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. MRL
on Patreon
On
Myanmar, Inner City Press Asks
UN About Kachin, Police
Admitting Trapped Jailed
Journalists, No UN Envoy
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS,
April 20 – Amid the killing
and displacement of Rohingya
from and in Myanmar's Rakhine
State, on November 10 UN
Secretary General Antonio
Guterres citing a resolution
pending in the General
Assembly's Third Committee
which would request him "to appoint a
special envoy on Myanmar." On
December 26, after it was
finally approved on Christmas
Eve, Inner City Press asked
the UN when Guterres will act.
In due course, whatever that
means. As of April 20, he has
done nothing. On April 20,
Inner City Press asked
Guterres' deputy spokesman
Farhan Haq two questions about
Myanmar, the Kachin and press
freedom. From the UN transcript:
Inner City Press: I
wanted to ask about
Myanmar. There's… not in
Rakhine State, but the Kachin
minority has put out a call
saying that, basically in… in…
in light of the increased
fighting, there are about
2,000 people that are… have
fled their villages and are
without any health care or
anything, and I'm wondering,
what… what… is the UN aware of
this? And what are they
doing about it?
Deputy Spokesman: Yeah,
I just read out at the top of
the briefing a note by Knut
Ostby. I don't know if
you heard what he said about
his concerns about the Kachin
State, but I would refer you
back to that. In
addition to that, our
humanitarian colleagues say
that more than 160,000 people
are currently targeted for
humanitarian assistance in
Kachin and Shan States,
including around 107,000
internally displaced people
who have been displaced by the
continuing violence.
Many people in those areas
have been displaced multiple
times in a continued cycle of
violence, and access to many
of those in need, and
particularly those in
non-Government-controlled
areas remains extremely
limited. The escalation
and fighting since earlier
this month is deeply
concerning. It's the
responsibility of all parties
to the conflict to ensure that
civilians are protected at all
times and reports of fighting
close to civilian areas,
including villages and
existing camps for the
displaced, are unacceptable.
Inner City Press: And I also
wanted to ask… also in
Myanmar, in the case of the
two journalists… Reuters
journalists that were locked
up, there's been a development
in which a… a police officer
has testified that he was part
of a plot to… essentially to
set them up, that he was
threatened with arrest himself
if he didn't get Wa
Lone. And so, my
question is, is the UN
following this and what do
they think of this new
development?
Deputy Spokesman: Yes,
we are following and are aware
of this. As you know, we
have called for all media to
be treated fairly in Myanmar
and the Secretary-General in
particular has called for the
release of these journalists."
On April 17, Inner City Press
asked Guterres' Assistant SG
Ursula Mueller if during her
five day trip to Myanmar the
issue of the mandated envoy
was even broached. She said it
was not. (Her full briefing is
archived on UNTV, including
Inner City Press' question to
her on the UN's mis-handling
of the crackdown in Cameroon
on Anglophones). While Mueller
was briefing, Inner City Press
received this from the UN:
"Hi, Matthew.
Your request to join the
Council delegation to
Bangladesh and Myanmar was
unfortunately not accepted."
So who was accepted, and why?
We may have more on this. At
the day's noon briefing a
correspondent - not this one -
asked "The Security Council
has set a date for its trip to
Myanmar, Bangladesh and
Iraq. I'm wondering what
the Secretary-General hopes to
see from that trip and if you
have a status update about the
selection process for a
Special Representative to the
country.
Spokesman: No, no update
on the process to find a
Special Envoy for Myanmar from
the Secretary-General.
What we hope is that the
Council will show unity on the
trip. It will help
improve the situation in
Myanmar, in terms of helping
the Government implement the
Annan… the conclusions of the
[Kofi] Annan panel. And
we also very much hope that it
will help refocus the
attention of the international
community on the plight of
those Rohingya refugees who
have fled to Bangladesh and
the need… the continuous need
to fund the humanitarian
operations. As you know,
we're coming up to the monsoon
season, which will create even
newer and more challenges to
them." Inner City Press has
timely asked to go,
specifically to Rakhine State;
it is noted
that a spokesperson said there
will be three spots and "it is
not Gospel" that Security
Council Report will be one of
them. Receipt of Inner City
Press' request has been
confirmed. We'll have more on
this. On March 21 at the UN
noon briefing Inner City Press
asked Guterres' spokesman
Stephane Dujarric, video here,
UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: on Myanmar,
the President, as you may have
seen, has resigned for…
reportedly due to health
reasons, Mr. Htin… H-t-i-n
K-y-a-w. And I wanted to
know whether this… who is the
UN's interlocutor on… it seems
like it's been a long time on
the envoy, so it probably
seem… would indicate that the…
on the Government side,
there's some thoughts of what
the name should be. Does
this change at the very… at
the top or at least the
titular top of the Government
in Myanmar have any impact on
the process?
Spokesman: Well, the
process is ongoing, and we
consult with various
parties. Obviously, as
with the dispatch of any
envoy, country-specific envoy,
there are discussions that are
had with the Government… the
Government in place, whatever
Government that is, and I have
no reason to believe that
that's not going on there.
Inner
City Press:
And I… I’ve seen that the
Secretary-General met twice
pretty recently with Kevin
Rudd, including one quite
recently. And I wanted
to know, is there any readout
on that? His name was at
one point floated. I
don't know if he would take
this job or I don't know if
he's being considered for it,
but what's the… especially
with two meetings so close to
each other…
Spokesman: No, I'm aware
of the meetings…
Inner
City Press:
…[inaudible] request of
Mr. Rudd?
Spokesman: I'm aware of
the… of the rumours, which
are… which are exactly
that. Mr. Rudd, I think,
has an appointment here at the
Japan Society, if I'm not…
Inner City Press: Asia.
Spokesman: …mis… the
Asia Society, my
mistake. But there is no
specific readout of that
meeting." Why not? Meanwhile,
on
Myanmar,
Japan's Abe
government's
ambiguous
position was
highlighted
back in
October 2017
when UN
Special
Rapporteur on
Human Rights
in Myanmar
Yanghee Lee
urged the
country, still
then on the UN
Security
Council, not
to block a
Council
resolution, here.
Now, after
pro-Abe media
Sankei Shimbun
claimed
breathlessly
from Singapore
via Hideki
Yoshimura that
its Myanmar
sources
assured it
Rohingya would
begin
returning from
Bangladesh on
March 16, the
government has
in fact built
chain link
fences to
prevent such
returns. As
initially with
an Okinawa
do-gooder
story, until
now no
retraction. Instead,
opting
for now
instead like
Mayu Uetsuka
of Sankei
Shimsun,here,
to jump on the
U.S.gun
control
bandwagon,
while having
ignored the UN
itself
promoting and
advertising
automatic
weapons, tanks
and even
rocket
launchers in
its 1-B
basement.
(Inner City
Press
exclusive
series,here,videohere.) Are these
glaring
omissions
known to
correspondents
Hiroyuki Kano,Krose
Etsuia
and even, inLondon,
Okabe Shinbun?
To say nothing
of actually
detainedTatsuya
Kato who at
least then
defended press
freedom, with
Jun Kurosawa
UNdeclared? On
March 19, Inner City Press
asked Guterres' spokesman
Stephane Dujrric, UN
transcript here:
Inner City Press: I
wanted to ask yoy about a
Myanmar-proposed law and
international NGOs
[non-governmental
organizations] which would
regulate, it purports not only
international NGOs but at the
UN, to the degree that it's
separate from that. I
know that OCHA [Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs] sometimes coordinates
with NGOs that have these
concerns, but it would
regulate the UN, as
well. Is the UN aware of
this law? Do they
believe it would apply to
them? And what's the
status — and I'm sorry to ask
you this again, but — of the
envoy that was discussed in
September and fully mandated
in December? Spokesman:
There's no update on the
envoy. The discussions
are ongoing. I mean no
updates to announce. The
discussions are obviously very
much ongoing. We're
aware of the law. You
know, the presence of the UN
is regulated through the
Charter and through
international obligations that
Member States have. But,
obviously, I've… we've seen
the law as being debated, but
I will leave it at that
principled response." Yeah,
principled. On March 8, Inner
City Press asked Guterres'
spokesman Stephane Dujarric,
UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: if you have
any comment. The US
Holocaust Memorial Museum
stripped a human rights award
from Aung San Suu Kyi based on
her response or… or lack of
response in the
Rohingya. I wanted to
know if you have any kind of,
I guess, comment on… on that
and also what the status of
the envoy… many Member States
now, whenever the issue comes
up, are saying they urge
António Guterres to move
forward? Spokesman:
Consultations are being
had. And I have no
particular comment on the
decision… the, as we say, the
sovereign decision of the US
Holocaust Museum." For envoy a
name in circulation, rightly
or wrongly, is Kevin Rudd of
Australia. It would be quite a
come-down, since as Inner City
Press reported
(as picked up in Australia),
Rudd tried for UN Secretary
General in 2016. But hope
springs eternal, and Rudd
always tries to show a
sympathy to China's position.
What might he think of the
China Energy Fund Committee
bribery scandal which Inner
City Press, alone among the UN
press corps, is covering? This
week Rudd met with Guterres,
but there has been no read-out
(we've asked). We'll have more
on this. In DC, Senator
Ed Markey said passage of his
amendment to the Burma Human
Rights and Freedom Act
(S.2060) that strengthens
accountability measures for
sexual and gender-based
violence perpetrated against
the Rohingya by Burma’s
military. More than 600,000
Rohingya civilians, mostly
women and children, have fled
Burma into Bangladesh to
escape violence. “We need to
bridge the impunity gap that
re-victimizes Rohingya
survivors and fails to hold
Burma’s military officers
accountable,” said Senator
Markey. “Widespread sexual
violence suggests that these
crimes were not incidental but
a calculated tool of terror.
The international community
must send a strong signal that
militaries cannot use sexual
violence as a tool of war.” A
copy of Senator Markey’s
amendment can be found here."
On February 1, new Security
Council president Kuwait said
there will be no Council trip
there this month. From
Washington, US House Foreign
Affairs Committee Chairman Ed
Royce (R-CA) said, "The
depravity in Burma today is
absolutely gut-wrenching. Wa
Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo are known
by many as brave and decent
reporters. They remain in jail
on absurd charges for one
reason only: they were doing
their jobs. And just this
morning, we learned that at
least five new mass graves
have been uncovered near a
former Rohingya village in
Rakhine State. The village
itself appears to have been
totally destroyed. This is
just one of countless
atrocities that have been
carried out by Burma’s
military and security services
against the Rohingya Muslims
in recent months. The ethnic
cleansing must stop. The U.S.
House has called for action
against those responsible and
is looking for the
administration to follow
through.” Back on January 11,
Inner City Press asked
Guterres' spokesman, video here, UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: In
Myanmar, you may have seen
that the… the
commander-in-chief of the
military has basically
admitted that… that these
bodies that were found in
something called Indin were,
in fact, killed by the army
and… and Buddhist villagers,
he described it as. So,
it's a rare admission.
So, I wanted to know, one,
what's the UN's reaction to
it? And, two, if… what
steps the Secretary-General
has taken on the GA's [General
Assembly], you know, mandate,
I guess, to have…?
Spokesman: On the… when
we have something to announce
on the envoy, we will.
We've heard and understood the
instructions in the General
Assembly. I think what
is important is that those
individuals who are
responsible for perpetrating
these heinous acts be brought
to justice." Yeah - like the
UN has been brought to justice
in Haiti and elsewhere. On
January 10, the Myanmar military's
commander in
chief, Min
Aung Hlaing,
has said that
villagers
and security forces killed “10
Bengali terrorists” found in Rakhine
state's Inn
Din village
last year.
“The army will take charge of
those who are responsible for
the killings and who broke the
rules of engagement. This
incident happened because
ethnic Buddhist villagers were
threatened and provoked by the
terrorists.” Shades of Sri
Lanka. On January 3, Inner
City Press asked Guterres'
deputy spokesman Farhan Haq,
UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: given the
budget's inclusion of funds
for the naming of a Myanmar
envoy. Has the
Secretary-General taken any
steps? What's the timeline for
actually naming such a person?
Deputy Spokesman: Well,
we don't, at this stage, have
an announcement to make about
the naming of a person.
Once we do, we will. But
now that the budget has been
agreed, we will comply with it
and proceed with the naming of
an official." When? Tellingly,
when Inner City Press asked
Guterres' Spokesman Stephane
Dujarric about the widely
circulated Guardian story
quoting "The meeting with the
state counselor was a cordial
courtesy call of approximately
45 minutes that was,
unfortunately, not substantive
in nature,” Patten wrote to
United Nations
Secretary-General Antonio
Guterres," Dujarric told Inner
City Press is he "not aware of
letter. Will check." Here's
the exchange: "ICP 12/27 - 1:
On Myanmar, confirm or deny
the existence and separately
content of the reported letter
from Pramila Patten to the
Secretary General last week
informing him that Aung San
Suu Kyi refused to address in
her meeting with the UN envoy
the detailed allegations of
rapes by the Myanmar Army, and
what the Secretary General
intends to do about it (the
refusal, and the rapes). NOT
AWARE OF LETTER. WILL CHECK."
With no answer on January 2,
Inner City Press asked
Dujarric's deputy Farhan Haq,
UN transcript here: Inner City
Press: could I ask one another
thing that I asked last week,
which was this reported letter
by Pramila Patten of the… the…
the Special Adviser on sexual
violence and conflict.
I'm sure you saw the story
quoting from a letter from her
to the Secretary-General,
saying that Aung San Suu Kyi
refused to… to address the
issue of alleged rapes by the
Myanmar army of
Rohingya. And so, one…
somehow last week, they
couldn't… you couldn't confirm
that even such a letter was
written. Did she write a
letter at the end of her
mission, that's one
question. And the second
one is, can you confirm what
The Guardian reported as the
content, which is that Aung
San Suu Kyi didn't engage
whatsoever on these serious
allegations? Deputy
Spokesman: Well, we're
in touch with her
office. Once we have
any information from her
about her Myanmar mission and
what she had to say about Aung
San Suu Kyi's actions, we'll
let you know. Inner City
Press: But, do you have the… I
mean, did she write a letter,
or is The Guardian wrong?
Deputy Spokesman: I
can't confirm that at this
point. We're in touch
with her office." Nothing. On
December 20, Inner City Press
asked Stephane Dujarric, the
spokesman for Guterres who is
going on vacation until
January 2, about Myanmar's
most recent move. From the UN
transcript:
Inner City Press: Myanmar is
blocking the Yang… Yanghee
Lee, the Special Rapporteur on
human rights, and I'm
wondering whether the
Secretary-General… what he
thinks about it, whether
anyone in the UN system is
pushing back. Spokesman:
I think it's
regrettable. We feel
that all countries should
cooperate with the human
rights mechanisms.
Special Rapporteurs, as you
know, are independent of the
Secretary-General, but we do
hope to see the decision
reversed." Hope without action
is just hot air. Doctors
Without Borders / Medecins
Sans Frontieres MSF says
"At least 9,000 members of the
ethnic Rohingya minority
died—most of them from
violence—in Rakhine State,
Myanmar, between August 25 and
September 24, according to
surveys conducted in refugee
settlement camps in
Bangladesh. Of the reported
deaths, 71.7 percent were
caused by violence. Using the
most conservative estimates,
at least 6,700 Rohingya are
estimated to have been killed,
including at least 730
children under the age of
five. The survey findings
demonstrate that the Rohingya
people have been targeted;
they are the clearest
indication yet of the
widespread violence that began
August 25, when the Myanmar
military, police and local
militias launched 'clearance
operations' in Rakhine in
response to attacks by the
Arakan Rohingya Salvation
Army. Since then, more than
647,000 Rohingya (according to
the Inter Sector Coordination
Group as of December 12) have
fled from Myanmar into
Bangladesh." On December 12 in
the UN Security Council
meeting on Myanmar, US
Ambassador Nikki Haley said,
“We cannot allow more time to
pass. There is no denying that
these atrocities, including
ethnic cleansing, have taken
place.... Before they can
return, Burmese authorities
must create an environment
that is safe. There must be a
cultural change, which only
Burmese leadership can do.
While we are hearing promises
from Burmese authorities, we
must see action.” What about
from Guterres, who too long
defended the pro-military
stance of his representative
Lok-Dessallien? Where in the
UN is she working now? Inner
City Press has asked, but has
not been told. Sexual Violence
and Conflict envoy Patten is
set to visit Myanmar December
14-16, while Guterres sells
himself on Wall Street. On
December 6, the US House of
Representatives the House of
Representatives passed H. Con.
Res. 90, which condemns the
Burmese military’s ethnic
cleansing of the Rohingya and
calls for an end to the
attacks and immediate
restoration of humanitarian
access to Rakhine State.
During debate of the measure
on the House floor Tuesday,
Chairman Royce said, 'For
decades, the Burmese
government has systematically
oppressed the Rohingya, a
Muslim minority living in the
Rakhine State of Burma.
Importantly, this resolution
not only condemns the attacks
against civilians by Burma’s
security services led by
General Min Aung Hlaing, it
also reaffirms the crimes
committed against the Rohingya
as ethnic cleansing. State
Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, a
Nobel Peace Prize winner and
the de facto leader of Burma,
must make it a top priority to
provide for the safety of
those in Burma, including the
Rohingya.'" And still, no UN
envoy, after Lok Dessallien.
On November 22 US Secretary of
State Rex Tillerson said, "it
is clear that the situation in
northern Rakhine state
constitutes ethnic cleansing
against the Rohingya. Those
responsible for these
atrocities must be held
accountable. The United States
continues to support a
credible, independent
investigation to further
determine all facts on the
ground to aid in these
processes of accountability.
We have supported constructive
action on the Rakhine crisis
at the UN Security Council and
in the UN General Assembly’s
Third Committee. The United
States will also pursue
accountability through U.S.
law, including possible
targeted sanctions." After a
delay attributable to
Guterres' Secretariat, the
Committee on November 16 after
speeches by Saudi Arabia,
Bangladesh, Turkey, Somalia,
Egypt and the US on the one
hand and Myanmar, Belarus,
Russia and China (against), a
"we're not participating" by
Iran and a point of order by
Syria, approved the resolution
135 yes, 10 against, 26
abstentions. On the day it was
scheduled to be voted on,
November 14, Guterres'
Secretariat had not prepared
the required "Program Budget
Implication" document, akin to
a CBO score in the US
Congress, and therefore the
vote could not be held. Inner
City Press is informed it will
be held on November 16 at 10
am; after asking it's just
been told the PBI document is
now online here.
On November 15, Inner City
Press asked UN deputy
spokesman Farhan Haq, UN
transcript here:
Inner City Press: it's
Myanmar related. It was
said when… on… one, if there's
any update on getting a… a
formalised Resident
Coordinator. And also it
was said that Ms. [Renata]
Lok-Dessallien, around whom
there was some controversy in
terms of dealing with the
Rohingya issue, it was said
that she's come back to
headquarters to assume another
role. And so I asked…
I've asked once before, but I
just want to know, what is
that role? Is it going to be
as Resident Coordinator in
another country? Is it for DPA
[Department of Political
Affairs]? What is the role?
Deputy Spokesman: "Well,
we don't have anything to
announce at present.
When we do, we will." So where
is Lok? What's she getting
paid for? Inner City Press
went to the November 14 noon
briefing and asked Guterres'
spokesman Stephane Dujarric
why Guterres' Secretariat had
failed in this way. Dujarric
had no answer, nor if the past
is any guide will he get or
provide an answer. He didn't
answer, for the second day in
a row, detailed Press
questions about Guterres'
deputy Amina
J. Mohammed signing
thousands of certificates for
endangered rosewood already
sold and shipped to China. The
draft resolution, ready since
October, "Requests the
Secretary-General to continue
to provide his good offices
and to pursue his discussions
relating to Myanmar, involving
all relevant stakeholders and
including the concerns
addressed in herein, and in
this regard to appoint a
special envoy on Myanmar."
We'll have more on this. On
November 6 the UN Security
Council adopted a non-binding
Presidential Statement (here)
rather than the earlier
discussed draft resolution.
Afterward Myanmar's
representative denounced even
the Statement. Then at the
stakeout, Inner City Press
asked UK Deputy Ambassador
Jonathan Allen what he made
the Myanmar representative's
statement: was he representing
Aung San Suu Kyi or the
military? Allen replied that
what matters is what Myanmar
does. French Ambassador
Francois Delattre, responding
to a solicited question in
French, said that Presidential
Statements are of the same
value as resolutions. We'll
have more on this. Inner City
Press on October 30 asked
Ambassador Matthew Rycroft of
the UK, the UN Security
Council's penholder on
Myanmar, about the then-draft
resolution. Now on November 6
Rycroft's deputy Jonathan
Allen has confirmed that there
will be no resolution, only a
non-binding Presidential
Statement to be read-out on
the afternoon of November 6.
Periscope video here;
Inner City Press also asked
Allen about the blockade of
Yemen by the UK-supported
Saudi-led coalition, into
which Allen says inquiries are
being made. From the UK's
October 30 transcript: Inner
City Press: On Myanmar
[Burma], what’s the progress
on the resolution? When do you
think you might put it to a
vote? Amb Rycroft: "We’re
making good, careful progress
with our Council colleagues on
that. We want to keep everyone
together if we possibly can.
This is a difficult issue for
many of us. We are determined,
though, to step up, and we see
the atrocious situation of the
Rohingya in Rakhine state, and
for those who have fled into
Bangladesh... we now need to
work carefully to get that
into a resolution if there is
the appetite for that." When
Yanghee Lee, UN Special
Rapporteur on the situation of
human rights in Myanmar, took
questions on October 26, Inner
City Press asked her about the
government not approving a
replacement for UN Resident
Coordinator Renata
Lok-Dessallien, who is now
leaving at the end of October.
Ms. Lee confirmed that the
government has rejected a UN
Assistant Secretary General
being sent, not wanting that
special attention. Later on
October 26, speaking of UN
Security Council proposals on
Myanmar at a quiet film event
hosted by one of the too-quiet
proponents, Yanghee Lee was quoted
going beyond what she said in
the UN: "#UN Special
Rapporteur on #Myanmar:
#SecurityCouncil needs to
adopt strong #Burma
resolution- appeals to #China
#Japan& #Russia not to
block." Well, on November 2
Rycroft confirmed what Inner
City Press had heard: the
draft resolution is quietly
being down-shifted to a mere
Presidential Statement, non
binding. On November 2, before
heading out of New York City
for the so-called Finnish
Workshop with the six incoming
Council members, Rycroft said:
"At the moment, it’s still a
draft resolution. It could
turn into a PRST if that’s the
way to keep the Security
Council together, and if we
were to do that, it would be
in order to keep the Security
Council together. There would
be benefit in having a single,
united message quickly to the
authorities in Myanmar, and if
the way to do that is to turn
what is a strong, balanced
text into a PRST then we will
do that." As to Russia, its
foreign ministry
spokesperson Maria
Zakharova
said, "we
are ready for a constructive
discussion of further steps of
the UNSC on this issue." And
given China's recent absention
on extending the mandate of
the Syria chemical weapons JIM
investigative mechanism while
Russia vetoed and Bolivia
voted no, many are left
wondering about... Japan, as
referenced by Yanghee Lee.
While some might mechanically
cite rifts between Japan and
Yanghee Lee's South Korea (see
for example Japan opposing
registration at UNESCO of
"comfort women" documentation,
Inner City Press story here),
there's more to be said about
Japan, Myanmar and the
Rohingya. Watch this site. In
the UN Press Briefing Room,
Yangee Lee on October 26 told
Inner City Press that a person
already in the country could
be interim Resident
Coordinator and that while a
new UN Special Adviser might
be necessary, it would be
important who that person is.
Some might ask, why not her?
Two hours later on October 26
Inner City Press aske UN
spokesman Farhan Haq, UN
transcript here:
Inner City Press: on Myanmar
and the UN's presence there,
the Special Rapporteur,
Yanghee Lee, in a press
conference this morning, you
know, acknowledged that the UN
had asked for an Assistant
Secretary-General to replace
Ms. [Renata] Lok-Dessallien
and had been rejected by the
Government. She's… would
be in a position to
know. So, I take… given
that, can you say, one, why
hasn't… why… you know, can…
will you confirm it as a
Secretariat representative?
And where does it stand… given
that we're now 26 October and
the… the Resident Coordinator
is leaving by the end of the
month, where does it stand in
terms of having a replacement?
What did Mr. [Jeffrey] Feltman
leave the country… what was
his understanding in terms of
who would be running the
country team in less than a
week? Deputy Spokesman:
I do expect, in the coming
days, we'll be able to have an
announcement about who will be
the Officer-in-Charge of our
operations in Myanmar.
We're not at that stage yet,
but, like I said, I do expect
to have an announcement
shortly, and we'll have the
details at this point. Inner
City Press: Given that she's
now said that an ASG
[Assistant Secretary-General]
was proposed… I'd asked you
about Mr. Magdy of… of UNDP
[United Nations Development
Programme], whether he was the
one, but it seems like… do you
have a problem confirming
that? She's also a UN
system official or Special
Rapporteur. Is she
wrong? Deputy Spokesman:
I'm not going to dispute the
words of the Special
Rapporteur. We don't go
into the discussions that
we're having on various
positions. Once we have
an announcement to make, like
I said, we'll make it.
We're not at that point just
yet. Yanghee Lee directed
Inner City Press to the Flickr
photographs on her mandate's
website; they are here,
including the toddler she
described in her closing
statement to the Third
Committee on October 25. This
is one side of the UN on human
rights; here is another: the
UN delivered a threat
to Inner City Press to
“review” it accreditation on
Friday afternoon at 5 pm. The
UN official who signed the letter,
when Inner City Press went to
ask about the undefined
violation of live-streaming
Periscope video at a photo op
by UN Secretary General
Antonio Guterres, had already
left, minutes after sending
the threat. This comes two
days after Inner City Press asked Guterres about the
UN inaction on threatened
genocide in Cameroon, and the
UN claimed
Guterres hadn't heard the
15-second long question.
It also
comes after Alison Smale the
head of the Department of
Public Information which would
“review” Inner City Press'
accreditation has ignored threeseparatepetitions
from Inner City Press in the
six weeks she has been in the
job, urging her to remove
restrictions on Inner City
Press' reporting which hinder
its coverage of the UN's
performance in such crises as
Yemen,
Kenya,
Myanmar,
and the Central African
Republic where Guterres
travels next week, with
Smale's DPI saying its
coverage of the trip will be a
test of its public relations
ability. But the UN official
who triggered the complaint is
Maher Nasser, who filled in
for Smale before she arrived.
His complaint is that audio of
what he said to Inner City
Press as it staked out the
elevators in the UN lobby
openly recording, as it has
for example
with Cameroon's Ambassador
Tommo Monthe, here,
was similarly published.
A UN “Public Information”
official is complaining about
an article, and abusing his
position to threaten to review
Inner City Press'
accreditation. The UN has
previously been called
out for targeting Inner
City Press, and for having no
rules or due process.
But the UN is entirely
UNaccountable, impunity on
censorship as, bigger picture,
on the cholera it brought to
Haiti. And, it seems, Antonio
Guterres has not reformed or
reversed anything. This threat
is from an official involved
in the last round of
retaliation who told Inner
City Press on Twitter to be
less "negative" about the UN -
amid inaction on the mass
killing in Cameroon - and who
allowed pro-UN hecking of
Inner City Press' questions
about the cholera the UN
brought to Haiti and the Ng
Lap Seng /John Ashe UN bribery
scandal which resulted in six
guilty verdicts. We'll have
more on this.
***
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