At
UN, Trafficked Premiere Has
Elisabeth Rohm But No Judd, Morocco
& UK Go Abstract
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Photos
UNITED NATIONS,
October 5 – The UN is full of
good intentions on issues like
human trafficking, but little
follow through on concrete
issues like Western Sahara or
Southern Cameroons. Why else
were the Ambassadors of
Morocco and the UK present at
the small red carpet event
Thursday night after the
premiere of the film
“Trafficked,” along with actor
Elisabeth Rohm? Alamy
photos here.
Inner City Press, unable to
find the minder the UN requires
for it but not state media
like Egypt's Akhbar
al Yom, could attended
only the post-screening photo
op, Periscope video here,
so this is not a review. But
the Carr Center, former
employer of Samantha Power,
introduced its fundee and
director Siddharth Kara; in
the audience another Harvard
professor complained he'd seen
the movie a full year ago, how
was this the premiere? Not
present was Ashley Judd, hours
after the publication of the
expose of sexual harassment by
Harvey Weinstein. The UN was,
as usual, just a backdrop. The
UN is put to the test not only
on Myanmar and Western Sahara
but now also in Cameroon, and
it is failing. Back on
September 9 clown fish swam in
3-D in the UN's Trusteeship
Council Chamber on Saturday
night, while clowns in UN
Security harassed the Press
which had every right to cover
the premiere screening of
“Wonders of the Sea 3D” with
Jean-Michel Cousteau, narrated
by Arnold Schwarzenegger. The
screening was listed in the
UN's Media Alert, but when
Inner City Press showed up at
the UN's tourist entrance to
cover it, it got stopped. A UN
Security officer who had
participated in the
retaliatory eviction of the
Press (audio here,
he's the one explaining the
seizure of a broadcasting
smart phone by saying, “it's
too much”) stepped in front of
Inner City Press and said, No
Green P's allowed. Green
P means “non resident
correspondent,” the status the
UN reduced Inner City Press to
as it covered the UN bribery
scandal of Ng Lap Seng, since
convict on six counts
including under the US Foreign
Corrupt Practices Act. The UN
claims there is no difference
in access, even as it prepared
to limited UN General Assembly
week passes to “resident
correspondents,” including
no-show state media like
Akhbar al Yom, in a side deal
with the UN Correspondents
Association now known as the
UN Censorship Alliance.
Pushing back, Inner City Press
arrived late, missing any
photo op but producing this
Periscope livestream. The
filming was in Fiji, the home
country of the outgoing
President of the General
Assembly to whom Inner City
Press on September 8 directed
questions not only about
corruption - he said there are
crows picking around the edge
of the UN, which is true - but
also about the oceans. The
cinematography of WOTS3D is
amazing, with nighttime
filming and close up of
undersea creatures courting or
fighting. We recommend it -
but not the UN's censorship
for corruption - highly. There
was to be a reception after
the film, to which Inner City
Press was invited but which
due to this Press targeting by
the UN Department of Public
Information, was not covered
by Inner City Press. This has
been raised to new / incoming
DPI chief Alison Smale, so far
without response. Here
is Inner City Press' (and the
Free
UN Coalition for Access')
curtain raiser from the
upcoming UN General Assembly
High Level Week. Watch this
site.
***
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