UN
Schools in
Censorship,
Press Ejected
by Ban's
Guards For
Ladsous
Commanders
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, June
20 --With
scandals
surrounding UN
Peacekeeping,
from covering
up child
rape by French
“peacekeepers”
in the Central
African
Republic to buying
sex in Haiti
and selling
UN Police jobs
in the DR
Congo, on June
18 the UN
including
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon gave
Force
Commanders a
lesson -- one
in censorship.
Ban's guards
ejected the
investigative
Press, which
closely covers
Peacekeeping
including the
scandals, out
of an open
meeting, at
the demand of
Herve Ladsous.
This
came a day
after Jose
Ramos-Horta
and 14 others
on Ban's Panel
issued a
report
complaining
for example
that
"Sometimes
peace
operations are
slow and
reactive in
getting their
messages out;
at other times
the messages
are convoluted
or obscure. At
other times,
peace
operations
appear mute
and
introverted,
which conveys
its own very
particular
message." "HIPPO" Report
at Paragraph
282.
So what
is the message
of using UN
Security to
throw the
Press out of
an open
meeting about
Peacekeeping,
right in front
of the
Secretary
General who
did...
nothing? On
June 19, Inner
City Press
asked Ban's
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric to
explain, but
it remained
"convoluted
and obscure."
From the UN
transcript:
Inner City
Press: I have
a number of
questions, but
I feel I have
to ask this
one first and
it has to do
with…
Spokesman
Dujarric:
Are you
getting me on
two cameras?
Inner City
Press: I
actually am,
yes, and here
is the reason
for it.
[Periscope.]
Yesterday,
there was an
open meeting
in the
basement, in
Conference
Room 9, which
the
Secretary-General
was to deliver
a speech to a
number of
generals, and
Mr. [Hervé]
Ladsous was
there. I
went to attend
it and it was
listed in the
media
alert. I
was told not
to take
pictures at
the photo op,
but I
continued to,
because it was
in the
hallway.
But, in
Conference
Room 9, the
security
detail of the
Secretary-General
told me I had
to leave the
open meeting
at the
direction of
the organizer,
Mr.
Ladsous.
And I wanted
to know, one,
what do you
say about an
open meeting,
the press
being excluded
from it?
Two, what is
the role of
the security
detail of the
Secretary-General
in excluding
journalists
that were far
away from it?
Spokesman:
I think it was
an unfortunate
situation and
a
misunderstanding
and the
decision to
open up the
meeting in the
AE for the
[Secretary-General’s]
part was taken
late and I
think
everybody that
should have
known didn't
know, so it
was a
misunderstanding.
Inner City
Press:
But, I guess
what was the
problem, given
the meeting it
was on UN TV
and you
distributed
his remarks?
Spokesman:
What I'm
saying is that
it was a
misunderstanding
and that all
the people who
should have
known that it
was an open
meeting were
not aware.
Inner City
Press:
Isn't the
default… I
mean MALU
[Media
Accreditation
and Liaison
Unit] was
there and MALU
said to the
security
detail to the
Secretary-General,
“this is an
open meeting”,
and they
said:
“It doesn't
matter, if the
organizer says
you are out
you are out”.
Spokesman:
It was a
misunderstanding.
Inner City
Press:
Can you say
from this
podium that
meetings that
are open, that
journalists
should be able
to remain
inside them?
Spokesman:
Of
course.
Everybody
should know
how the
meeting is
classified.
It was a
misunderstanding.
Everybody who
should have
known should
have known.
Inner City
Press: I
also I guess
related as to
security, it
came up
yesterday and
Farhan said
what he said,
but I want
maybe to take
a second shot
at it.
There is a
photograph of
Ban Ki-moon
shaking hands
with an
individual who
is on the US
Al-Qaida
terrorist
sanctions
list.
So, what I
wanted to know
is, I mean, in
diplomacy you
may have to
meet with
anyone, but my
question
actually has
to do with
entering the
UN premises
and role of
the security
detail of the
Secretary-General,
did they know
that this
individual was
listed as
having
financed if
not being a
member of
Al-Qaida?
Spokesman:
I think you're
right.
In diplomacy,
we have to
speak to the
people we have
to speak
to. As
for the
Secretary-General’s
security, I'm
not going to
get into the
details of it,
but obviously,
it's there to
protect the
security of
the
Secretary-General
and they do
what they need
to do.
Inner City
Press:
But, what do
you think of
the Hadi or
Riyadh
delegation
having as one
of its members
a US-listed
Al-Qaida
terrorist?
Spokesman:
I think I have
used as many
words as I can
on this.
As
Ramos-Horta
said,
convoluted and
obscure. We'll
have more on
this.
Ban was
scheduled to
give a speech
to UN Force
Commanders in
Conference
Room 9 of UN
Headquarters
in an open
meeting,
following a public
photo-op with
the
commanders.
But when Inner
City Press
showed up for
the photo op,
UN
Peacekeeping
chief Herve
Ladsous
directed one
of his
officials to
tell Inner
City Press to
leave. Then he
got Ban's
guards to
eject Inner
City Press
from the open
meeting.
Dujarric said
those who
needed to know
weren't told
early enough
that it was an
open meeting.
It was a
strange
response,
because there
are open
meetings every
day in the UN
without prior
notice to all
participants;
this one was listed
as open in the
Media Alert
the night
before.
It
seems that
what Dujarric
meant is that
had Ladsous
been
specifically
directed to
the open
meeting
notation, he
would have had
time to veto
it, like this
patron. But
since he
didn't, how
could Ladsous
who ostensibly
works FOR Ban
Ki-moon get
Ban's guards
to oust the
Press from
covering an
open speech by
their boss?
Who works for
whom? We'll
have more on
this.
On June
18 Inner City
Press first
refused to
stop taking
pictures at
the photo op,
noting that
Ban's
appearance was
listed
in the online
Media Alert
of the UN
Media
Accreditation
and Liaison
Unit (MALU).
Nevertheless,
Ladsous'
official
insisted, and
Ladsous
himself began
to film Inner
City Press
with his
phone.
When Ban
Ki-moon and
his security
detail of at
least four
arrived, they
proceeded into
Conference
Room 9, as did
Inner City
Press
accompanied by
a MALU staff
member and a
staffer from
UN Photo. But
just as Ban
Ki-moon began
speaking, two
of his
security
officers came
over and told
Inner City
Press to
leave. In the
hall they said
that “the
organizer” --
Ladsous -- had
ordered it.
Inner
City Press
asked, if some
UN official
tells you to
throw out the
media, you
just do it?
"If he told
you to throw
me on the
ground, would
you throw me
on the
ground?"
Another
security
officer said,
at this point
the media is
not coming in.
That's it.
This is
called
censorship.
And it
happened right
in front of
Ban
Ki-moon.
When Ban came
out of
Conference
Room 9, he had
a discussion
with Ladsous -
what about? -
then walked on
by. Periscope
Video
II here.
This is Ban's
UN,
UNtransparent,
descended to
censorship.
The old
UN
Correspondents
Association
has said
nothing, just
as they said
nothing and more
when Ladsous
said he would
not answer
Inner City
Press and Ban's
spokesman
decided not to
call on Inner
City Press to
put a question
to Ladsous, on
the CAR rapes
and cover up.
The new Free
UN Coalition
for Access
has demanded
an explanation
and response
from MALU and
the Department
of Public
Information
above it. A
senior UN
official told
Inner City
Press, “There
is no court.”
This use
of UN Security
is ironic,
given that as
Inner City
Press reported
on June 17
and asked
Ban's deputy
spokesman
about on June
18, Ban shook
hands in the
UN in Geneva
with a person
on the US
Al-Qaeda
terrorist
list, photo
here. But
today's UN has
become the
source of
lawless
censorship,
amid its
scandals.
Watch this
site. Follow @innercitypressFollow @FUNCA_info
, 
