photo on Alamy here). At 8:45 pm Guterres' deputy spokesman Farhan Haq emailed out a statement, beginning "The Secretary-General is deeply concerned about the clashes at the Gaza fence today between Palestinians participating in the 'Great Return March' and Israeli Security Forces, which resulted in at least fifteen deaths and a large number of injured. His thoughts are with the families of the victims. The Secretary-General calls for an independent and transparent investigation into these incidents. He also appeals to those concerned to refrain from any act that could lead to further casualties and in particular any measures that could place civilians in harm's way." Inner City Press asked Mansour about this last phrase - he focused on the investigation call - and if anything would be sought at the Human Rights Council. No, it is a threat to international peace and security and belongs in the Security Council, he said.

Later it was reported that "UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had called for an independent inquiry into Friday's violence. Guterres made his comments late Friday before the emergency UN Security Council meeting to address the issue. UN spokesman Farhan Haq relayed his statement to the media." But Guterres' comment relayed by Haq was NOT "before" the Security Council meeting much less the closed door consultations. And it is telling that those reporting on the meeting, and on the UN, did not mention that Guterres was in fact -- as confirmed to Inner City Press after 17 hours, still without answers on Kenya and Somaliland -- back in his home in Lisbon, for four days. Why not just announce it? Why not report it?

Israel's Ambassador Danny Danon issued a statement in advance, and after: “The State of Kuwait, with full knowledge that our Permanent Mission, Israel, and Jews everywhere were observing the first night of Passover, hijacked the consultations, forced an open session and invited the Palestinian delegation to present remarks that they had been advised to prepare well in advance. Israel was not given the same advance notice and was barred from taking part in the deliberations due to the observance of our religious holiday. Once again, Hamas has exploited women and children as human shields, including by dressing young children in military uniforms and arming them with guns and ammunition.  Despite the Palestinian leadership’s insistence on the peaceful nature of these demonstrations, Hamas and its affiliated factions have interspersed armed terrorists amongst civilians, a number of whom were killed as a result of their direct attacks on Israeli positions. I would like to remind the Council that exploiting procedural rules so that one side can make its case while the other cannot is antithetical to the spirit of the United Nations and is a direct affront to the fundamental principles of honest deliberation." The OIC issued a statement after that, beginning "The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) roundly condemned the brutal aggression by the Israeli occupation forces on unarmed Palestinian civilians marching peacefully in commemoration of Palestinian Land Day, leaving over 16 martyred and more than 1400 wounded. The OIC decried the aggression as a serious escalation and yet another act of state terrorism and a crime deserving investigation and accountability.  OIC Secretary General Dr. Yousef Al-Othaimeen said Israel, the occupying force, bears full responsibility for the scale and gravity of its ongoing aggression and war crimes against the Palestinian people."  We'll have more on this. Inner City Press, which covered a protest outside the UN earlier in the day, has twice asked the UN, Where is Secretary General Antonio Guterres? At UNESCO there have been attempts to "soften" the draft resolution on Israel, attempt involving not only new Director General Audrey Azoulay but also her father, an adviser to the King of Morocco. But Inner City Press has obtained a copy of Israel's response to the draft, exclusive photos here. While acknowledging that the draft is short, Israel calls it an "extreme" and deceptive package, that cannot be the basis of consensus or negotiation. The letter, by Israel's delete to UNESCO Carmel Shama Hacohen, urges the member states on UNESCO's Executive Board to raise their voices and vote against the draft. The UNESCO Executive Board session, which Inner City Press will be covering as part of its ongoing UNESCO series, begins April 9 in Paris. In New York, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to the UN on 7 March 2018 to open an exhibition about Jerusalem, he singled out a particular UN Security officer, Matthew Sullivan, and brought him in front of the microphone. Link to photo here. He said, as he had on 26 September 2016, see below, that Sullivan seeks him out after each year's General Assembly speech and reviews it. Sullivan then called Netanyahu a great orator, and said the cartoon chart of Iran and the bomb with a burning fuse was his favorite. Inner City Press went and asked the UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric, who had been present. Dujarric acknowledged it but said Sullivan "was thrown into a limelight that he did not seek." Well, no - Netanyahu has repeated this same quote of Sullivan, using Sullivan's name, in a weekly cabinet meeting on September 26, 2016, Facebook video at -5:24, translated there into English. On March 14, Inner City Press asked the UN again, UN transcript here: Inner City Press: of Inspector Sullivan and Net… and Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu, it wasn't just an incident… I want to… I guess what I wanted… and he didn't answer this.  In September 2016, Prime Minister Netanyahu quoted exactly what Inspector Sullivan said later in 2018 about the Iran bomb fuse speech being the best speech ever.  And so, it seems like the question really isn't… isn't whether he was surprised in the basement last week, but did anyone look into when was the quote given that Mr. Netanyahu quoted in September 2016? And… and I guess I'm asking because, again, many UN staff have wondered whether they can do the same thing.  Is it appropriate to praise… to… to offer that type of praise twice, not once but twice, at least? Deputy Spokesman:  First of all, we do not control what the Prime Minister of Israel says.  That's his business… Inner City Press:  He was quoting Mr. Sullivan. Deputy Spokesman:  …nor do we police that.  Regarding private opinions expressed by staff, they… they're capable of talking to people and expressing their private opinions.  This is not a case where someone was expressly trying to express their opinion in public.  That was not sought by Officer Sullivan, as Stéphane made clear last week. Inner City Press: But, when somebody calls you over in front of cameras and a microphone, you still choose what you say.  Maybe you didn't expect to be called over but it's not… it's…? Deputy Spokesman:  As Stéphane made clear, he was doing his regular security duties.  He… there was no speaking engagement sought on behalf of the officer." A bit later on March 14: "this is not a case where someone sought to express a public opinion.  That was put upon him through circumstances outside of his control.  Yes? Inner City Press:I just wanted to allow the follow-up, but I just… I guess is… your answer about that it wasn't thrust on him, this also covers the September 2016 statement quoted by… Deputy Spokesman:  He had not… he was not making a public statement.  That was something he had expressed to a person who then disclosed it. Inner City Press: Right, but he did it twice, with… I mean, in… given that the first time was… I don't know.  Was it appropriate? Deputy Spokesman:  We've said what we've said." On March 9, after being told by another UN Security officer that Sullivan was now seeking to file some sort of complaint against Inner City Press, at the days noon briefing Inner City Press asked again, getting off off in the process by Agence France Presse. Video here.

From the UN's March 9 transcript: Inner City Press: Yesterday, I had asked you about what happened during the visit of Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu and… and Officer Matthew Sullivan.  You had said that he was cast into a light that he hadn't expected, and that was fine.  It… the… the… since found that in a… in a meeting with his Cabinet in September 2016, Prime Minister Netanyahu said, this is a quote from his Facebook page, translated into English from Hebrew, "I met there with Matthew Sullivan, an American security man, a former New York City policeman and he waits for me every time at the exit.  He always gives me his opinion about the speech and he told me it was an excellent speech, but I had given him a better one.  I asked him which one was better.  He said the bomb speech was better."  So it was exactly what was said downstairs yesterday, like almost verbatim, so I guess I want to ask you, it doesn’t seem like it was as spontaneous as… Spokesman:  I don't speak for the Prime Minister of Israel, nor do I write his remarks that he shares with his Cabinet.  As I said, again, Inspector Sullivan is a distinguished supervisor in our security service, and I think I answered your question. Inner City Press: I guess my question is, and I say this because many staff members have reached out and said they've been told not to speak in exactly this way, so I just want to be clear whether they can or they can't.  If the UN was aware of these comments… Spokesman:  I think he was… Inspector Sullivan has been put in a very difficult position that he did not… that was not of his own making. Inner City Press: Was he aware of the statement in 2016, that he was being quoted? Spokesman:  I don't know.  Yes, Carole? Question:  Can I ask about… You've asked five questions..." And thus Dujarric let / used AFP to cut off the line of questioning. Left to the end, Inner City Press continued: maybe you don't know, but you could find out.  Was either the Department of Safety and Security (DSS) or Inspector Sullivan aware back in September 2016, when the Prime Minister made the comments and put them online, saying that this high inspector, as you've called him, in the UN praised my… my Iran bomb speech.  And if he had been…Spokesman:  I'm not aware that anyone was aware of those comments. Inner City Press: Now that you are aware, does what happened yesterday seem as spontaneous as you portrayed it yesterday? Spokesman:  It is not for me to say whether or not the things that were done or said by a visiting Head of Government in this organization is spontaneous or not spontaneous.  What I do know is that Mr. Sullivan, Inspector Sullivan, was there to supervise the security arrangements of a high-level guest.  He was sought out by the Prime Minister and in no way sought to find himself in front of the camera. Inner City Press: But if… if the UN were aware that a person at his level of the UN had been quoted in this way, as he was in 2016… Spokesman:  You know, people… I'm not going to go into hypotheticals.  I'm just stating what I know as facts."  It's not hypothetical. Here's the online English translation of what Netanyahu told his cabinet in September 2016: "I met there with Matthew Sullivan, an American security man, a former New York City policeman, and he waits for me every time at the exit from the United Nations General Assembly. He always gives me his opinion about the speech and he told me that it was an excellent speech, but that I have given a better one. I asked him which one was better. He said the bomb speech was better. He said, 'I express the general sense that United States citizens have in their massive support for the State of Israel.' They see us as representing their values and this continues and it is the fundamental truth about the special relationship between the two countries." But on 7 March 2018 UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric told Inner City Press that Sullivan had been caught up in the moment. What, repeating word for word what Netanyahu has been recounting for a year and a half? We'll have more on this. From the March 7 UN transcript: Inner City Press: I saw you were down there, and I mean this with all due respect.  Obviously, Officer Sullivan, Matthew Sullivan, maybe he was put in a hard spot, brought up to the microphone, but it seemed to me that he was saying that… that, each year at the GA, he greets Prime Minister Netanyahu, and reviews his speech.  And then he said, "You're a great orator", and then he said… he seemed to say that the cartoon of the bomb and the fuse was a particularly good speech.  And I'm just wondering… everyone is definitely entitled to their views, but I know that many UN staff feel constrained from… from praising one way or another a speech viewed as controversial, and I wanted to know, what are the rules? Spokesman:  Indeed, I was.  I think Inspector Sullivan was thrown into a limelight that he did not seek.  The Prime Minister seemed to have called for him.  And the inspector has been here and has a had very long and extremely distinguished career here, is known… he has known Heads of States and Heads of Governments for a long time, including the current Prime Minister of Israel, who, as you know, also served as Permanent Representative here a few years ago. Inner City Press: Right.  I just have one more… because you were saying he didn't seek it out, but I was… I was down there, as well.  And again, I mean this will all due respect.  I saw him taking selfies with… with… with Benjamin Netanyahu before he was brought to the microphone, so, clearly… Spokesman:  Well, I think in both cases, the Prime Minister came… called out Inspector Sullivan and went to find him.  Inspector Sullivan was there to do his work, to secure the area, to supervise security.  He at no point sought out to have his photo taken. Inner City Press: This… this… this detail that after each speech… I mean, I know, for example, there was a… Ralph was a security guard here, but I never heard him say one way or another if he liked a particular leader or liked a particular speech.  I'm just wondering, for the benefit of going forward, because I've known people to be disciplined for it.  I'm not… I'm asking you, what is the rule? Spokesman:  I think… I feel I've answered your question." Well, no. That the exhibition, and statement, were controversial is exemplified by the event not being listed in the day's Media Alert as sent out. (An addition, in red print, was sent later.) The Under Secretary General for Global Communications, Alison Smale, did not attend the exhibition opening, when she goes to less high profile ones. (She refuses to explain this, or any content neutral media access rules the UN may or may not have). Sullivan, Inner City Press previously reported, was on the board of an organization holding commercial events in UN conference rooms, including for GPS sneakers. When Inner City Press asked about this, Sullivan and the UN spokesman said Inner City Press only looked into it because Sullivan had "thrown Inner City Press out of the UN." That did happen, for covering UN corruption, and Haiti cholera. And, as Inner City Press was also first to report, Sullivan was previously beaten up by Turkey's Erdogan's guards. We'll have more on this. In today's UN, Holocaust remembrance is politicized, and the Department of Public Information which makes decisions is not transparent, does not answer Press questions. On January 25 Inner City Press went to cover a Serbia-sponsored event about the Jasenovac extermination camp, complete with a long speech by Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic, Periscope here. While there was a disclaimer sign, a representative of DPI's Holocaust Outreach unit was there. The event was listed (as "invitation only") on DPI's list of events in the UN Visitors Lobby - but an Israeli-mission sponsored event set for January 31 wasn't listed. Questions to DPI chief Alison Smale, on access and complaints by whistleblowers of malfeasance in DPI, have gone unanswered. Inner City Press was required unlike others to get a UN DPI / Smale "minder" to even cover the Holocaust photo op (Inner City Press' Alamy photos here); later, US Ambassador Nikki Haley issued this, on (retaliatory) Prince Zeid's earlier statement: "This whole issue is outside the bounds of the High Commissioner for Human Rights office’s mandate and is a waste of time and resources. While we note that they wisely refrained from listing individual companies, the fact that the report was issued at all is yet another reminder of the Council’s anti-Israel obsession. The more the Human Rights Council does this, the less effective it becomes as an advocate against the world’s human rights abusers. The United States will continue to aggressively push back against the anti-Israel bias, and advance badly needed reforms of the Council." Earlier on January 31, even before 10 am, two developments: a commemoration on the third floor balcony of the General Assembly Hall at 9:20 am (Periscope including Leningrad and translation here), and this, from Danny Danon: “On the day that the UN is marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the UNHRC has chosen to publicize this information about the number of companies operating in Israel.  This is a shameful act which will serve as a stain on the UNHRC forever.  We will continue to act with our allies and use all the means at our disposal to stop the publication of this disgraceful blacklist.” We'll have more on this - and on Secretary General Antonio Guterres' meeting with Darfur genocide indictee Omar al Bashir, UNdisclosed until Inner City Press asked about it at the January 29 noon briefing, and still covered up. Watch this site.

***

Your support means a lot. As little as $5 a month helps keep us going and grants you access to exclusive bonus material on our Patreon page. Click here to become a patron.

Feedback: Editorial [at] innercitypress.com

Past (and future?) UN Office: S-303, UN, NY 10017 USA
For now: Box 20047, Dag Hammarskjold Station NY NY 10017

Reporter's mobile (and weekends): 718-716-3540

Other, earlier Inner City Press are listed here, and some are available in the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.

 Copyright 2006-2018 Inner City Press, Inc. To request reprint or other permission, e-contact Editorial [at] innercitypress.com for