As
Lykketoft Says
He'd Prefer
Dane For
UNHCR, Takes
Presser Into
Censors' Club
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
September 22
-- When new
President of
the UN General
Assembly
Mogens
Lykketoft
spoke to the
press on
September 15
at the UNGA
stakeout
position,
Inner City
Press tried
repeatedly to
ask him how
the General
Assembly under
his leadership
will select a
new head of
the UN Office
of the High
Commissioner
for Refugees,
from among
candidates
that include
fellow Dane
Helle
Thorning-Schmidt.
UN
video here,
and see below.
Lykketoft
replied that
his preference
for a fellow
Dane was
"obvious."
Given that
UNHCR has
criticized
Denmark's
restrictions
on and
treatment of
refugees,
including
under the
tenure of
Thorning-Schmidt,
to say nothing
of UN Charter
Article 100,
it is by no
means obvious.
Another
question: is
it the role of
the press to
inquire into
and cover
officials like
Lykketoft, or
to praise and
"toast" them
before seeing
what they do
at the UN? The
UN Censorship
Alliance
promote such a
"toast" to
those who pay
it money;
later, Team
Lykketoft,
under the
rubric
President's
Blog (though
in the third
person) said
that the press
corp had
warmly
welcomed him.
That is an
incomplete
assessment.
And his praise
was for... a war
criminal's
landlord.
Ah, the UN.
Now on
September 24
Lykketoft is
going to hold
a press
conference NOT
in the UN
Press Briefing
Room, as
previous PGAs
have done, but
in the UN
Censorship
Alliance's
clubhouse.
This after his
spokesperson,
in preparing a
transcript,
explicitly
removed
(or censored)
“ on behalf of
the Free UN
Coalition for
Access, we
want more
Q&A,” from
the text,
while leaving
UNCA in. This
is a new low
at the UN, on
which we'll
have more.
(As an
aside, the UN
Censorship
Alliance
didn't hold
any similar
toasting event
with
Lykketoft's
predecessor
from Uganda.
Just for
internal
consistency in
sycophantry,
one must ask
why.)
As
Inner City
Press noted
on
September 15
about that
first stakeout,
after some
behind the
scenes
lobbying, the
first question
to Lykketoft,
even at the
UNGA stakeout,
was set aside
for the UN
Correspondents
Association,
an
organization
which not all
reporters at
the UN choose
to join, and
which the UN
has worked
with to try to
get the investigative
pressthrown
out of the UN
(making it the
UN's
Censorship
Alliance.)
On
September 18,
UNCA announced
to those who
pay it money
that they will
have Lykketoft
himself inside
the clubhouse
the UN gives
them, as the
UN's
Censorship
Alliance.
This
comes after
more lobbying
of Team
Lykketoft by
UNCA's
"leader" - who
previously rented
one of his
apartments to
Sri Lanka's
Palitha Kohona
then granted
Kohona a "UN"
screening of
his
government's genocide
denial film
"Lies Agreed
To" without
approval from
UNCA Executive
Committee
members
including
Inner City
Press at that
time, before
Inner City
Press quit
UNCA and
co-founded,
with another
disgusted UNCA
board member
who had
earlier left
the group, the
Free UN
Coalition for
Access, FUNCA.
Before
quitting UNCA,
Inner City
Press
specifically
complained of
UNCA's
sycophantry
with those
whom
journalists
are supposed
to cover,
including
UNCA's Pioli
handing a gift
to a
spokesperson -
right in the
UN Briefing
Room. What do
event this
week portend?
We'll have
more on this.
Back on
September 15,
after UNCA had
demanded a set
aside question
for which
there is no
tradition and
Inner City
Press had then
managed to ask
its UNHCR
question,
Lykketoft
replied, “I
discuss that
with the
Secretary
General. Don't
ask for my
preference,
because that's
obvious, where
I come from.
There will be
a proposal by
the Secretary
General to the
General
Assembly. How
that will
evolve, I'm
not sure.
We'll discuss
it in the near
future.”
Inner City
Press: On
refugees, the
notice put out
by the
Secretary-General
for
nominations
for… to
replace… to
succeed Mr.
[Antonio]
Guterres, top
UNHCR, said to
apply by 14
September.
Can you say
how many
people have
applied?
Can you
confirm Filippo
Grandi is an
applicant?
Given now that
the GA has
asked for
greater
transparency
in the
selection of
the SG, what's
the process
here? Is
there going to
be a panel to
interview
people?
How does it
work?
Spokesman
Dujarric:
The process is
being guided
by direct… by…
excuse me… by
direct… by…
excuse me, by
a directive
from the
General
Assembly.
I can make
that
public.
We will not be
releasing a
short list or
any other
details.
Inner City
Press:
Is there a
panel to
interview
people?
Spokesman
Dujarric:
There's always
a panel.
Inner City
Press:
Who's on the
panel?
Spokesman
Dujarric:
I have no
other details
to share with
you.
Three months
earlier on
June 15, after
Lykketoft was
elected (by
acclamation,
without
opposition) as
the next
President of
the UN General
Assembly,
Inner City
Press asked
him how he
would run the
upcoming
process to
select the
next Secretary
General.
Lykkotoft
replied that
he had heard
from the heads
of all five UN
regional
groups a
desire for a
more open
process, with
multiple
candidates
making
presentations.
One wonders if
Lykketoft
believes the
position is
reserved for
the Eastern
European Group
(he was the
candidate of
the Western
European and
Other Group,
and got the
post by
regional
rotation), but
there was not
yet time to
ask.
Inner
City Press
also asked
Lykketoft for
his view on
the scandal of
the UN's cover
up of sexual
abuse of
children in
the Central
African
Republic by
French
“peacekeepers,”
and then
retaliation
against fellow
Scandinavian
Anders Kompass
of Sweden.
Lykketoft said
he is aware of
the case but
thought it
better not to
comment for
now. He said
the same in
response to
most other
questions, for
example on
Palestine. (Periscope
video here).
Footnote: The
first question
was set aside
for UNCA,
become the UN's
Censorship
Alliance,
which used it
to say that
SDGs is the
most boring
name. Takes
one to know
one. If
Lykketoft can
run a more
transparent
process to
select the
next SG, he
will have done
well. Inner
City Press and
the new Free
UN Coalition
for Access
will stay on
this. Watch
this site. Follow @innercitypressFollow @FUNCA_info
, 
