US
State Dep't Is Asked Of
Hand-Picked Press, While Murky
UN Does It, Cameroon Q By E-mail
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS,
March 14 – When the US State
Department on Tuesday's snow
day held its media briefing by
telephone, many of the
questions were on Secretary
Tillerson (not) taking media
on his trip to Asia. Acting
Spokesperson Mark Toner was
asked, if one seat was devoted
to the media, would Tillerson
hand-pick its occupant? It's a
good question - but the United
Nations already does
this, without complaint
except from the Free
UN Coalition for Access.
Secretary General Antonio
Guterres' recent trip to Kenya
and Somalia was
journalist-free, except
that Al Jazeera was called in
to witness the Somalia leg,
and the Washington Post was
given an interview for a
highly positive profile piece.
What if Tillerson did this?
With the media he prefers?
Toner was asked why
Tillerson's meetings with Gulf
leaders have been closed
press. But Guterres didn't
even disclose his
telephone call with Morocco's
King about Western Sahara;
only Inner City Press, as the
UN's in-person briefing,
complained. AFP asked Toner
about the Netherlands and
Turkey; AP asked about
Bahrain.
NPR
raised the question of UN budget cuts,
but Toner put off answering at
least until Thursday. Inner
City Press has been wondering
of the Administration's review
of the UN's recent belated
announcements on whistleblower
protections and
peacekeeper sexual
abuse. But the question
Inner City Press submitted
after the call by e-mail
concerns Cameroon.
There were on the call no
Africa questions, much less
answers. Watch this site.
***
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